Zelma’s Trip

We got up and Brad and Chuck seemed to have slightly different views about the things that needed to be done during the day.  After they had one of their married couple type arguments Chuck, "accidentally" managed to drive to "the Standard", one of his favourite hotels.  We checked in and the place was actually very funky.  After a mojito I got my hair cut and we chilled around the hotel and pool.  I went for a wander around the area looking up at the Hollywood hills.  Shortly after I got back to the hotel a couple of Chuck’s friends arrived who turned out to be more L.A. types with a record producer responsible for Black Sabbath and the like.

Parts of L.A. are very cool and funky and, overall, I like the place a lot.  However, I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere with as many people who know someone famous, have been someone famous and, I guess a group who actually ‘are’ someone.  In a way it really did my head in as things like that mean very little to me, in a way I thought it was kind of cool and in a way it was explainable as it is Hollywood, where people do make themselves or bar tend in places desperately after their one lucky break.  Anyway, so we had a few drinks in the room and then headed to the hotel bar.  Later we met Brad who came and collected us and took us out for awesome pizza at one of the great pizza places in the city.

On Sunday we faffed around L.A.  We decided to head to a cheaper hotel and went to the "Rodeway Inn" which was near Brad’s place.  Chuck described the place as a "Crack hotel" and, having gone to the local garage to buy cigarettes, I met one of the residents who clearly justified his description!  He commented that he liked my boots prior to offering his room number lest I, "get bored later", which was very considerate of him!  Needless to say I didn’t get bored and decided not to take him up on his offer.  The place was actually okay but the room wasn’t big enough to swing a Binky, to the extent that there was only one bedside lamp as, had they tried to put two in the room, the door would have smacked into one of them.  After a relatively chilled day we had an early night.

In the morning we again moved hotels, this time just down the road to a nicer, cheaper place with a pool in the courtyard and much bigger, better rooms.  Chuck showed me some more of the city which was to my liking and later we met up with Brad.  As I had an early flight the following day we had an early night.