City of Angels, Part One

All I can say about L.A. so far is

 My friend Jenny and her friends took me to see a stand-up comedy show called Holy Fuck and holy fuck, was it mediocre, except for the last guy, John Patton. He was amazing.

Turns out, my buddies John and Liz from NY were in town at the same time! It's because Liz freakin' won a Baskin-Robbins contest to invent a new flavor! In the spirit of all things ice cream, I took them to Diddy Riese, which makes the best chipwiches you've ever, ever had.

After dessert, I had lunch with grad school pals Tim and Kelly. We had little pizzas and a great time!

After lunch, I hurried over to USC, but made a quick stop at MacArthur Park. USC is palatial and sublime. I've never seen such a place. The film school's massive courtyard had a bronze statue of Douglas Fairbanks. Wow!

Afterward, Jenny and I hit up Venice Beach. It was great to see the Pacific at sunset. So many surfers, and lots of non-camera-shy seagulls.

Venice Beach even has canals, set up to resemble the canals of actual Venice. Did you know that? I sure didn't!

We hiked in Solstice Canyon, which was a mostly-paved trail with some rocky outcroppings, a waterfall, and a few ruined houses. And this fellow:

Afterward, we went to The Boiling Crab, a seafood place that serves you a bag of seafood coated in a sauce of your choosing. No plates. No forks. No mercy.

And here's a drive-through water place. Los Angeleans are crazy.

Chapman University, Orange CA

I like to pretend that airplanes take me to another planet, as opposed to another part of earth. Nearly nowhere is such a ruse as convincing as California. Palm trees and cedars in place of evergreens and maples. Friendly folk in place of no-time-to-say-hi-I-have-to-go. In-and-Out Burger in place of Dunkin' Donuts. It truly is another place entirely.

 



I'm at Chapman University today, and it's lovely. It's finals time, so the library is packed with students, and to my delight, the library tables are packed with cookies and coffee. Chapman has a beautifully landscaped, open campus that welcomes visitors. They're readying for commencement.

 
I spent the night with my friend Hanh. She's pretty neat, although I wish she spent fewer 12-hour-days at work and more time pursuing something creative.

Hanh suggested I do lunch at centrally located Bruxië, a local chain renowned for its tasty waffle conglomerations. Their chicken 'n waffle didn't disappoint. I'll have to return here. For EVERY MEAL.

It appears, however, that not everyone agrees:

Dallas, Little Rock, Nashville, Roanoke

After heading out from Austin, I made it to Dallas, where my grad school friend Vernesha lives. She took me out to a place that had BBQ and fried pies. They do things right and proper in Texas. No mistake about that.

After enjoying the hospitality of Dallas, I struck east to Little Rock, Arkansas, home of the Clinton Presidential Library. The most impressive thing about the structure is the outside. The inside is sparse, filled with reproductions, and an astonishingly low amount of displays and content for a purported eight years of presidential office. Little Rock itself, though, was a friendly town. When I'm asked, usually by no one, which state out of all the ones I've been in is the friendliest, I can honestly say that Arkansas wins that title. Everyone wants to talk to you here, and they're all pretty chipper.

After a night with my journalist friend Kelly (she took me out to a terrific dive), I hiked up Pinnacle Mountain, which is honestly one of the most difficult hikes I've ever tried. Oh, I made it to the top, but it was less a path and more a two-hour scramble over jagged rocks, ledges, and children. I think it's the best workout I've ever had while hiking. The way down wasn't much easier.

From Little Rock, it was off to Tennessee. I stopped in Memphis to see Graceland. It was $10 to park, and an additional $32 to visit the mansion itself. I like the man's music, but I don't worship him, so I stopped at parking and walking around the gift shops, museums, and Elvis-loving tourists. And there were many of them.

Nashville was a party. A downtown filled with rowdy bars, each one blasting live country music. It was great. Then, it was off to the Grand Ole Opry for a performance by a bunch of country starts I didn't recognize and Riders in the Sky, who I did. They had a CBS series in the 1990s. It was very entertaining, and the tickets were inexpensive, likely due to the sheer number of commercials that they had between the performance sets. As the Grand Ole Opry is a live radio show, the commercials are broadcast to the sitting audience as well as the listening one at home. It was a barnburner, to be sure. Great performances all around, and the seat I had was pretty good. I'd definitely go again, y'all.

After camping just outside of Nashville, it was off to Roanoke and dear old Hollins University. I'm seeing lots of friends, having a wonderful time, and writing. And that's really the very best thing of all.