Los Angeles

6/10-6/11

The first real stop on my journey is Los Angeles California. LA has always been an interesting part of my life. Growing up in Orange County I was taught that there was not really much of a reason to go to LA, but over the years I’ve travelled there to visit friends and I’ve grown on me in many ways.

This particular trip I started off in Santa Monica. I’ve been here many times but never with the same tourists eye. I walked the promenade and grabbed a bite at cabo cantina. Probably not the most interesting of restaurant choices but it reminded me of San Diego which was nice. After refueling I took a walk on the Santa Monica Pier which is something I haven’t done since a I was a child. It was wonderful to fall into the tourist life for a second and take in the scenery. As I stared out over the Pacific, I had the stark realization that not to long from now I’ll be taking my last glimps of the pacific Ocean for awhile. Having lived in coastal Southern California for my entire, I have almost always been within 20 minutes of the Pacific. The longest amount of time I’ve spent away from the ocean has been 3 weeks. I am now on a journey lead me away from this expanse for months and I really wonder how this might affect me. While I’ve never really been a beach person, I’ve decided that I will have to take the as many opportunity to take in it’s majesty as often as possible while I head north.

After a couple of hours wandering and playing guitar on the Venice boardwalk I headed into Hollywood for a delicious dinner. I met with one of my best friends from College, JP who took me to an awesome Korean bbq place called “Genwu”. I’d never been to a Korean BBQ place where they cook the meet at your table and I have to say the experience was wonderful. The food was absolutely amazing. JP and I spent the rest of the night catching up on conversations and enjoying some mezcal. It was a great time.

The next day I woke up and headed to Griffith park. I couldn’t recall ever having gone to the observatory and I have to say it was a beautiful structure. Even with the building being more or less closed due to covid it is an impressive edifice on a gorgeous back drop. The views of the Hollywood sign and city scape were breathtaking. I found a small area down a path with a great view and settled in to play a little guitar and center myself. While I was playing a family came by and listened for a while. They were very complementary, comparing me to Phil Ochs and it warmed my heart.

Next I drove around Hollywood Blvd for awhile and stopped in at Amoeba records. It was great seeing this iconic store still prospering through the pandemic. However, it was a little surreal to cruise along the walk of fame and see so many closed venues and stores. The lack of streets bustling with tourists was almost unnerving. Times surely have been changing, but who knows what changes will come as we continual to thaw from the lockdowns of 2020.

Next up I went to LACMA. This museum has always been one of my favorites and I was glad that it was my first museum I was able to enjoy since the pandemic started. Two specific pieces stood out above the rest for me on this visit.:

The first was a piece by Do Ho Suh called “348 west 22nd Street, Apartment 2, Unit-2, Corridor and Staircase”. The piece was a life sized reproduction of his New York apartment made entirely from fabric and wire framing. The amount of detail was insane. Suh included everything from electrical outlets, to the outline of bricks on the walls to the writing on the air conditioning unit. I was blown away by it’s originality and craftsmen ship.

The second piece was by Chris Burden. Burden is the artist who created the lamppost statue at the entrance to LACMA, which you have undoubtedly seen on 1,000s of instagram posts. The piece the caught my eye inside the museum is called Metropolis II. The piece is a consisting architectural structures made out of erector sets, wood blocks, and even Lincoln logs. Throughout these are tracks for model trains and winding tracks populated by 1100 custom designed hotwheels cars. It spoke directly to my younger-self. The exact combination of memorable toys, constant motion and meticulous design that any boy would love.

After my stroll through Hancock park I headed downtown to meet my friend Aaron for dinner. Aaron and I have known each other since middle school and it is always wonderful to catch up with him. He took me to Grand Central Market which has various food stalls to choose from. It was very hip and the brat that I got was delicious. So far I’ve enjoyed great food and good times with old friends putting this trip squarly on the right foot. While I might not love LA, I have to say it is wonderful to have such wonderful connections there and hope that the cultural scene returns to it’s former grandeur.

LA is a place that I love to visit. With so many of my people now living there, I could even possibly see myself there someday. But today is not that day as I need to continue on the journey.