Day 6: San Diego 




I left LA at 8:30 this morning for a day trip to San Diego. I'm aboard Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, a state-supported corridor train with bi-level coaches and electrical outlets at every seat. With only six hours between arrival and departure, I need to hit the hot spots (Coronado, Balboa Park) quickly, so I'm going to rent a bike. I left the data cable for my digital camera at Betsy's house, so you'll have to suffer with the picture above taken with my camera phone. These bunnies were just walking, I assume they were headed home after a late night Easter bender. When I get back to LA tonight, I'll meet up with my friend AJ for drinks, thus completing my LA agenda. Tuesday morning I depart for Portland on the Coast Starlight, where I will meet up with Stephen.



Recapping the rest of Day 5: I skipped the Getty, primarily because it would have taken over an hour on the bus to get there. Instead, Betsy dropped me off at The Grove (see above) around noon while she checked in at her DreamWorks office in Burbank. I grabbed lunch but was quickly bored by the chain stores, so I took a lengthy walk through the neighborhood. Much like the rest of America, Angelenos don't walk to anywhere (versus walking around), but I'm not really sure why because the pedestrian experience is pretty decent. I walked Melrose from Formosa to La Cienega (looping to both 3rd and Beverly along the way). Even with the lighter backpack, I needed a break after that five-mile walk. A tea house offered respite, Wi-Fi, iced green tea, and an organic dark chocolate bar. Betsy called at 6 to meet up on Sunset for a 7:30 film. When I say "up", it's literal in this case -- the grade up La Cienega from Santa Monica to Sunset is incredibly steep. I was more exhausted after that one block than after the entire walk preceding. Once atop the hill, I caught my breath and took my time on the remaining five blocks to the movie theater. We saw The TV Set, a film about the conflict between art and commerce and how shitty network TV is as a result. It's sorta like Altman's The Player for the small screen. 

Posted: Mon - April 9, 2007 at 12:21 PM          

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