I spent a couple of days in Escondido with my friend and about 300 of her closets friends. You think I'm kidding? Well, sort of, but at times it almost seemed I was living in a youth hostel. One of her temporary residents took me on a tour of San Diego. The highlights included shopping at Horton Plaza, seeing one of the beachfront bars where Blink 182 got their start and a trip out to Coronado Island. It was a memorable time, and even with the uncertainty of the living quarters San Diego was a fun experience.

Beverly Hills (Santa Monica Blvd)

Then a sudden turn of events, my friend and her husband revealed a camping trip they had been planning for the desert and I was invited to go along. This put me in tight spot. I didn't really want to spend what could be my only trip to Southern California in the middle of nowhere. So I suggested we part ways and I would travel on my own up the California coast to Los Angeles and San Francisco. So I packed up the Neon and began my trek on a Saturday morning.

On my way to Los Angeles, I decided to bypass all of the normal ways into Los Angeles and went by way of Long Beach and Compton. Call it morbid curiosity, or all those years of listening to Dr. Dre and N.W.A. albums, I just knew a trip to Cali wouldn't be complete without being able to say I had been to South Central. Now before you call the psychiatrist, let it be known I never left the Beach Freeway. My efforts were rewarded when I saw the Shania Twain billboard. I couldn't help but wonder how many of the hommies were thumpin' country while pumping the hydraulics.

Hollywood (that white blob is the Hollywood sign)

Once I arrived in L. A., I made a quick bypass of downtown and moved right into Hollywood. First I drove to the corner Hollywood and Vine and then took the back roads trying to find the mountain where the world famous Hollywood sign resided. Little did I know this I had to traverse private drives and residential abodes, plus a hike to reach a quality photo range. When I took a distant shot of the sign with my camera, it came out as a blurb (technical term for "it came out like crap").

Next, I drove through, or should I say "got lost" in Studio City. I found the set for Home Improvement and found Warner Brothers studios but soon departed for Sunset Boulevard.

Rodeo Drive

For all of the dissuading I received about going to Los Angeles, I was having a great time seeing all the places I had only heard about. The area is basically a condensed mecca of entertainment. I knew my one afternoon in town would not be enough to see everything I wanted to see.

I made my way southwest down Venice Boulevard to Rodeo Drive. I was too afraid for my wallet to stop and window shop. Not because of muggers, but because of price...you know, legalized mugging. In fact I was so worried for my remaining funds, that the only picture of Rodeo I took was from the car window.

Once I made it to Venice Beach I was shocked and amazed to see - the people weren't so strange. I sometimes wonder if its reputation is to keep it from getting too crowded. The beach itself was nice with plenty of shops. Wanting to be one with the ocean, I took a good hour long walk along the beach and looked at seagulls, sunbathers and dodged occasional rollerbladers.

> Malibu to Monterey