SUNDAY: 07 NOV 2004
amanda work up very early west coast time (3am perhaps?), but she was forced to try to sleep more because, ya know, that was just way too early. i woke up early, too, but at a more reasonable 7am. we had our complimentary continental bfast at the hotel (well, we paid for it indirectly) and considered what to do in southern california. we decided to head to the la brea tar pits. i knew they were in southern california, but i had no idea they were practically in the middle of downtown la.

actually, before we headed out to the museum, we drove out to find where amanda was going to have her interview. it turned out to be very close… maybe a fifteen minute drive.

we got there around 9am, but the museum did not open for another hour, so we walked about the area for a bit. there were many people bustling about outside the museum (which has a surprising amount of space outside where the tarpits are located); there was a animal rescue fair scheduled were people could see and adopt animals. they were still setting up, tho. it was a bit windy and rainy, so we hoped the weather would clear up for them. amanda was still slightly hungry and wanted to have more coffee, so we stopped by a nearby ihop for additional bfast for her and lunch for me.

[ i am typing this portion on the plane from pittsburgh to seattle. they are showing the manchurian candidate again. ]

after second bfast for amanda, we headed out to the museum. it was cool, tho a bit smaller than i expected due to the size of the building. however, the nonpublic portions were probablhy more expansive to store all of the fossils and whatnot. obviously, there were many many fossils displayed. clearly, lots of things ended up dying in the tarpits. we watched slightly harsh video on a possible sequence:

• tarpit gets covered with water, so it looks like a shallow pond
• passing herbivore gets thristy and absent mindedly steps out into hidden tarpit
• herbivore gets way stuck and cries out piteously
• herbivore either dies of thrist or starvation or
• perhaps the weakened herbivore gets attacked by a sabertoothed cat or a pack of dire wolves
• perhaps said opportunistic predators then get stuck themselves
• and afterwards, perhaps the carcasses are set upon by carrions birds
• who get caught themselves

etc. etc. etc. for thousands of years. pretty harsh. although the museum pointed out that only one animals need get trapped every then years or so to account for the volume of fossils present. there was a display outside the museum in a large pond of a mastadon creature getting stuck with its horrified spouse and baby watching in distress. amanda did not like the display.

the museum also pointed out that any fossil with a dark brown/black patina came from a tar substrate of kind. now you know.
unfortunately, there were a least large groups of very young children (20+ each) who, as one might expect, were highly energetic and noisy and running about everywhere. we had to move quickly through the museum to keep ahead of them.

afterwards, the animal fair was in full swing and the rain had stopped. there were mainly cats and dogs, but there were also a few rabbits and other animals. we looked for a while until i got depressed at all the sad animals. well, most of the dogs were not all that sad, but as one mught expect many of the kitties were all freaked out and frightened and shakey.

there was a pair of purebred himalayans (who did not seem all that sad actually) whose owner was “going to be in jail for a long time, and we were found in his apartment.” amanda speculated that the owner was a mega drug dealer.

there were many museums in the area, but we decided to just drive about. it was interesting seeing streets and places and whatnot i had heard about through movies or just watching random tv throughout the years.

we headed north to hollywood to see check out what the big deal was (as we could see the hollywood sign from the freeway). it turned out that polar express, an animated christmas season movie with tom hanks providing many speaking parts, was opening that afternoon at that famous chinese theatre that always has these things. there were security guys in men-in-black suits and sunglasses everywhere, and a wide area around the entrance was completely blocked off. there was even a red carpet. there were many many people hanging about looking, i presume, for famous people to arrive. we did not hang around for that, but i did see two sullen twentysomethings step out of a limo and make their way into the the theatre area. don’t know if they were famous or not as i did not recognize them.

we ended up not staying very long. we walked about a bit, got some refreshments, and looked at some of the stars in the sidewalk (the hollywood “walk of fame”), but we were not overly impressed. amanda said hollywood looked like a slightly more well-to-do version of niagara falls, and i had to agree.

after leaving hollywood, we consulted our aaa map and decided to head up the hills north of la and drive west down mulholland drive (another thing we were vaguely familiar with for some reason) to santa monica. we stopped at a couple of lookouts (which unfortunately smelled of urine) to take in the vast la megopolis. we did not see a lot of smog, but i could see how it could get really nasty.

the road was very serpentine, and there were expensive looking houses and compounds (i.e. with multiple buildings and perhaps a guard house) everywhere. there was nota whole lot of open space.

