Greetings From LA #2

Thursday May 7, 2009

Everyone checks out of the Oxford Downtown Inn & Suites at 11.00am and we say our goodbyes. Tim and I are heading to LA while the others are going on to Nashville. The drive to the aiport is easy. Though the flight is delayed by nearly 50 minutes we still make it in to Los Angeles at 4.57pm. Pat and Guy arrive at 5.35pm to pick us up on their way back from Venice Beach. They are driving a red Kia, not quite a Mustang but probably cheaper to run. It is a bit of an anti-climax but we don’t mind as Guy hands us both a Samuel Adams beer and shoves some chips and snacks towards us.

We are staying at the Motel 6 in Hollywood and the drive through the back streets and via a circuitous route avoiding freeways is interesting. We check in and head off to the Orpheum Theater to see Van Morrison doing Astral Weeks. I have to say he is magnificent and I will write a longer review when I recover from the emotional impact. It is one of  the best concerts I have ever seen. Afterwards, Tim and I buy t-shirts but I do not have enough to buy the limited edition poster which is US$75. I should note that the first person we meet in the lobby is another Australian – Bill – and an Off The Record subscriber!

We hop in the car and drive back to the motel then walk up Sunset Boulevard to have a burger at Mel’s Diner and then visit Graumman’s Chinese Theater with its famous footprints and signatures.

Friday May 8, 2009

This morning I am sitting in the lobby of the Motel 6 in Hollywood, having just done my laundry. It will be nice to have some clean socks and jocks to wear home. Tim is sitting opposite me, having a coffee, wondering if he should have done his laundry. Too late. Now he is wondering if he should start his life all over again.

Actually, he is worried that he has run out of razor blades. He says he is happy he saw Van Morrison, and he is thankful to me for, not so much persuading him to go to see Van but ordering him to do so. He also says that Hollywood should be renamed Lollywood because there is so much eye candy around. It is one of those sorts of trips.

Today, we intend to got for breakfast with Pat and Guy at The Griddle, walk around Hollywood, visit Amoeba Records and then go to the airport to fly home.

Later…. Breakfast was enormous! I will not need to eat for a few days. We all go to American Vintage where Pat buys two pairs of cowboy boots for $85), Guy buys an overcoat for melbourne’s winter for $25 and Tim buys a pair of silly sunglasses for $10. Amazingly, I buy nothing despite the fact that I see a great leather motorcycle jacket for $38.

Pat and Guy then drop us at Amoeba Records and we say our goodbyes as they head off to Las Vegas for some more fun. Pat is driving around like a local. He has done a lot of groundwork here and found a great location and some excellent stores.

Amoeba is enormous and tempting but I am restrained. I buy Woody Allen’s Zelig and a couple of Johnny Otis CDs. We return to the motel where I sit and nap while Tim goes for a walk.

The shuttle arrives at 5.00pm and less than an hour later we are at LAX. Tim is off on Qantas and I am on United via Sydney. He is not happy that he has to negotiate check in by himself but I tell him he will be fine. I hope he gets on the right flight. I am worried that he might end up in Melbourne, Florida.

Now it is 15 minutes to boarding and I must go. I am looking forward to being home.  Until I talk to you from homebase, I hope you have a great weekend.