Destination: Los Angeles
Dates: Oct 4- Oct 8, 2015
Reason: AdobeMax conference (Julia), Vacation (Scott)
Day 1 October 4th, 2015
We left for CVG at 4:45am. I didn’t pack until after we had dropped the dogs off at my parent’s house the night before, so I was on about 2 hours of sleep. Our flights were no problem; a short, rainy hop to Atlanta; Julia grabbed a tasty crepe in Jackson-Hartfield, and we had an uneventful jaunt into LAX. We passed Las Vegas and flew over Death Valley. Once again, I was astonished at how immense Los Angeles and its surrounding environs are. It felt like we flew over the city for a long time before we actually landed.
Cabs were abundant at the airport, and our driver got us safely to the downtown Courtyard Marriott with no trouble or traffic. He was kind of a jerk because we were going to pay with a card, so Julia relented and paid cash.
Coming from the south side of downtown, I pointed out the Hollywood sign in the distance. Julia was unimpressed by its size. I explained that we were many miles away.
It was only about noon when we got settled in, but we were tired from traveling, so we napped until 3:00pm. Julia then wanted to find the location of her conference, so we explored a little. We ate at a place called Smashburger right by the Staples Center (just a couple blocks from our hotel). The food was good and filling, and a cold beer finished it off. I admired the statues of sports figures around the arena, especially Magic Johnson, and then we returned to the hotel and watched a movie while we digested.
Around 7:00pm, we walked several blocks to a small outdoor mall. The main point of the sojourn was Target, to get some snacks and beer for the hotel room. It was about 70 degrees or so; very pleasant for a walk. We got our stuff, returned to the room, and called it a night.
Day 2 October 5th, 2015
Julia woke early since she had to register for the conference at 8:00am. I walked with her to find the exact spot and once she was good, headed back to the room. I picked up a breakfast sandwich and read all morning (Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian).
We met up for lunch and ate at a restaurant called Live Basil Pizza. It was done Chipotle-style and was fairly good. After lunch she returned to the conference and I went back to the hotel room. I planned on walking to Pershing Square, a nearby park, but it rained hard so I stayed in and read and watched a movie.
Julia came back around 7:00pm and we went across the street to a bar called the Yardhouse. It’s a chain- we’d been to the one in Cincinnati- so it wasn’t too exciting. After the bar we returned and went to bed.
(Note from the future- We stopped at a Starbucks right outside the Staples Center in the morning. Julia approached a woman with a trained pomeranian, who was doing tricks while wearing a tiny shirt. After a short conversation and lots of dog petting, the woman handed Julia a card and we went on our way. Several weeks later, we found out that we had met “JiffPom”, a veritable Instagram star! He had 10.4 million followers as of 2021.)
Day 3 October 6th, 2015
The first class of the day for Julia was at 8:00am, so she left early again. She sat next to a woman with 2 French bulldogs, which I was fairly certain she would steal. I stayed in the hotel room and read.
She came back for a break in the afternoon and we went on an adventure. Pershing Square is a one block by one block park in the heart of downtown LA. It was about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. The weather was beautiful. We crossed through the jewelry district, which consisted of shop after shop with glittering window displays. Julia got a little discouraged walking there because it took a bit longer than expected to get there and we had to divert around some construction.
When we finally got to Pershing Square we were able to relax. The architecture was bright and angular, but with the drought that was going on the water features weren’t running (even with the previous day’s rain). We walked around the park for a bit, then sat and enjoyed the moment. It was really neat to look around at the various types of art styles used on the buildings downtown.
Heading back we went through the garment and fashion district. On the way we found a little consignment boutique run by the FIDM. The proceeds went toward providing scholarships for the students. The clothing was trendy and very cheap. We left with several t-shirts.
Julia went back to classes when we returned and I settled back into the hotel room. I read and watched a movie and some baseball while I waited. Nick Offerman was the celebrity speaker at AdobeMax, and Julia was over the moon that she got to see him. She came back after the show with starstruck eyes. Then we went out to eat.
We had soup dumplings at a little place across the street. They were very tasty. I had a drink that mixed tequila and ginger beer. It was interesting. Calamari rounded out our dinner. After we finished we came back to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 4 October 7th, 2015
When Julia came back from class around 1:00pm we had finally reached the point where we could do some sightseeing! I finished my book in the morning, so I was good and ready. We set up an Uber account and caught a ride to Hollywood.
Our journey started on the east end of Hollywood Boulevard. We walked past landmarks like the old famous hotels and Musso & Frank’s. We popped into Musso & Frank’s but we weren’t dressed well and the prices were high. Continuing down we were having fun looking at the stars on the Walk of Fame. We decided to do the Hollywood Wax Museum, which we discovered was creepier than we expected. Afterward we headed down to the Chinese Theater. The Latin Grammys were happening at the nearby Dolby Theater, so the road was blocked off for the red carpet event.
At the Chinese Theater we had a great time looking for our favorite celebrities. I found Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant. Julia found the Harry Potter and Twilight casts. We continued down the street after, then headed back east on the other side of the boulevard. An Uber picked us up and we went over to Beverly Hills. The driver was chatty, but very nice and funny.
In Beverly Hills we walked up and down Rodeo Drive, window shopping some of the most expensive stores on the planet. Of course there were no price tags, but I’m sure some of the clothing cost more than I made in a year. We had a great time nonetheless. At one point we passed a small cafe and the members of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (hipster indie band) were casually drinking on the patio, just an arm’s length away from us.
Catching an Uber back to the hotel, we got to cruise through ritzy neighborhoods and- the highlight of the ride for Julia- Koreatown. The next time we’re in LA we’ll spend some time there. Our driver was professional, but a little reckless for our tastes.
Back in the room, we got more soup dumplings and went to bed.
Day 5 October 8th, 2015
It was time to go home. We packed in the morning and prepared for our flight, a two-hopper with a stop in Salt Lake City.
Julia had prudently reserved a town car to take us to the airport. It picked us up at 11:00am. Riding in a Lincoln town car was fun. The seats were ultra comfortable, with tons of leg room. However, traffic was bad, and our driver was terrible. By the time we arrived at the airport I was so car sick that I was on the verge of vomiting. Luckily, we got to the terminal without incident.
LAX was under construction and atrocious. We didn’t have to wait long to board, though. Julia got a ham sandwich for the jump to SLC. The flight itself was fine and gave us views of Death Valley again and the foothills of the Rockies.
At Salt Lake City we found out that rap artist Wiz Khalifa had been on our flight. We boarded for Cincinnati and had another easy flight. Julia slept the whole way and I read a little. Unfortunately I did spill ginger ale on myself, but survived. We finally got home just before midnight after a short stop at Taco Bell. The next day we picked the dogs up from my parents.
Robinsons on the Road 