we eventually headed down into beverly hills, and not surprisingly the houses got bigger and more expensive looking. i was more stuck with all the expensive cars around that i did not recognize. we joked that the beverly hills authorities immediately detected our rented neon and were tracking us as we drove through. there were also people on the side of the road selling “star maps” which indicated where various celebrities lived. amanda and i agree that was creepy and stalkerish.
santa monica looked like a much more developed beach/entertainment/shopping area than redondo or hermosa beach. we walked on their pier (i guess every beach has its own pier) and rode a ferris wheel at a carnival area. it was the only ride open tho, perhaps because of the season. we relaxed a bit looking at the ocean and watching fisherman, but they did not seem to be catching much perhaps due to a sea lion we saw swimming about. one person did get lucky, but amanda did not want to watch her reel the poor fish in, so we took off to check out santa monica pedestrian shopping district. on the way off the pier i was accosted by a slightly touched person who gave me a sinister look and told me “the beast is going to eat you!” maybe.

we were more into looking for a place to eat rather than shopping, but we walked about and looked in the stores from the outside and watched various street performers and all that jazz. we ate a asian place called “monsoon” that was decorated inside like some pacific island reed dining hall. in spite of the weird decor, the food was very good and their mixed drinks were very strong.

after dinner, it was not all that late, but we were beat and headed back to the hotel. amanda did have an interview tomorrow after all. she went to sleep while i stayed up and watched tv.

MONDAY: 08 NOV 2004
after our continental bfast, amanda headed out to her interview. i tried to get the internet working in the room, but ditched it (it was not free anyway), and then idly worked and watched local tv and news to get more of a feel of the area.

the day passed rather quickly, and amanda came home early in the afternoon. she got a weird vibe about the place. i dragged her to a nearby long john silvers because i was starving and forced her to watch me eat a fish’n’more. we then headed out to long beach to check out the aquarium of the pacific.

on the way, we passed through a huge port and saw rows and rows and ships and packing containers, and cranes and whatnot. it was a very koyaanisqatsi-like scene.

once at the aquarium, we were kinda put off but the admission price (~$19) especially since it would only be open for another hour or so once we got there. we went in anyway, and it was definitely worth it as there were many cool things to see. we save many varieties of jelly fish.. one which had what looked like rows of flashing christmas lights. there was a giant octopus that we actually saw move about with tentacles moving everwhere. a women who was there with her son whom i guess was a member who came all the time said that it wsa the first time she had seen it not sleeping after years. there were cool cuttlefish that were prowling around in a shallow thanks like alien hands continously changing color and slurping down shrimp. we saw a colorful mantis shrimp that we some a worker trying to feed (actually the worker was behind the display so we just saw his hand waving about a little fish implared on a stick), but the animal was not interested. i guess the shrimp was not one of “thumbsplitter” varieties as the worker stuck his hand (!) in the small tank to pick up the fish that had fallen off the stick. there were other crazy sea creatures like the leafy sea dragon that looked like they would exist only in fantasy. and of course there were gobs and gobs of “normal” fish and sea creatures.

i did finally learn the the difference between a sea lion and seal. sea lions are much more agile on land and hand longer limbs. they can actually walk. seals are smaller and chubbier and do not have as articulated feet. they must crawl “catepillar-like” on land. their description seemed a bit harsh to me.

they also had an aviary and pacific island creatures, but the place was closing down by then, so we took off. we considered getting something to eat in the area, but although the area around the museum was obviously newly developed, most of the properties were vacant, so we decided to just head back to torrance. unfortunately, we got caught in major traffic and it took probably over an hour-and-a-half to go about 15 or so miles. amanda, tho, spent the time on her cell phone talking to a resident at the the place she interviewed who called her up. they just talked about the residency, the program, the area, yadda yadda yadda. amanda asked her about places to eat, and she recommened a vegetarian place her our hotel. the resident was shocked amanda was a vegetarian (and i a fishytarian) as she was one herself; perhaps they are rare in la.

by the time we got back to the hotel, amanda was tired and did not want to go anywhere. what she did want was for me to go out and bring food back. i ended up just going to a nearby mall retrieving some pizza and salad for her. i woke her up when i got back to the room. she ate and promptly fell back asleep. i again watched a bit more sleep before turning in.

TUESDAY: 09 NOV 2004
we got up early and had our final continental bfast before heading back to the airport. our flight was not till 11am or so, but since we did not know what the traffic, car return, check in, etc. would be like we checked out around 8am. there was a lot of traffic, but it was not all that bad, and we got to the airport in good time.

amanda was forced to check her luggage in (we did not have to on the way out) at the security checkpoint because it was on the edge of legality.

the rest of the trip was uneventful. we transferred planes in charlotte (the first time either of is had been to that airport) where we had dinner. amanda amusingly had no real idea where we were; she thought we were in charleston. “isn’t that in west virginia?” said she.

we got to buffalo at around 10pm. amanda was happy her luggage was not lost. there was still a long drive back to brooktondale, and we got home after 1am. another long day of travelling. piglet was happy happy we were home.

[this entry is done and the plane is now 20 minutes from seattle and we are beginning the descent. what great timing.]