Having spent a day resting up in Delano, Charlotte and I woke to a sunny day with an as yet to be determined agenda
On the trip down from Yosemite, I’d noticed that Charlotte had developed a slight brake shudder, so I knew I needed to pull in somewhere and have her checked out. Delano wasn’t up to the task so we headed South, in the direction of Bakersfield.
Arriving there, Firestone were offering a free wheel alignment and brake check for the Holidays, so I rang up and booked an appointment for the afternoon. After pfaffing about for the rest of the morning, my scheduled slot duly arrived and I handed over the keys.
30 mins later, the news I had expected – new brake pads were required on the front, and new rotors on the back (I actually got taken out to see the cracks in the drums)
What was meant to be about an hrs work slipped into 2, then 2 and a half, and it was late on Friday evening that I was handed back the keys, after exchanging $400 for Charlotte’s new shoes.
Another Walmart overnight stay, and a decision had to be made – head back to LA over the weekend, or stay and check out the local area.
The lattter idea prevailed – the weekend was spent catching up on laundry, relaxing with a few craft beers at Lengthwise Brewery, where I discovered they made a Cyber Beer Bully Ale! Never knew Nathan’s influence extended across the pond!
Soon enough Monday came around and it was back to LA, with the idea of travelling the coast road down to San Diego before heading west to Las Vegas and eventually Slab City.
The drive back to LA was pretty quiet – once there I got a chance to cross off a few of the spots I’d missed the first time around.
The Hollywood Bowl was a must – the first vinyl I ever bought was the Beatles live at the Hollywood Bowl. Unfortunately the museum was closed, but that meant that I got the arena pretty much all to myself!
After that it was off the La Brea Tar Pits – honestly I was underwhelmed, but when I next read them in some cheezy Americana novel I’ll have a picture to put to the name
And finally it was off to Venice beach – that bastion of craziness and kookiness by the ocean. I was not disappointed – from the pervasive medical marijuana “diagnosis” stations, to the rats at Muscle Beach Gym, to the 4 year old kid learning to skateboard among the hordes doing tricks in the bowl, to the unique fashion statements being made all along the boardwalk, and the old guys playing half court tennis at an intensity and competitiveness of a Grand Slam Final it was everything I wanted it to be!
But my favourite person was this guy – a true clean cut earnest All American type trying to sell Health Insurance to all and sundry. A tough gig, but at least the office is outside, and it was a sunny day. Watching him over my lunch, he barely got anyone interested, but was super happy to hand out water bottles to all and sundry.
A quick detour to capture a snap of the original Ronda Rousey mural for Kate before Charlotte and I started down the coast road towards San Diego, trusting in the road to take us to our camping spot for the night.
