It was an early start today. The plan was to get to LA as early as possible so we could still roam around. We get on 101 south for a few miles until we get to Los Olivos and then take a shortcut through 154 which will take us past Lake Cachuma. We pull into a little park next to the lake and ask the Park Ranger at the gate if this is Lake Cachuma, she responds with a “whatever is left of it.” That hits us pretty hard and we make our way in and down by the water. We are surprised at the lack of water in the lake compared to it’s normal levels. You really understand the drought California is facing when you visit the lake. The water level is over 20 feet below what it used to be. In fact it’s gotten so low that the boat loading ramp is useless and they’ve had to set up another one further down.
We leave and continue on 154 towards Santa Barbara where it ends and we get back on 101. Now we’ll be on 101 until we reach Los Angeles pretty much.
We get to LA and roll into the place we’re staying at so we can drop off our stuff and go be a tourist around LA. We go up to the Griffith Observatory first to check out the view and to see the Hollywood sign. We go inside for a bit to check it out as well.
After we leave the Observatory we head down to the Chinese Theater. Gomes is pretty excited to see the stars and prints on the ground. After a short bit we wrap that up and head towards Silver Lake to see one of Gomes’ buddies. It takes us about 20 minutes to travel 2 miles. Traffic in LA is real and what makes it worse was that everyone would just slam on the brakes when they needed to stop. I feared I would hit someone since my brakes aren’t the best around so I kept my distance.
We get to Gomes’ friend’s house. Mike Flores works in the film industry as a camera operator. He also owns a CX500 but a lot nicer than mine. On our way there we find out he was actually in an accident with it the night before and had hurt his foot. It also ended up being that he sold the bike that same day. Even though he crashed it the bike only had a little cosmetic damage. When we walk in to his place I tell him how great I think his pad looks. Its a studio. The door and wall facing the outside are just a huge piece of glass and his decorations and furniture give the place a simple and modern style. We chat about bike and the film industry for a bit and then we head back to our place to get ready to meet with one of my friends.
Before we get back to our place we make a quick detour still in Silver Lake at a friend of a friend of Gomes. Apparently Heather makes these amazing vegan, gluten free cookies that we just HAVE to try. We get them and go back to our place where we immediately try them. Wow! Surprisingly, to me, they taste so delicious that we make it a point to buy more tomorrow morning before we leave LA. I’ll also be ordering some when I get home. That’s how good they are. For anyone interested they are called Shugah Mama cookies.
We get an uber from our place back to Silver Lake where we’re meeting up with my friends Chris Santiago at a place he recommended called Cafe Stella. The place looks fancy when we get there and he informs us we’re just having some drinks there. We start chatting about our trip and other stuff when his friend Yuri Alves walks in. Yuri is a director and obviously also in the film industry. This is great networking for everyone. We hang out for the rest of the night and then get an uber back when we start getting tired. I thank Chris for meeting up with us and let him know I’ll be back soon.
We get back to our place pretty late but thankfully we can sleep in tomorrow as we’re only setting out in the afternoon.