The sun was happily shining on Clyde and I as we headed west on I-10 through the desert on our way to L.A. Not much to mention on a great ride through the desert, until I got near Joshua Tree in California. It may have been the worst wind I'd experienced so far. But I pushed on and was ecstatic to see the City of Angels glowing in the distance, as evening was giving way to night. I arrived at my brother's apartment in Venice, Calfornia, just after eight. Kevin, my brother, heard my bike as I was parking and came out to meet me. He's got a cool apartment, complete with skylights, just three blocks from Venice Beach.
Saturday we checked out the Venice Beach area, which is filled with all kinds of people, and things to see and do. We watched skaters at a skate park, people playing basketball on the courts, and meatheads pumping iron at the famous muscle beach gym, and oddly enough, some Sumo wrestlers putting on a Sumo display. We took a walk on the pier, and our timing couldn't have been better. Lifeguard trainees walked out on the pier, and had to jump off as part of their final training. It was really cool to see some twenty trainees take the plunge, then race back to the beach!
Sunday morning my brother and his friend took me out surfing. It was my first time, and despite white-water waves that not a single other soul was out trying to surf that day, we had a great time. I'll definitely do that again. After a hard morning's surf, we stuffed ourselves with In-N-Out burgers. We spent the rest of the day in a coma on the couch. Surfing is hard work!
Monday we checked out Santa Monica Pier, and rode the ferris wheel at my brother's plea. I'm not a fan of slow-moving wheels that put me high in the air, but my brother insisted. It did give a nice view of the beach. After that I took a ride to Rodeo drive to see what all the fuss is about. It looks just like it does during the opening scenes of Beverly Hills 90210. Monday night we hit Dodger stadium. It was $1 Dodger Dog Night! Good dogs for only $1! They played the Rockies, which makes the second time I've seen the Rockies play on this trip. I'm not becoming a fan, though. Chief Wahoo takes up all the baseball love in my heart.
My overall impression of L.A. is that it's a place of broken dreams. Those dreams are picked up by other people with fantasies of making it, only to be smashed again. Pick up the pieces of your dream when you get off the bus from the midwest, but no need to sweep them up when they are smashed, because the next busload of dreamers will pick them up.
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