I was so tired from the long day Thursday that I let myself sleep in a bit. The main thing I wanted to do/see in Hollywood was already done. I had no plans at all, but knew I wanted to do my laundry. I ran out to a laundromat and got some quarters so I could do laundry in my hotel while watching TV and catching up on my email/blogging. I worked on my clothes for a while, then when the dryer didn't quite cut it, I hung everything throughout the room. It was hilarious coming back in later that evening...socks on the lamps, pants hanging from the tv, shirts and shorts draped over the doorknobs- it worked though! When everything was done, I went out to go explore the town and get some food.
I took a suggestion to visit Poquito Mas, a Baja-style restaurant. Rob had said it puts Baja Fresh to shame, which piqued my curiosity. I found a place to park, truly a miracle in that crowded area of Hollywood Ave. and sat down to a veggie burrito. Rob wasn't kidding. It was delicious. I watched as these beautiful people came trickling into the store. Blonde bombshells, probably 23-26 years old were coming in, popping out of their skimpy outfits. They'd walk in with these complete loser-looking guys. I knew I was in Hollywood.
After lunch, I drove around the city, looking for good views to shoot and interesting things to see. I didn't get out of the car very much, because I needed to be back at the hotel by 4 to clean up for the Jimmy Kimmel show with Kelley. I drove past the famous Mann Chinese Theater, and the walk of fame. I drove up one of the Hollywood hills to see a very impressive view of downtown Los Angeles and also to see some of the million-dollar homes that scattered the hills. Most homes had gardeners working on the yard. Landscaping trucks litterred the street as I climbed closer to the top. I ultimately had to turn around when the road became a private driveway, but I still got a great view of the city. It was a good time.
I called Kelley and got ready for the party. She met me at my hotel on Santa Monica and we left for the El Capitan theater- right across from the Chinese theater. We didn't go near the front though. This was a backstage party. We parked in a backlot (free) and had our names striken from the list. I hadn't seen the Kimmel show before, but apparently, the sidekick was right there in front of us. We got our bracelets indicating that we were "in" and made it inside. There was a table of food and an open bar. Kelley and I helped ourselves as we started catching up. Music was jamming and more people poured in. Eventually the show started, which was played on LCD panels. There were couches for people to chill and enjoy the show, and the music stopped for the show to be heard through blaring speakers. I took full advantage of the free bar, and Kelley and I both had a great time, just chilling in the "green room's" party atmosphere. Eventually, we closed the place and called it a night.
I had noticed while doing my laundry that San Diego looked like an easy daytrip away from Los Angeles. I decided that I would spend my Saturday on the road and asked Kelley at the show if she was interested in checking it out with me. She agreed, so I met up with her early Saturday morning to get some bagels and hit the dusty trail.
Kelley had told me that the traffic in Los Angeles and its suburbs were ridiculously crowded, and I was hit with the reality of overcrowding when we made it to the Interstate. It was four lanes in each direction, almost completely stopped. Fortunately, things picked up a bit but then got crowded an hour later when we were on the outskirts of San Diego. We eventually got into the downtown area and made our way to the zoo. Both Kelley and I had always wanted to see the zoo, but never gotten around to it, so I was pretty psyched when we got there.
Once inside, we stopped by the gorilla area, which was a huge, open area with about 5 gorillas. A baby gorilla kept fooling around and bugging the others. It was really amusing to watch as he got more and more annoying to his parents. The father finally set the record straight by bonking junior on the head. That'll learn him.
Kelley and I took the zoo's bus around the area to get a quick tour of the rest of the zoo. It was a raised bus, so we were able to see over all the cages and fence areas. I highly recommend it as a quick way to see everything. We were sort of in a hurry to see the zoo, because Kelley had something to get to later in the day. We saw everything we wanted to see and then headed out to Coronado Island.
Chris and Karen had recommended checking out Coronado Island when I talked to them after their wedding not too long ago. I didn't think I was going to be out that way when I made it to California, but the day I figured out that San Diego was possible, I also looked into Coronado Island, and knew that I had to see it. Kelley had already been there, so I had a navigator. :) We drove a few exits down from the zoo and finally arrived at the Hotel Del Coronado, a spectacular Victorian hotel. (If you've seen photos like this here before, it was from Disney's Grand Floridian hotel, modeled after the real thing, here on Coronado Island.) We walked through the amazing lobby area, a courtyard specled with flowers and then the beach, a crowded but beautiful beach with brilliant blue water. We were both glad we got to see it all.
On the way home, we caught more traffic, but ultimately ended up at our rooms so we could get ready for the next big event- the cemetary.
....more on that later.
