What’s Happening in LA

My father’s friend Alex was kind enough to take us in for the week we were in Los Angeles. I actually got to sleep in a bed inside a house for a whole week! I can’t express how refreshing that was, thank you so much Alex! Without Alex, we would have missed out on all sorts of awesome sights. One of the first things he did was introduce us to his friend Mark, who wanted to go rock climbing with us. Mark also let us borrow his kayaks.

Our first stop was downtown LA. We took the bus in, getting off at Union Station. The first thing we went to see was Olvera Street:

 

After Olvera, we wandered around town lost. Eventually we stumbled upon the Walt Disney Concert Hall:

And we found our way to the Cathedral:

 

After the Cathedral, we wandered aimlessly around the business district for a few hours, before taking the bus back to Alex’s place.

We also came across a cool fountain park where we stayed for a bit.

There was a house sparrow in this picture, but it flew off before my camera finished shooting:

 

I also found a garden of my favorite flowers, bird of paradise:

 

And we saw a skunk!

 

Coming back from our adventures early to have a home-cooked meal with Alex’s family was absolutely wonderful. He’s a great chef. We kicked back and had a leisurely evening of watching movies.

The next day we took Mark’s kayaks out to Marina Del Rey and hit the ocean! We kayaked through the marina and out into the open seas, pulling into Venice beach. By the end, I was soaking wet and exhausted, but I haven’t had more fun yet on this trip.

Only getting the slightest taste of Venice beach, we headed back the next day with the goal of exploring. We walked all the way down the street, covered in all sorts of shops and colorful characters. There is also an outdoor gym there (muscle beach). After roaming the shops and canals of Venice, I ditched Chris and went out onto the beach. After a luxurious hour of napping in the sun, I set out on an oceanside run. I ran all the way down Venice beach, went swimming in the warm waters, and then ran all the way back. I met up with Chris again at the Santa Monica pier where we watched the sunset and listened to a live jazz performer. As we were listening, a random bearded man came by running on the guardrail.

The next day, Chris went into Hollywood. I didn’t go with him; Alex took me out for bagels and coffee. I had my first frappuccino, and I loved it! After bagels, Alex and I parted ways. I drove to Malibu. My first stop was Leo Carillo beach, where the opening scene of Grease was filmed.

Leo Carillo has all sorts of tunnels through the rock. It’s also home to a plethora of cormorants.

 

I found a surfboard:

Birds:

 

Cool sea stuff:

At Leo Carillo, there was a team filming an independent project with this drone:

Here is the passage underneath CA 1, painted beautifully:

After Leo Carillo, I went swimming at Zuma beach, before heading back to meet with Alex. That night, Alex and I drove into Hollywood to hang out with Chris.

I didn’t bring my camera to Hollywood, and Chris’s pictures wouldn’t upload properly, apologies.

Stay tuned to hear about San Diego, Ensenada and Tijuana!