Monday 1.10.2011

We awoke to a beautiful (and warm!) sunny day. While waiting for the Jeep at the valet, I noticed a familiar looking man standing next to us. We realized it was famous filmmaker John Waters.  We took the Hollywood Freeway out to Malibu. As we cut through the canyon, fog rolled over the mountains, but once we came over the hill by the beach it was clear. We stopped for  a quick coffee and breakfast at Starbuck’s before heading up to North Malibu. We stopped at a beach where many surfers and paddleboarders were taking advantage of the great weather. As nice as the air is, the water is still frigid (only stuck the toes in!) After some photographs and a quick walk, we followed the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) south to Venice.

We passed the famous Muscle Beach gym and various stores and street artists. We had a wonderful lunch at Venice Beach Ale House (arugula salad w/ salmon – yum!) We laid out on the beach for a bit before walking past some of the interesting contemporary houses down to Marina del Rey. By this point, I had to get Kris to LAX in order to catch her flight.

After dropping her off, I decided to go ahead and look at the apartment. I was glad I went when I did – they only had one one-bedroom unit left! It was fully furnished with just about everything I needed, and their flexibility and high security is very appealing too. It was a great setup for someone like myself just getting into town, until I know more of a set time of how long I’ll be here and until I get a feeling for different areas. The only downside is lack of a view/natural light, but I’m out during the day so often that it really doesn’t matter.  I got the papers signed and settled in for the night, still exhausted from the busy weekend.