Although LACMA had much more to offer, I only saw a little bit more from the other collections. (Oddly, just like the New Orleans Art Museum I visited a few years ago, I noticed in the rooms the really priceless art (Picasso, Monet, Warhol, etc.) was located, there seemed to be less of a guard presence.) By mid-afternoon, my body was giving out and after looking at my sweat-soaked shirt and beet red face in the restroom mirror, I decided I needed to call it a day. Damned I was pissed. Was this my prior day's drinking or my chronic health issues or my obesity or the heat? Or maybe all of the above.
Then to make matters worse, as I prepared to get on the bus back to downtown I felt for my Metro card, which still had a good $12 or $11 on it and it was gone. Sure enough, as I had to let the bus pull away, leaving me on the sun-baked curb, I realized I'd somehow lost it. I had cash but nothing smaller than a ten so I had to go to the 99 Cent or Less store, passing a particularly pungent homeless guy in the aisles, to buy a bottle of water so I could get change for the bus. I caught the next one and luckily it had one seat available but I had to pry my fat self in-between a tough-looking Hispanic guy sleeping slumped on the seat and a burly black dude with a hard hat. As we passed by the famous MacArthur Park, I saw all the people trying to escape the heat, jammed, and I mean jam-packed along the tread-bare grassy knolls, litter-strewn pathways and graffiti-covered picnic tables. Not meaning to sound racist, but it was a sea of black and brown. This was the real LA.
The next day, my last full day in LA, I scaled back my plans since I realized recovery from my symptoms was going to be slower than I expected. I woke up still feeling like crap and, as I expected, I was again weak and a sweaty mess throughout the day. So instead of Exposition Park and the Natural History Museum, instead of historic downtown LA and instead of Santa Monica Pier, I opted to use the easy (and somewhat cleaner) transit mode of the subway and went back to Hollywood. But again I was overcome by the heat and my ability to endure even a walk from Highland to Vine, maybe a quarter of a mile, was just about all I could muster.
I did make it, kinda by accidentally stumbling on it, to the In and Out Burger I'd planned on visiting and had a really good cheeseburger with fries there. But it was extremely crowded and by this point in this adventurous week, I'd had my fill of crowds. I can hold my social anxieties at bay only so long before I start to feel paranoia and threatened by throngs of people. I was way over it.
After lunch, I decided to go to the famous Cinerama Dome theater (now Arclight Theater) and chose whatever movie was available which was "The Drop" which I think was James Gandolfini's last film. It wasn't that bad. Normally I would have waited for a movie like this to come out on Netflix but it was okay. The only other option available at that hour was "Dolphin Tale 2".
When buying my ticket the cashier held up what looked to be a tablet computer showing an diagram of the theater seating and asked me to select which seat I wanted. Aside from the obvious foolishness of having assigned seating for a half-empty matinee showing, I swear that the hipster millennial actually rolled his eyes as he flatly told me "Sir, it's not a touchscreen." when I attempted to press my preferred seat on the screen. On closer examination it turned out this display was just a tablet-sized backlit sign and I was supposed to just tell him the seat number verbally. Really Mr. Smartass Cashier? How low-fucking tech is that? It's your generation that got us used to the touchscreen-everything existence all around us. Roll your eyes at me like I'm a moron again, I'll show you what a "clueless" middle-aged dinosaur can do to you. Well, of course I didn't say that...out loud that is.
After the movie, the timing was right for one more activity, but I was still physically depleted. Partly because it would have meant another $50 or so in cab fare and partly because of how I felt, sadly I had to give up one of the venues I'd been most looking forward to for this trip...going to see Griffith Observatory. And as for my dream of hiking up to it...seeing it high up on its mountain peak in real life made me realize that even in great shape I doubt I could do it. I could also spot what I assumed was Runyon Canyon trail from Hollywood Blvd. and I have no idea how people can do it. Just the fear of heights alone would prevent me from doing it, let alone the physical requirements.
