five days in LaLaLand

Hello everyone! I had a fantastic visit with Becky in Los Angeles. I flew out Wednesday afternoon and arrived at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank in the evening. Yeah for avoiding the nightmare that is LAX! We went back to her house and talked on her porch while drinking some red wine. It was so great to be in Becky’s home and hear her hysterical laugh. How I love old friends!

Thursday I went with Becky to her office in Beverly Hills where she works for a producer. Her boss was out of town at the Cannes Film Festival so it gave us some flexibility to hang out. I read an issue of Variety and then Becky drew me a little map of the area (on the back side of a script nonetheless) and I was let loose in Beverly Hills. I walked down Rodeo all the couture shops and the strange little pseudo-Italy strada. I found a park where I took photos of the crazy cacti and walked around. I accidentally kicked a cactus and made my toe bleed. I ended up chatting with a homeless man for a bit. He asked me where I was from after I said hello to him. Apparently my acknowledging his existence was enough for me to stand out as a visitor. People don’t walk in LA, they drive. When they do walk they talk on their cellphones and avert their eyes from all other human beings. It was already seeming to be a strange place to me. The disparity of wealth is amazing. Homeless people in Beverly Hills!

Becky got off work and we grabbed some lunch where I saw Linda Evans (JR’s wife from Dallas and my only celebrity sighting bahahahah). We then drove to the La Brea Tar Pits and marveled at the stinking, farting tar lake. Water is mixed with asphalt and methane is constantly bubbling up to the surface. So bizarre! Right next door was the LA County Art Museum. We walked through the sculpture garden (watch out for the occasional bits of tar bubbling up in the grass!) Inside they had an impressive collection. I was most excited to Magritte’s The Treachery of Images (Ceci n’est pas une pipe) as I’ve had a print of it hanging in my living room since I was 19. I actually jumped up and down when I saw it across the gallery.

We left the museum and walked back through the gardens that were filled with jasmine. As we got closer to the tar pits the lovely scent of jasmine mixed with tar which was most odd. We drove through Laurel Canyon where the hillsides are covered with insane amounts of nasturtiums and you’re not allowed to even smoke in your car because of the dangers of wildfires. We stopped to buy a six pack and went home to grill up some chicken which we ate along with Becky’s amazing zucchini soup. Beers on the porch as the sun went down…so very nice!

Friday Becky dropped me off on Melrose on her way into the office. Most of the shops were not yet opened so I walked around until I found a huge park, Pan Pacific Park. I sat at a picnic table in the sun and read my book and listened to music. I walked back to Melrose with all it’s trendy shops and great people watching. I so don’t belong in LA. I walked up and down all of Melrose and only bought two used books. Becky picked me up and we ate lunch together. She had some more work to do so she dropped me off at the Getty Art Museum. I took the tram up to the massive complex of buildings on the hilltop. The views of smoggy LA were crazy. Their collection is incredible and includes Van Gogh’s Irises. I also saw a great photography exhibit by Robert Adams. I lounged in the immaculate grass near the gardens and then met Becky to head home. We got ready then met her cousin Heidi and her friend Tawnya for dinner at the Electric Lotus, a great Indian restaurant in Los Feliz. On our way home we stopped at Marrakesh, a Morroccan restaurant near Becky’s house where we had a glass of wine and watched the belly dancer practicing her moves in a mirror.

Saturday morning we woke up and drove to a diner in Toluca Lake to meet Becky’s friends Stephanie & Raff for breakfast. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside talking long after we’d finished eating. From there Becky and I headed to Hollywood where we went to the Walk of Fame with all the stars on the sidewalk and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with all the hand and footprints. It was total mayhem down there and we stayed for literally five minutes. We stopped in Amoeba Music and Becky bought a cd before we went to Borders on Sunset & Vine. Sondre Lerche, a Norwegian musician I really like, was doing an in-store performance there so we got to see him play. He was so humble and gracious. He played and sang beautifully. From there we wound our way up the hills to a great viewpoint of the Hollywood sign. Then we headed towards the beach. We went to Venice Beach where we stopped for a taco then made our way towards the water. I’d never seen such a crowded beach in my life. There was a hilarious beefcake muscle bound man and airplanes flying by with Starbucks banners. It was sunny and beautiful out though and I walked in the water which is significantly warmer than along the Oregon coast.

We bailed outta Venice Beach and drove north through Santa Monica before finding a beach in Malibu to watch the sunset. There were much fewer people and the sky was beautiful. We were sitting on the beach watching the waves when we saw dolphins jumping out of the water. We saw several of them and they seemed to be playing, riding the waves and jumping out just as the waves broke. It was absolutely amazing and so beautiful! When the sun was down we drove through the canyons back to the valley. We grilled up salmon for dinner and drank the bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir I’d brought. We played Cranium with her roommate Darrin and his girlfriend Anna. We goofed around with a tricycle and a giant yoga ball and pulled out old songs that we used to sing as little girls. We were amazed that all three of us knew the same songs (Say Say Little Playmate…) even though we’d grown up all across the country (Anna in LA, Becky in Massachusetts and me outside of Chicago).

Sunday Becky and I went for hike in Runyon Canyon above Hollywood. I was not too impressed with their hiking options. There were so many people everywhere and it smelled like dog shit. The views opened up to huge expanses of gloomy skies and skyscrapers disappearing into thick smog. Coming from Oregon I’m extremely spoiled when it comes to hiking so I felt badly that these were Becky’s options for hiking nearby. We went home and showered then left for a bbq in Glendale. It was hosted by Mary Ann, a woman involved with Becky’s improve group. She lived in wonderful little house up in the hills that was built in the 20’s. The food was phenomenal (strawberries & balsamic…who knew you could make strawberries better!). Everyone played croquet and had drinks and talked. Later there were a few rounds of Indian leg wrestling until Becky got hurt and the party winded down. We stopped at the grocery store for a pizza and some ice cream and rented a few movies. We watched The Aristocrats which is always bizarre and hilarious and the Family Stone which was not so great.

That night and into Monday morning it was pouring rain. I went with Becky into work and used the computer and looked at her pictures. We went down to the LA Farmers’ Market for some yummy tacos for lunch before she dropped me off at the airport to head home. Taking off it was amazing to see the city scrubbed clean from the rain. I could actually see downtown LA without the smog. I had an amazing trip and saw so many crazy things. It was so wonderful to spend time with Becky. I know we’ll always be friends. While you couldn’t pay me enough to live there I would love to go back to visit sometime. It made me very appreciative of Portland green and smiles from strangers.

Flickr is having some problems so I’m going to be delayed in posting all of my photos but I’ll have some up right away. Please check back if you’d like to see more!

Counting down my last week as a twenty-something!

Xoxoxoxo,
carolyn