check out the ‘photographs’ tab for photos from LA, primarily the Getty.
los angeles was awesome. i had a great time and got to hang out with some people i hadn’t seen in awhile. friday eric picked me up at the airport and we went to lunch at home, a nice restaurant near jon and maria’s apartment. after we checked into the magic castle hotel (in the hollywood hills – amazing view of the city) we met up with darren at his house. he took us to the farmers market and the grove, which was one of the creepiest and surreal places i’ve ever been in my life. we ate delicious crepes and saw the inside of the grove movie theater, where the cheapest ticket price is something like $9.50.
after that eric and i drove to the in-n-out burger in burbank and met jon and maria. then we followed them up to their friends’ house for a game of mafia. this is, perhaps, the coolest game ever. 15 or so people showed up (usually they do this weekly) and the first game lasted almost 2 hours. these people are serious about this game. it was on one hand a great way to meet new people and on another, a really horrible way, because as jon pointed out, this game could also be called ‘lie to your friends.’ that first day i was awake for almost 24 hours and i haven’t quite recovered.
saturday eric and i ate at baja fresh, satisfying a jones that has been long neglected since the evanston location closed. afterwards we drove to the getty and looked at the gardens and architecture. the getty is beautiful, but oddly the collections inside weren’t that interesting. that is – they weren’t that interesting to me, but then again, i am way more interested in architecture than rococco furniture.
saturday night jon, maria, eric and i went to the California Science Center for the Body Worlds exhibit. Body Worlds was incredibly fascinating. We spent at least 3 hours there, and I was only through a quarter of the second area (which was much larger than the first) when the 10 minute warning was called. Sadly, I had to rush through the rest, but the whole thing was spectacular. After Body Worlds we met up with meghan and josh and jordan for dinner at Palms Thai, where Thai Elvis sings on friday and saturday nights. Both he and the food were excellent.
Sunday Jon, Janet, Eric and I went to The Coffee Table for lunch. this was the only day it really rained. we hung around there until it was time for eric and i to drive to LAX for our evening flight.
The one thing i really noticed is that every other conversation in l.a. has to do with driving – the best way to get someplace, what way you came, your car, etc. super boring. that and the smog (also driving-related) were my only complaints. oh, and the fake grass. we call those ‘weeds’ where i’m from.
