The Great West Coast Road Trip: Day 8 - L.A.

We weren't really prepared for L.A., so I asked Facebookland what we should do.  We tried as many of the activities as we could fit in.  We arrived along Route 1, driving through the canyons of Malibu.  We ended up in Santa Monica (per Caroline O.), and walked along the famous pier.

Route 66...our next road trip, perhaps?

Then we walked around downtown Santa Monica and had lunch at Real Food Daily.  

The Club

Caribbean Quesadillas

On the way to Olvera Street, L.A.'s historic Mexican area, I spotted this "street art" up on a building.  I had to laugh.

I wanted to do a little shopping and get some colorful Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) artwork.  

Now I kind of wish I had gotten one of these

I also wish I had gotten this Ewok wearing a sombrero and serape T shirt

Another Facebook recommendation, Stacey said we had to stop in at Tiki Ti.  Another tiki bar?  Of course!  This is right up my alley.  It is this small, hole-in-the-wall, authentic tiki joint from 1961.  When we came in, this old hippie with a rasta hat came over and started talking to us like he owned the place.  It turns out, he's just a regular with 23 cats.

One thing John wanted to do was go guitar shopping in L.A., so we drove up Sunset and stopped in at the Guitar Center on the Rock Walk.  I let him do his thing and just chilled on a couch until he was ready.

We crashed, totally last minute, at our friends Peter and Anya's place.  They took us to an obscure mall in Japantown for amazing Japanese vegan sushi.  Once you entered the restaurant through tarp doors, Shojin had a very dark and cool atmosphere.  Even the bathrooms were decked out!  In the single ladies room, there was a guestbook to sign on a shelf right across from the toilet, and there was an upholstered chair in there, you know, in case you get tired of sitting on the pot.  There was a signed magazine cover of Alicia Silverstone, thanking the restaurant for it's good vegan food.  And it was stocked with so many complimentary items that you imagine...mouthwash, makeup remover, nail polish remover, etc. 

We spent the rest of the evening talking and playing with their cats, and then fell asleep in their guest room/office with Frank's mask (from Donnie Darko) staring back at us in the dark.  WAKE UP.