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Los Angeles, Day 3 of 5
Jul. 8th, 2022 11:59 pmFRIDAY
Once more I woke up before the alarm, having had chills and a couple of "drowning" episodes during the night. We left about ten and had breakfast at Marie's Cafe above the subway station. Then we caught the Red Line train. A tall young dude on the platform dressed in an aqua sports uniform muttered to himself and threw his glass bottle onto the track bed, where it shattered loudly. He tried to board the next Purple Line train, but the car nearest us was powered down and out of service; he pounded on the door of the next car but the train left without him. At the next station our train was delayed because someone was blocking the doors. The second station before our stop, someone boarded the train and sat behind Gary, intermittently screaming unintelligibly. We left the train at Hollywood and Highland to pay our respects at James Caan's star on the Walk of Fame. On the way we stopped by a few other stars, then continued on foot to Hollywood and Vine Station and returned to Hollywood and Highland by train so we could see the Dolby and TCL Chinese theaters. We stopped by Johnny Rockets for lunch, then upstairs to see the Kobe Bryant memorial mural before returning to street level to purchase tickets for the Dolby Theater tour. With tickets in hand, we walked around the block for more pictures before entering the theater for our tour. We had the opportunity to stand onstage so I sang a few bars of "Over the Rainbow" as I'd planned to do at the Hollywood Bowl had we taken the tour there, so I can truthfully say I've performed onstage at the Dolby Theater. At the end of the tour we stopped by Walgreens for drinks which we guzzled before boarding the train back to the hotel.
When we arrived at our room I stripped down, had some water, journaled, and proceeded to take a nap. We got up just before 6 PM and took the E line to Santa Monica so we could explore the pier at sunset. These are newer, lighter rail cars which can operate in the subway, at grade or elevated. The trip was long but relatively uneventful.
When the train arrived at the end of the line in downtown Santa Monica, it was a quick four-block walk to the pier. We took pictures from the inland end of the pier and a nice dude took our picture with the "end of the trail" sign marking the historic end of US Route 66. Then we descended the stairs on the north side of the pier and walked along a boardwalk embedded in the sandy beach to get some sunset shots. With that accomplished, we stopped by nearby Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. for dinner. We were directed to take the elevator down to the beach level and shown to a booth next to the kitchen counter. Our waiter was a cute Hispanic dude, and one of the other staffers was a hot muscle bear with a thick black beard, wearing a peach-colored T-shirt. Gary had a salad with strawberries and grilled shrimp, while I had fried coconut shrimp with coleslaw and a few of the many fries it came with. As we returned to the Metro station via the pier, I noticed a pickup truck parked beyond the closed barricades at the entrance to the pier. As it happened, it was a rescue vehicle belonging to the Santa Monica Police. As the train was about to leave, a young dude held the door open and urged some people to run to catch the train. He immediately got a lecture from the driver as that's his job. Once the train was underway, the trip was unremarkable but for the occasional extra-large bear, including one in camouflage chomping an unlit cigar. My cold symptoms flared up on the train with frequent sneezing and occasional coughing, but once we exited the station at 7th and Flower, they were much better. We returned to the room, where I stripped down again, drank water, journaled and watched the local news with Gary.
Once more I woke up before the alarm, having had chills and a couple of "drowning" episodes during the night. We left about ten and had breakfast at Marie's Cafe above the subway station. Then we caught the Red Line train. A tall young dude on the platform dressed in an aqua sports uniform muttered to himself and threw his glass bottle onto the track bed, where it shattered loudly. He tried to board the next Purple Line train, but the car nearest us was powered down and out of service; he pounded on the door of the next car but the train left without him. At the next station our train was delayed because someone was blocking the doors. The second station before our stop, someone boarded the train and sat behind Gary, intermittently screaming unintelligibly. We left the train at Hollywood and Highland to pay our respects at James Caan's star on the Walk of Fame. On the way we stopped by a few other stars, then continued on foot to Hollywood and Vine Station and returned to Hollywood and Highland by train so we could see the Dolby and TCL Chinese theaters. We stopped by Johnny Rockets for lunch, then upstairs to see the Kobe Bryant memorial mural before returning to street level to purchase tickets for the Dolby Theater tour. With tickets in hand, we walked around the block for more pictures before entering the theater for our tour. We had the opportunity to stand onstage so I sang a few bars of "Over the Rainbow" as I'd planned to do at the Hollywood Bowl had we taken the tour there, so I can truthfully say I've performed onstage at the Dolby Theater. At the end of the tour we stopped by Walgreens for drinks which we guzzled before boarding the train back to the hotel.
When we arrived at our room I stripped down, had some water, journaled, and proceeded to take a nap. We got up just before 6 PM and took the E line to Santa Monica so we could explore the pier at sunset. These are newer, lighter rail cars which can operate in the subway, at grade or elevated. The trip was long but relatively uneventful.
When the train arrived at the end of the line in downtown Santa Monica, it was a quick four-block walk to the pier. We took pictures from the inland end of the pier and a nice dude took our picture with the "end of the trail" sign marking the historic end of US Route 66. Then we descended the stairs on the north side of the pier and walked along a boardwalk embedded in the sandy beach to get some sunset shots. With that accomplished, we stopped by nearby Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. for dinner. We were directed to take the elevator down to the beach level and shown to a booth next to the kitchen counter. Our waiter was a cute Hispanic dude, and one of the other staffers was a hot muscle bear with a thick black beard, wearing a peach-colored T-shirt. Gary had a salad with strawberries and grilled shrimp, while I had fried coconut shrimp with coleslaw and a few of the many fries it came with. As we returned to the Metro station via the pier, I noticed a pickup truck parked beyond the closed barricades at the entrance to the pier. As it happened, it was a rescue vehicle belonging to the Santa Monica Police. As the train was about to leave, a young dude held the door open and urged some people to run to catch the train. He immediately got a lecture from the driver as that's his job. Once the train was underway, the trip was unremarkable but for the occasional extra-large bear, including one in camouflage chomping an unlit cigar. My cold symptoms flared up on the train with frequent sneezing and occasional coughing, but once we exited the station at 7th and Flower, they were much better. We returned to the room, where I stripped down again, drank water, journaled and watched the local news with Gary.