I currently sit atop a flight of stairs outside my room at the Travelodge Motel (which turned out to be the best room we've stayed at), just south of LAX (LA airport). I am getting internet access from somebody's house across the street (I think), and it blinks in and out, but I think I'll be okay. We just got back from a whirlwind dinner with Brian Whitman, the man who did all of our voice impersonations for the Rocky Allen Show in it's New York and Detroit incarnations. A truly nice guy, he is a blast to hang around with, and one of the few people who can keep up with Amber's and my rapid pace of conversation when we get excited. I think that is the best word to describe the dinner. Excited. There were stories upon stories upon stories. Of course by 10:30, he had to leave to go to bed (he works for KIIS in L.A. on Ryan Seacrest's morning show as their voice guy), but we luckily convinced him to join us again tomorrow for more of the hijinks that only Brian Whitman can create.
Coachella was hot as a bastard. The past three days have been laden with record-setting heat in Southern California. At the festival, the afternoon temperatures reached in the 105 to 110 range. Oh, sweet Jesus it was hot. I didn't think I would ever complain about heat after leaving the cold days of Michigan, but I did and I am. Today was in triple digits again through much of Los Angeles, but it was much cooler when we got to the airport, which is near the ocean.
The Festival itself was great. I saw a ton of good bands, and many impressed - like Radiohead,(who actually played "Creep") the Killers (who have yet to release an album, but I have seen them twice in concert. They are awesome.), Electric Six, and of course the Flaming Lips. The Flaming Lips put on a great show as always, but ran out of time because they were too busy doing show stuff and talking. They only played four songs in their set, but when the lead singer descends from Outer Space in a bubble, which he then uses to crowd surf to the stage, you're given a pass. (Actually, he told us to tell everyone he descended from Outer Space, but he truthfully inflated a large plastic ball, got inside, and then rolled out into the crowd for a few minutes. I have pictures.)
Speaking of pictures, I have over 200 from Vegas and Coachella. I'll be winnowing them down the next day or two and posting them by Wednesday. I'll start a seperate Coachella album, because there are just too many pictures.
(Back to today) Brian recommended we check out Santa Monica before we met him for dinner -- and it was amazing. Even though the rest of the city was drowning in a heat wave and power outages (Brian had no power), Santa Monica and Venice Beach were just beautiful. Amber and I are currently trying to find a way so that we can just live there. We don't care what it takes, because every day of your life will be a joy when you can see and smell the ocean and feel the breeze. I know I won't be living there probably ever, but for now I can dream.
Off to sleep, to prepare for more Brian Whitman tomorrow. We roped him into more hanging out, and I can't wait.
I sit again atop the stairs at the Travelodge LAX South, this time posting around two dozen pictures to the Images section. The pictures are now caught up until Coachella. With around 200 pictures from Coachella, that's going to take quite some more time. Maybe I'll do it in the car tomorrow as we ride to San Francisco.
It looks like we're going to drive up the "5" to SF as the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) would be much more beautiful, but also much, much slower. Having seen what the PCH has to offer yesterday at Santa Monica, I feel we have taken in all that we really need to take in.
Today, we didn't do a heck of a lot. We checked out Sunset Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, and Mulholland Drive - getting some great views of downtown L.A. and the San Fernando Valley. It took awhile, and it put us right in the backyard of one Brian Whitman - so we got together again for another animated meal. We ended up talking for about four hours through the meal and ice cream and standing outside his beautiful house (possibly previously owned by Vincent Price), and we still left feeling like we had so much more ground to cover conversationally. We didn't check out the L.A. nightlife, but Amber and I don't think we possibly could have had more fun than we had over the past two days hanging out with Brian. Plus, he treated us to dinner again, which really helps the trip stay on budget.
Well, I'm crossing my fingers for a good trip to SF, where I plan on meeting up with my cousins, Conroy and Mike Boylan. It was Mike's Birthday Tuesday, so this is a belated birthday wish.
I am pretty confident of our ability to get WiFi in the home of Silicon Valley, so the pictures and blogs should continue.
Check out the new Vegas pics.
P.S. The band I'm giving much buzz "The Killers" - who have yet to release an album - had their single played on KROQ today. It took me a minute to place it, but I was very happy. The Killers Fever - Catch It!
I'm about an hour away from meeting my cousins, Conroy and Mike for the first time in two years, (closer to four for Mike). SF has been much cooler temperature-wise than So Cal. It's always temperate here which agrees with me but may be a little too cold for Amber, who despite being born in Michigan, is completely unable to generate her own body heat.
Saw Alcatraz and most of SF, including the too awesome for words "Tonga Room" in the basement of the Fairmont Hotel. It is a Polynesian themed bar, with thatch umbrellas over the tables, tropical drinks -- and oh yes -- an indoor pool that gets filled by the "thunderstorm" that strikes every fifteen minutes. What, you say?
Yes, they have set up an indoor rain, accompanied by cheesy thunder and flashing lights for lightning. Too awful for words, the place is spectactular. Pictures later.
Speaking of, Coachella pix are up, with no captions or titles. I have to run.
We're back. We returned Tuesday evening at 9:45PM. We put over 6,000 miles on the car over 16 days, and I still have about 250 pictures to sort through and post.
Amber and I have been on a "media blackout" for the past three days as we have been trying to not find out who won Survivor. When we left there were six people left, so we had to sit through the last three shows and the reunion. I just want to quickly say that this has been the best season since the beginning and maybe even better than the first.
Well, time to sleep. There will be much posting and pictures et al. tomorrow.
I actually get to sleep in my own bed!
