Saturday Heading to Ho- Ho- Hollywood

As a result of the combination of yesterday's walking and almost emptying the bottle of Chardonnay, I fall asleep at 8:30 pm.  I first wake up at 6:30 but then  continue sleeping to 8 am.  Holy SLEEP !

Then it hits me: Today is THE DAY !  I'm going to leave the beaches of LA and actually head INLAND, throwing myself right in the midst of 13 Million people. Holy ANXIETY !

But these beach cities are almost too quiet.  Sunset Beach doesn't even have to have any poor people (The police drive them across the county line?) The local newspaper on display in the motel office complains about 'unknown perpetrators using a stencil to leave graffiti on Main Street, and I get to witness the result of this atrocious act personally during a short walk.

This whole tiny hamlet must be in terror as a result of this ;-)

Bus #1 (that's the actual #) is only 5 minutes late.  Unfortunately, I exit at a premature stop (Google Maps is having a moment) and the bus only runs every 60 minutes. Walking time again ;-)



Crossing the county line on foot again

But when I reach the bus stop for #171, Google is back at work and after 10 minute wait, I take the 171 to the Blue Line at Long Beach Boulevard.  There is someone with a megaphone shouting something in Spanish.  A revolutionary or religious fanatic?

The Blue Line (Rapid Rail Transit) is interrupted and the gap is bridged by shuttle buses.

I board the Blue Line again and after a trip through Terminator country

and Compton, apparently famous for its rap scene and murder rate,

I arrive at 7th Street to change to the Red Line with Zero wait, tapping my tap card at all the right locations.

The Pantages Theatre

I arrive in The Hotel Hollywood.  I get room # 104.  James Dean stayed in #102 !!!


















When I go out on the street for my first cigarette, it is POURING! I'm wearing sandals sans socks and a T-shirt.



However, the California drought doesn't seem to be in danger since the sun is back one hour later.

The Pantages arriving for a starry night

 

I walk around trying to find somewhere decent to eat but fail. I walk past the Pantages Theatre and  notice all the youngish women in scant dresses giving me strange little smiles.  It takes a moment to register what's going on here.  All those once aspiring actresses and actors still have to eat even I they don't get a role.  Note: I had picked the title of this post before even seeing this. No wonder all the waiters are so pretty here as I notice again when eating in some overpriced Mexican-Asian fusion (!) restaurant around the corner from the Pantages.

Hollywood & Vine actually reminds me of Main & Hastings in Vancouver.  I give my restaurant change to a young guy with a blanket over his shoulders who is diving through garbage cans. The discrepancy between the red carpets, the cameras & brightly lit ad-littered interview backgrounds on the one hand and the rampant human misery on the other hand is sickening.

And this is all before tomorrow morning's shooting. Don't you hate cliff-hangers ? ;-)