Life in the city

    It is funny how we close ourselves in when we are in the city.  But this morning as the sun rose and filled up the world with daylight, I saw openly the streets and their homes surrounded with old trees and bushes, the shops all quiet after a long night, and everything pretty and ugly, all here in the city.  I took a walk up to Griffith Park, which has trails that wind up the beautiful mountains butting up to the edge of town.  I came back down as the colors in the sky reminded me of a sunset.  Later, I walked out of the alley where we are staying and I asked a fair-looking young guy wearing a green down jacket, a Marmot I think, where another coffee shop was other than the Starbucks on Vermont St.  The It's a Grind I think it's called.  He did not know of it, as he was only visiting L.A.  I said I was too, and we walked in the opposite direction.  One block North and I was inside the Starbucks Coffee, and no sooner than 30 seconds passed and strolled in the guy in the green jacket.  We both chuckled.  "We were going to the same place."  I said.  I asked him where he was from.  "San Fransisco,"  he told me, "I am so hungover."  I let him know I was from West Virginia and out here with a cousin.  It urns out he is really from Detroit, and that it snows there, a lot, but the hills aren't quite like ours in W.V.  He sat outside after we got our coffees and smoked a cig, then disappeared.  I wonder, will I ever meet him again.
    Last  night we ate at a very good vegetarian and vegan restaurant.  It is called Green Leaves, and is run by Thai people.  I got the Rock and Roll Noodles, and some soy fish that looked like eggplant.  It was a healthy change from In-n-Out Burger and casino food I was eating in Las Vegas, and twice as tasty.  I believe you could take a meat lover here, and they would not be disappointed.  The shrimp, beef, and tofu was all made of soy, but looked and tasted like it should.  http://www.glvegan.com/

Also check the observatory in Griffith Park, just right up the street from here.
http://www.griffithobs.org/

Along with the amazing view from the Griffith Park mountains, is the http://bladerunnerthemovie.warnerbros.com/ house.  This is Hollywood baby!

    Today I plan to hit a skate park near Venice, and pick a little guitar down there.  There are so many parks here in L.A., it looks to me I will be busier here than I was in Vegas.  I almost visited all the parks there, but three weeks just wasn't quite long enough with all the hiking and resting we did.  One thing is for sure.  Southern California is warm, and for me to walk around jacketless in December is strangely like a dream in which you don't know what time of year it is.  But it is cold to the locals; it is looking like rain soon.  Ha, I tell people I brought the rainy east with me.  Ocean, city, mountains, L.A. has it all.  Even homeless folks, gnarly police, and anything you name is here.