LaLa Land.............

The drive down from San Fran on the PCH was spectacular. Those houses in Malibu just defy gravity. No wonder they keep sliding of the side of the hill. I stopped in Camarillo on my way in to see some old neighbors of mine from Pine Lake. Keith and Bonnie moved out here a few years back. I spent a couple of hours catching up and discussing my travels with them. It was nice to see them again. When I got into LA I decided to do the usual tourist things first. First stop Hollywood. I went Mans Chinese theatre, the walk of fame, and the Kodak Theatre. They are pretty much what you would expect. Griffith Park Observatory has spectacular views of the city and the Hollywood sign. The building itself has some interesting architecture. The sculpture out front has several famous astronomers carved into it (Galileo, Copernicus, etc.) From there I drove down Beverly street in Beverly Hills. The house there are monstrously huge and of course equally as expensive. Rodeo drive was a lot shorter than I expected. They say the rents on that street run upwards of $40K a month. WOW. I have to say LA was nothing special...the stars there were the only thing that make it different and since I am not star stuck I found it all a bit boring. Venice Beach was a whole new story. Freeks and Geeks central. I reminded me of Little 5 Points in Atlanta with a beach. They had every kind of character there you could imagine. The Rasta on Rollerblades playing Jimmy Hendrix on his electric guitar was one of my favorites. I spent the next three days chilling out on the beach and people watching there. I have grown weary of all the so called tourist attractions and find that watching people is far more enjoyable. The only "star" I saw while I was there was Traci Lords, the porn star gone legit. My next stop is San Diego and from there I have decided to head home. Later, Brett