Woke up at 10am this morning and slowly readied ourselves for a day at the beach. By we I mean myself, Nicci, and my friends Ken and Kt who are visiting from Jersey. We were planning on taking surfing lessons. We’re pretty much all first-timers, so we had no idea a) how expensive it was and b) that appointments for groups needed to be scheduled in advance. Who knew!? We thought it would be the kind of thing you could just roll out of bed and do as a spur-of-the-moment activity. LA is supposed to be such a laid back place — how come the surf instructors are the most regimented people here? I call bullshit.
Anway, we headed out to the beach via the 10-W and arrived in good time. We had brunch at Cora’s Coffee Shop and Farkled for a few minutes before and after the food arrived. I like that place because you can eat outside on a patio covered with and iron arbor covered with flowers and plants. It’s very chill. 9 dollars for a really good omelet with a side of potato and texas toast. Halfway through brunch I realized I’d left my bathing suit at home. It’s like I always say, if you’re going to fail at something, fail miserably and hilariously. It’s a good thing we didn’t wind up signing up for surfing lessons.
You can’t just tip Disco Stu…You have to dance your way across the pier to him.
After brunch we walked (Nicci and I), wave-boarded (Kt) and free-lined (Ken) up to the pier. We walked around there for a while, watched the beach denizens brave the frigid waters, became captivated by a disco-dancing busker, and ate churros. We chatted about business strategies too, and I received a really awesome tip from my guests that I will attempt to implement next week. All I can say is, free advertising. Not as free as, say, In The Butt…but something like that.
OJ’s Old House in Brentwood…Takes Me All The Way Back To 1995
The drive home was supposed to be leisurely and exploratory in nature. I promised Ken and Kt a guided tour of the city, but we got stuck in traffic. We had enough time to scope out the old OJ Simpson place in Brentwood (murder capital of the West?), but then traffic got really bad around the 405 so we had to improvise. We switched over to San Vincente, but then drove through the UCLA campus (accidentally) and then rejoined Sunset right as we were entering West Hollywood. The tour from that point was just to name-check all the area clubs and venues and restaurants. I guess I’m a shitty tour guide. It took us two hours to drive 17 miles. It was like Gilligan’s Island in a shitty Volvo! Oh well.
The Other Entrance To OJ’s Old House. A Murder Happened There.
Tonight our guests would like to sample some of the best Mexican food in the area, but since Malo is a tiny bit too expensive, I’m going to take them to my second favorite restaurant. After that, I think we’ll drive around the hills and maybe get some champagne and cheer up Thesy, who was just defrauded by her former roommates. It’s been so long since I’ve drank a bottle of Andre Strawberry Champagne…I feel like a drug addict who knows he’s about to relapse. And it feels soooo good.
Stars Of The Lid – I Will Surround You
Ilyas Ahmed – Exit Twilight
Neil Young – L.A.
Cliff Gober – A Poor Wayfaring Stranger
