Well I am about to leave the west coast, so Riley and I took one final trip to L.A. While driving over the mountains on I-15, we decided to see a taping of Craig Kilborn’s Late Late show. Riley called up OCA through the scant mountaintop cell reception, and we were put on the list with just under 2 hours until cameras. The guests were Ron Perlman from Hellboy and singer Ben Jelen, who autographed a poster for me. It really wasn’t a studio audience; it was more of an on call laugh box. My throat was dry and my hands were sore! I really needed a coke.
After the taping we met up with April and went out to dinner at Maria’s Italian Kitchen, along with a friend of Riley and April’s named Erin. The Shrimp Fra Diavolo was very spicy, “just how I like it”! I felt somewhat bad eating so late, as the restaurant was about to close, but the waitress was quite nice about it.
After dinner, Erin invited us to a house party which consisted of the people she knew from the trailer editors’ scene. It was a pretty fun party, albeit I didn’t know anyone and felt somewhat out of place. The D.J. was spinning up a good mix and the bartender smiled cheerfully as he made me free drinks. The ladies were actually dressed up, unlike most gathering in the Midwest. It is quite a cultural contrast that I have never figured out.
On the way back from the party, April realized she lost her phone. She took my pontiak-ak-ak on a high speed chase through the valley getting back to the party, which was quite fun! I felt like I was in a car chase on Dragnet. Pontiak-ak-ak proved she still likes taking the turns tight!
On Saturday we went out to lunch at Dolores Restaurant, which had a nice small town diner feel in the big city. We traveled out to the San Monica pier and then ventured on to Venice Beach. The boardwalk reminded me of markets in Matamoras Mexico, but the items here had a little more class. The salty ocean breeze was a pleasant change from the desert sands of Nevada, and I wish we could have spent a few more days there.