That's so L.A.

I had written this long post when I arrived the other day at Rick and Mich's house about our beautiful drive down to LA, and our (and then my) nights at Allison's, but I accidentally deleted it. I was so angry about it that I couldn't bear to try and write it again. Here are the main points, then I'll talk about the last couple of days:

-After the wedding brunch on Sunday, me, Oliver, Kinnon, Tee and Jess all drove down from Ojai to LA, along the Pacific Coast Highway whenever possible. 

-I can never get enough of the ocean, just staring at it. Sitting on the shores, whether East or West, I can stare into the ocean and see everything and nothing all at once. The horizon presents the promise of something on the other side, we just have to trust/know it's there (there's a metaphor there but I won't insult anyone's intelligence by belaboring the point).

-Oliver and Tee are crazy, and we stopped so they could jump in the freezing ocean. 

-After lunch in Venice, we went to an indoor-outdoor bar in Santa Monica, which was PACKED. We wondered if anyone actually had jobs, as this was a Sunday afternoon.

-We took a $25 Uber cab that lasted 4 minutes to go meet Allison's friends at a bar. We walked back, upon our insistence. Apparently everyone takes cabs here.

-Had a lovely dinner at Eveleigh. Our server had just moved out here a year ago from NYC, where he had worked at my favorite late-night joint, Blue Ribbon. 

-The next morning, we drove up to the Hollywood sign, so we could take some touristy photos. This accomplished, the others piled in the car, it wouldn't start, then finally got a jump and drove to the airport. 

-Monday night, Allison and I went to the Hot Tub, a comedy showcase at the Virgil in East Hollywood hosted by Kristen Schaal (she played the really weird page in 30 Rock who dated Kenneth). It was surprisingly funny, given that it was mostly experimental comedy, as well as a forum where comedians could try out new material. 

 Tuesday, Rick picked me up and brought me to his house. He and Mich live in this beautiful residential neighborhood that is perfectly serene, especially given how close it is to Hollywood Boulevard (more on that in a minute). He had a meeting, so I went shopping unsuccessfully, then after his meeting we went to Buffalo Exchange, where we both had a lot more success. After that, he had to go out for a bit, so I sat down and wrote the aforementioned doomed blog post, then when he came back we went out and got sushi. Yesterday morning, I got up and after looking at a map, realized how close they live to Hollywood Boulevard, like less than a mile! I spent the morning doing the touristy thing, walking up and down the Boulevard, looking for stars, then I went to the Hollywood Museum. It's in the old Max Factor building, where supposedly stars like Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball got their makeup done (in the same rooms that were preserved for people to gawk at now). A few highlights: the pill bottle found with Marilyn when she died, Elvis's tattered, peanut-butter-stained bathrobe, and a replica of Hannibal Lecter's cell. It really is the little things for me. Last night, we had a little dinner party with their friends from Australia and their roommate Dan, which was really fun. Today we are puttering around a bit, then I'm off to Susan's for my last night in LA!!! More later, miss everyone!  PS the picture above is of Pam Anderson and David Hasselhoff's swimsuits from Baywatch. I texted Oliver a picture.