California Love

Welcome back, folks.  When We woke up on July 3rd, We were at Annie’s apt in North Hollywood.  HOLLYWOOD!  The first order of business for the day was to head over to Anomaly and get my hair did.  (check them out at http://www.anomaly2.com) I wrote previously that the amazing April Skinner at Salon Kerizma in Cedar Park TX is the one responsible for my beautiful hair when We are in the Austin area, and unfortunately, I can’t put her in my pocket and take her with me- so We would have to put my head in another lovely woman’s tiny, but capable hands.  🙂  My hair has decided to grow freakishly fast  now that He has agreed to keep my hair short for the time being and being on the road so much means having to find someone who wont eff it up too bad…Im not cool with walking into super cuts so I kinda have to know someone or Im just gonna look shaggy.  Cutting the back super short this time sounded like a good idea to Us so that it would take longer to grow.  Annie sat me down in her magic chair and went to work.  She has fun doing irridescent colors and was delighted to hear that my hair should be white when finished.  I was pretty sure my hair was already short, so imagine my surprise when I saw this:

After a few processes, some washing and blow drying, she finished my hair off with a dry cut to tidy up any stray hairs.  I gotta say…she did an AMAZING job.  I officially had my first hollywood hair-do.  Ok, so technically not hollywood, but whatevs.  I have awesome hair…see:

We call that color “dark white” 🙂  Upon the completion of hair doing, it was time to go be a fabulous looking tourist.  So much to do…where to start??

We started with a drive down Santa Monica Blvd

and went to the Promenade shops.  It was pretty awesome to see all the street performers and hear the music…walking down that strip of street is a lovely experience.  It was already later in the day so there weren’t as  many performers out as there are for the early day tourists money 🙂  I wanted to take pictures everytime I turned around, but I guess you are supposed to pay these people to take their picture??  I had heard about “Santa Monica Blvd” in songs and stuff but had no idea what to expect.  When He told me We were going there, I was like “oh, ok, cool”…yes, it was very cool.  At the intersection of Santa Monica and Ocean, there is a pier/boardwalk:

From up the road a little, this is what it looks like:

Its a damn carnival!!  It was also a saturday during the summer and We decided not to endure that type of torture.  So.Many.People.  No thanks…  We did, however, go walk on the beach.  This is the first beach Ive been to in California…first time touching the Pacific Ocean.  Im not gonna lie, it was cold and to be honest it wasn’t hot enough outside to warrant getting in.  I mentioned before it is not as sunny in California as the tv makes it out to be.

Next stop on Our tour is Venice Beach.  You know the beach that the movies show with all the vendors and muscle men and stuff?  That is Venice beach.

There was lots of cool stuff being sold and things to do…like a random freak show:

We happened to be at Venice Beach during sunset 🙂

So after leaving Venice Beach, We went and drove around Hollywood, down Rodeo Drive, past cool stuff, but didn’t park…We want to really see Hollywood, so We just did a drive by until later:

Question…whos heard of or seen the show “Miami Ink“?  Further, who has heard of or seen the spin off with Kat VonD “LA Ink“?  Did you know the name of the shop is “High Voltage”?  I did not…until this:

I went inside to check it out, and I was sorely disappointed.  Of course nobody inside working was on the show, so I didn’t know who any of them were, and on top of that-the people who were “working” were rude and unattentive.  There were not good portfolios to look at, there was no reason to choose that shop over any other shop Ive been to, there was nothing awesome about it at all…I left as soon as possible and stopped outside to take this pic for my blog.  Im not particularly excited about having gone there, but I wanted to let anyone who was wondering know-its not worth it. So there.  We had something else to do that night anyway…

After leaving the tattoo shop, I got changed in the bathroom of a chinese restaurant that was next door to it and was ready for Our next adventure.  Bondage Ball was that night.  We wouldn’t have gone except We were invited and didn’t have to pay to get in (We know people) so We decided to meet Annie face there and people watch for the evening.  Without details, just the gloss over, I met some people I had heard about that I didn’t mind meeting, and I accidentally met 2 people I could have gone my whole life without meeting.  One is a worthless waste (so is the other, but…) the other used to be one of my very best friends even though We had never met.  Notice I said “used to be”.  Word to the wise…I have no time for liars or disrespect and I will not hesitate to remove you from my life if those are common practices for you like I have removed countless other wastes of my time. Kthx.  Ugh, so aside from that little bit of time that I spent around people I wanted to kick, We had a good night.  People watching, and the ensuing discussions, is FUN FUN FUN with Cali.  Annie was a delightful addition to Our discussion group 🙂  Im not called “shit talked Walker” for nothin’!  We left the party around 1am and headed back to Annies.  I have been told I took a nap on the porch after finishing my cigarette…I can neither confirm nor deny this allegation.

When We woke up again, it happened to be 4th of July. Anomaly had a barbecue at the shop

so We attended and just kind of took the day off to hang out with buddies.  During the barbecue, I got to witness and photograph a pull:

It was a very laid back day  and when it came time for the fireworks, the awesome location of the studio was right up the road from the Rose Bowl.  The plan was for everyone to ride a bike to the fireworks after dark and not have to park…well, Cali can’t ride a bike.  Never learned how.

I figured I should try to teach Him 🙂

He did great for a “first timer” but ended up doing more of a skateboard with a seat motion.  We “rode” down to the Union St bridge and watched the fireworks together and “rode” back.  It was a nice date 🙂  We didn’t stay long after that but instead headed back to Annies to get some sleep…the next day We were back to being tourists on a mission…

Where did We go?  What did We see?  That is best told by my pictures, all of which I snapped with my phone.  Aside from visiting Channel Islands National Park and the Santa Monica National Recreation Area (2 more stamps in my passport book and not particularly exciting), We drove through Beverley Hills, We went to Hollywood and saw the walk of stars and the Chinese theater where movie premier red carpets are held and and and…finished up with a date at the oldest and first Italian restaurant in Hollywood.  (sorry, no date pictures)

The next morning, it was time for Us to return to the great outdoors and camp at Sequoia for a few days…I got to admit, I’m seriously looking forward to it.  Before getting on the road again, We had breakfast with the crew from Anomaly (thanks Brett) and they saw Us off with good wishes.  We will miss those crazy cats…specially Annie.  I cant wait to see her again…

Did We do better camping this time?  Did We get eaten by a bear?  The answer to these questions, and more-right after this break 🙂

Stay tuned…