The 3:40 am Express and LA Traffic
We woke up this morning at the El Capitan State Beach campsite near Santa Barbara. It was a pretty gorgeous spot, but there was more to it than we thought — at 3:40 in the morning, a train rolled, what felt like, right into our tent, but was, in fact, right over the bridge that was situated right above our tent.
After leaving the campsite, we drove to L.A. where we found that the rumors are true: L.A. is full of many cars moving very slowly. Let’s just say that L.A. was not the highlight of the trip so far. But, in the midst of the traffic, we stopped off at Venice beach and walked down the boardwalk. Several street psychics tried to lure us over to their makeshift booths. Megan tried to walk into the ocean. We saw some pretty awesome graffiti artists. And then we were in the traffic. — again.
Anyway, now we’re at our first motel of the trip, somewhere between L.A. and Joshua Tree. I think it’ll feel good to sleep in a bed tonight. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that there’s not a train track next to our room.
-Sarah
Tags: American Identity, California, Los Angeles, Photography, Southwestern United States, Transportation, Travel, Venice Beach
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I’m stilled pissed Mark didn’t drive me to Venice Beach after I drove down to LA for him. LA is weird isn’t it? The commercial strips are so disgusting, but I actually really liked the residential neighborhoods. And some how the entire time I was in LA, I couldn’t help but think, “oh man, I’m on the blvd mentioned in that one song… oh look! Its another famously mentioned street! Oh! yummy burrito…” Yes, I did get a certain feeling of increased coolness, a certain feeling of being aw struck. And if you know me, you’ll understand how out of character that is, but LA is it man!
Hello sweet-stuffs,
All is well in kitty-land. I have just realized that you are in orbit, and that’s why you aren’t returning my telephoned offers to report on our ongoing adventures — today already is a hum-dinger. I’ll email them — I’m so glad you are posting your daily reports —
Be safe —
G/ma
Pat
I totally know what you mean — I kept looking around and saying man, these people are so thin and pretty and mainstream ‘cool’ and they’re on Santa Monica Blvd where the cars are moving 2 mph. This place is exactly what this place is. I would have been in awe too, except I was too exhausted from driving a stick in bumper to bumper traffic.
-Megan
p.s. Am glad to read all updates about Loki’s settling process.
G/ma should POST her reports about Loki and Nellie. She just forwarded one to me, and I’m pasting it in here because it is SO FUNNY:
1. We have advanced to poop-pan number two being in the basement. BIG ADVANCE! No more poop pan in the living room, having to be explained to all and sundry who wander in.
2. Hissy fits have reduced to an occasional heavy breath through Nellie’s nose —
3. Loki went out on the porch roof once, with me watching, and scared me by going VERY close to the edge, so I persuaded her in my quietest, tenderest
voice, that things are lovely in the bedroom. She came back in and now neither she nor Nellie have porch-roof privilege. Both are pissed. Loki thought it was splendid and sits on the toy box at the window trying to persuade me, but I have a heart of stone.
4. Speaking of hearts of stone: Nellie was eating the leftovers of Loki’s food (after eating her own) and Loki took a galloping run throught the full length of the living room and landed on the kitchen table. I was ready with a rolled-up newspaper secured by rubber bands, which I pounded on the table, yelling NO! NO! Both cats ran for their lives, and Nellie ran into the front room and threw up about a pint of food onto the top of the back of the couch. Needless to say, I am re-thinking my strategy.
5. Next day, I was hanging out clothes at the kitchen window and Loki was talking to me. She would meow, then I would answer, all the time my back turned. We did that a bunch of times, then I turned around. She was standing in pure innocence on the table, looking at me. I checked – Nellie was curled up in the living room asleep. I yelled NO NO NO NO at the top of
my lungs, (no newspaper). Loki went flying, and Nellie raised her head, sure something horrible was coming in her direction.
6. Loki got into sphinx position on the stacked chairs in my office. Nellie came in and jumped into her play box. I played with a string while she was in the box. She got tired and left the box. Loki, who had been watching, immediately jumped down from the chairs and got into the box. I played with her with a string, and Nellie looked utterly disgusted from her perch on the blue chair.
7. Nellie was on the ottoman for the leather chair in the big living room. She was lying on her side, watching Loki run back and forth from the hallway
to the kitchen. By all of her movements (staying on her side) I am quite convinced that she was enjoying watching Loki do her “crazy-cat” routine. There was not one hiss, and she acted like she was ever so slightly tempted to join in the fun. I consider this a great advance.
8. Feeding is a bit of a problem, because Loki wants to nibble several times a day and Nellie doesn’t know when to stop. I anticipated this, and it simply requires that Loki and I make some adjustments. I have a bowl of her food up high in the upstairs bedroom (the blue one that used to be Bethany’s room) and water there. She spends her nights on a blanket on that bed – that is, when she’s not being a small jet-stream through the house. Any time she meows at me without a discernable reason, I offer her the bowl and stay until she walks away from it, then I disappear it again. And I feed her morning and night when I feed Nellie, also.
9. It is clear to me that she misses you both. She got into bed with us and as I was rubbing her head, she kept putting her paw over to Peter as if to say, How come YOU aren’t petting me at the same time? Clearly there has been a precedent set. He refuses. She has let me rub her tummy a few times. Sometimes she just walks around meowing, and I’m sure she’s looking for you guys. Then I talk to her and pet her and tell her you’ll be home again, but not anytime soon.
10. BIGGEST NEWS SO FAR!!! Loki caught a mouse this morning. Upstairs. We didn’t know we had mice. Nellie catches moles in the basement, but this was
definitely a mouse. It was a young one – quite small, but grey. Loki carried it down into the hall and was playing with it, and it was not running any more. I took it away from her (Peter picked it up in a paper
cup with no mouse protest). It was alive, but bleeding, so we decided reluctantly to flush it away as a faster and more merciful death than Loki would give it, or than any other option we could think of. Loki was bitterly disappointed. She looked for it intently for about fifteen minutes, protesting loudly.
Eastward Ho!
Better you’ve gone through LA quickly… as they say, there’s no there there.
Love,
Dad
Oh Grandma/Pat,
We could not be luckier (and nor could Loki) to have someone so in tune with the world of the feline looking after the little bugger. Our apologies to Nellie, and our thanks to you!
-Sarah and Megan