Here are some of the final shots I took of the Capitol Records Building, Hollywood and Vine, the Cinerama Dome (Arclight), the Pantages Theater and an ornamental display of old style movie cameras at the subway entrance on Hollywood at Vine. Also, a near rush-hour shot of the 110 Freeway downtown.
Then to make matters worse, as I prepared to get on the bus back to downtown I felt for my Metro card, which still had a good $12 or $11 on it and it was gone. Sure enough, as I had to let the bus pull away, leaving me on the sun-baked curb, I realized I'd somehow lost it. I had cash but nothing smaller than a ten so I had to go to the 99 Cent or Less store, passing a particularly pungent homeless guy in the aisles, to buy a bottle of water so I could get change for the bus. I caught the next one and luckily it had one seat available but I had to pry my fat self in-between a tough-looking Hispanic guy sleeping slumped on the seat and a burly black dude with a hard hat. As we passed by the famous MacArthur Park, I saw all the people trying to escape the heat, jammed, and I mean jam-packed along the tread-bare grassy knolls, litter-strewn pathways and graffiti-covered picnic tables. Not meaning to sound racist, but it was a sea of black and brown. This was the real LA.
The next day, my last full day in LA, I scaled back my plans since I realized recovery from my symptoms was going to be slower than I expected. I woke up still feeling like crap and, as I expected, I was again weak and a sweaty mess throughout the day. So instead of Exposition Park and the Natural History Museum, instead of historic downtown LA and instead of Santa Monica Pier, I opted to use the easy (and somewhat cleaner) transit mode of the subway and went back to Hollywood. But again I was overcome by the heat and my ability to endure even a walk from Highland to Vine, maybe a quarter of a mile, was just about all I could muster.
I did make it, kinda by accidentally stumbling on it, to the In and Out Burger I'd planned on visiting and had a really good cheeseburger with fries there. But it was extremely crowded and by this point in this adventurous week, I'd had my fill of crowds. I can hold my social anxieties at bay only so long before I start to feel paranoia and threatened by throngs of people. I was way over it.
After lunch, I decided to go to the famous Cinerama Dome theater (now Arclight Theater) and chose whatever movie was available which was "The Drop" which I think was James Gandolfini's last film. It wasn't that bad. Normally I would have waited for a movie like this to come out on Netflix but it was okay. The only other option available at that hour was "Dolphin Tale 2".
When buying my ticket the cashier held up what looked to be a tablet computer showing an diagram of the theater seating and asked me to select which seat I wanted. Aside from the obvious foolishness of having assigned seating for a half-empty matinee showing, I swear that the hipster millennial actually rolled his eyes as he flatly told me "Sir, it's not a touchscreen." when I attempted to press my preferred seat on the screen. On closer examination it turned out this display was just a tablet-sized backlit sign and I was supposed to just tell him the seat number verbally. Really Mr. Smartass Cashier? How low-fucking tech is that? It's your generation that got us used to the touchscreen-everything existence all around us. Roll your eyes at me like I'm a moron again, I'll show you what a "clueless" middle-aged dinosaur can do to you. Well, of course I didn't say that...out loud that is.
After the movie, the timing was right for one more activity, but I was still physically depleted. Partly because it would have meant another $50 or so in cab fare and partly because of how I felt, sadly I had to give up one of the venues I'd been most looking forward to for this trip...going to see Griffith Observatory. And as for my dream of hiking up to it...seeing it high up on its mountain peak in real life made me realize that even in great shape I doubt I could do it. I could also spot what I assumed was Runyon Canyon trail from Hollywood Blvd. and I have no idea how people can do it. Just the fear of heights alone would prevent me from doing it, let alone the physical requirements.
Here are some of the final shots I took of the Capitol Records Building, Hollywood and Vine, the Cinerama Dome (Arclight), the Pantages Theater and an ornamental display of old style movie cameras at the subway entrance on Hollywood at Vine. Also, a near rush-hour shot of the 110 Freeway downtown.
