Wednesday, August 30, 2006

5

5.

Its twin lanes run down the center of California like the black streaks of two cigarettes being put out by a ruthless hand.

I jumped on it by following 80 across the Bay Bridge and taking 580 east. I hit the fork of the southbound funnel at Tracy and the needle on my speedometer quickly found areas above the 70 hashmark that it hadn't in months.

Trucks full of tomatoes and cars full of kids headed back to college sailed by.

Never having travelled south on it past Sacramento, I was amazed to find that it didn't cut through the dull farmland I'd been warned about, but rather, rolling golden hills edged by mountains on either side.

And then, near 7, I started climbing the Grapevine. Trucks took the right lanes and I passed them feeling like I was passing a line of Hannibal's elephants as they tried to get over the alps before the sack of Rome.

Yeah, it was cool.

And when I got to my good friend Aram's just outside of Pasedena, I hit the couch and slept the slept of the innocent.

I'm finally here. In LA.

Can you find the reason the Republican party will lose the next election in the photo at right?

4 comments:

D said...

Welcome to LA.

When Heather gets there you should go to this restaurant in Venice with which I'm mildly obsessed. It's called Shima and it's absolutely exquisite Japanese cuisine.

I think it's the 900 block of Abbot Kinney.

D said...

Actually, it's the 1400 block.

Anonymous said...

The photo is on the left!

Malachy Walsh said...

Your left? Or mine? Or is it stage left?

I still can't figure it out. Good thing I didn't go into the army.

And d - Will do!