“There’s a feeling I get when I look to the West…” – B.E.E.
I have come as far west as I can possibly drive. Unless I want to sink the Volvo, there is no more road to traverse. “Westward Expansion,” “Manifest Destiny,” they end right here. This morning I left San Diego. I drove first to Mission Bay and watched the motorboats and sailboats. LA sits roughly 119 miles north. It’s a straight shoot up I-5 until you have to exit onto I-10, then 110, then route-101 into Hollywood. The roads, at first, were confusing.
I dumped myself onto Hollywood Blvd. and found on-street parking. My first destination was nowhere in particular. I simply walked a stretch of a few blocks (this place was closed, sadly) past Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, The Knitting Factory (no good shows) and other local tourist traps. At the corner of Hollywood and Highland I marched downhill to Sunset Blvd. and found Amoeba with little difficulty. Despite slightly steep prices, their selection was nothing short of incredible. The used section is as large as the new section, and bountiful enough to warrant categorization by artist name. Tomorrow the Violent Femmes are playing an in-store performance. Anyway, I walked away from Amoeba with:
Olivia Tremor Control – Black Foliage
King Kong – Me Hungry
Can – Future Days
I returned to the Volvo, rolled down the windows and fully opened the sunroof for the first time ever. A chunk of plastic broke off of it and fell into my lap.
“I come to a red light, tempted to go through it, then stop once I see a billboard sign that I don’t remember seeing and I look up at it. All it says is “Disappear Here” and even though it’s probably an ad for some resort, it still freaks me out a little and I step on the gas really hard and the car screeches as I leave the light.” – B.E.E.
A thick yellowish cloud hung over the city, but it was beautiful outside. Temperature in the low-mid 80s. I continued down Sunset to the Hustler store, where I picked up some gifts for compatriots and kin. I stopped by some famed local venues to see what was up this week, notably Whisky a Go Go (no good shows) and The Viper Room (no good shows). I also breezed by the House of Blues (no good shows), The Comedy Store and the Chateau Marmont, where — if my memory servers me correctly — John Belushi died? Continuing on Sunset I was transported into Beverly Hills.
There was no sense in leaving the car anywhere in Beverly Hills. I can’t afford to enter any boutiques, so spying from afar sufficed. I glanced up at one point and realized that I was on Rodeo Drive, but kept going along until I once again found myself at an intersection with Sunset. I went west toward the water, but stopped when Corey called to give me directions to his apartment. By this time I was just past the UCLA campus, but still miles from Santa Monica and the Pacific. I turned around and followed his directions back along Sunset to his street. I brought my things inside and he introduced me to Laura his roommate. We three went out for dinner at a hokey little restaurant called Saddle Ranch. We sat outside and talked and ate. The waitress had an unusual way of stating “You’re Welcome,” so Corey made sure to thank her for every movement she made. By the end of the meal it was impossible to stifle our laughter. After dinner we returned to the apartment. Laura’s boyfriend Kevin was here waiting.
Sadly, Molly called around 9:30 to say her dinner party was going to run late and she had to cancel our evening plans. Woe is me. Tomorrow she’s calling after work and we’ll get to make up for lost time.
Instead, I mixed myself a nice, stiff Jack and Coke and we sat down to play Trivial Pursuit, 90s Edition. I tied for last place with Kevin. Corey won. He got all the easy questions and mine were like, “Which member of OJ Simpson’s team of lawyers also represented…” I guessed F. Lee Bailey and it was one of the other guys. What’s-his-name…
Laura has to be up at 5:30 this morning. Everyone else works. They’re now sleeping. Here I sit.
Anymore, I forget which day it is.
