Tech, Life, Thoughts, and More

Sorry for my lack of activity here. The real world has kept me busy, but I am back this weekend. I’ll pick up where I left off. Before I reviewed the Impossible Whopper, I just finished writing about meeting my “LA Friend.” I’ll continue with what happened in my vacation after that.

It was around 4 in the afternoon, so I grabbed a quick dinner from the Grand Central Market in downtown LA. I didn’t know about this place before, but someone in my hotel had told me about it. I had a $10 Pizza Pie to be exact. It tasted pretty good and reminded me of the Pizza back home in NYC. The crust was perfect, and the cheese was nice and squishy. I think it was air-fried, or something? Anyways, it tasted really good, and I was happy to have some fuel in my tank. I had just had a croissant and fruit bowl for breakfast and that was keeping me through the day.

After dinner, I decided to hop on the Red Line train and head out to Hollywood. It was quite a few stops, and I got there in roughly 15 minutes. Initially, I walked in the wrong direction, and *away* from all the main attractions, but I figured myself out.

With a little help from Google Maps, I walked the other way to see the theaters. That included the Chinese Theater, Dolby Theater, and where the film Jimmy Kimmel Live. I didn’t go inside any, because, well, I didn’t have the time or the money. Just took a few pictures outside and was on my way.

I was kind of amazed, though, because I’ve always seen these places in TV shows or movies, and now, I’m finally seeing in person. I think I’ve mentioned that before for the Hollywood sign, but bringing it back up again.

Once I walked through the theaters, I ended up looking at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I took a few pictures of some the stars of celebs I knew. That’s Jackie Chan, Britney Spears, and a few others. Oh, and I also found the Donald Trump star. I gave it good stomp, like everyone else there. But what? I found my own star there too!

Haha, I was just kidding. This lady was selling template stars. For $5, she’d put your name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with a template she had. I jumped at the opportunity, and fooled all my Instagram friends.

There wasn’t much left to see after that. I just ended up buying some souvenirs and taking the train back to my Hotel. My LA Friend told me the Walk of Fame wasn’t too special, and I can see why. But, I’m glad I finally ended up seeing it in person.

But that’s not all I would be glad to see. Next up, was my final day of vacation in LA. I’d be going to Dodgers Stadium, and checking out some of the other sports venues in the area. And, maybe even the beach too.

So far I’ve described just a few places I had visited in my first day in Los Angeles. These include Griffith Observatory, as well as US Bank Tower, and ‘Night Life” areas. For my second day in Los Angeles, I did quite a few things. Again, I’m dividing it up in four posts. This one is about my morning walk through Downtown LA.

While I had thought this second day in my short three-day trip would be exclusive dedicated to meeting up my LA friend, I really couldn’t sleep well the night before. Maybe it was anxiety of finally meeting someone I had been talking online for the last four years. Or, maybe it was just the loud pedestrians and traffic outside, and also getting used to my hotel. I think it was the latter.

Anyway, I woke up at around 7:30 AM and gave my parents a call, and laid them out my plans and locations for the day. My friend wasn’t supposed to pick me up until around 11:30. I had a lot of time to kill. I decided to take a stroll and see what’s around my Hotel (but in daylight this time.)

First off, I walked towards US Bank Tower and found/rode Angel’s Flight. Located in Bunker Hill, a ride on this man-made machine was $1.00 both ways. Surprisingly, my TAP card covered it! I found this thing quite interesting, if you ask me. It’s a funicular railway sort of train car, that pulls people up from the flat part of of Downtown LA, and to the higher portions where the office towers are located. I really liked it because I’m a big fan of public transit and this wasn’t something I’ve never seen before. The old style-train cars really offered up a nice view.

Next up, I headed back towards my hotel. I walked up that steep hill on my own this time, and checked out two famous LA hotspots. The first one was The Walt Disney Concert Hall. I’ve seen photos of this thing before but now I was seeing it in person, and it was … quite strange. My LA friend told me the design on the building changes because it was too reflective, and well, I can see why. This thing sticks out like a sore thumb, with its curvy accents and such. Kind of reminded me of a kings crown or something. I’m again sounding like a broken record, but never seen anything like it before!

Third on the list was checking out The Broad. In New York City, we have our own fair share of strange architecture, but the Broad was quite stranger. It has holes in it, and resembles a piece of cheese. Or, as one of my friends on Instagram put it, a slice of bread a giant hole in it. This building is also a museum and is free to go inside, but I didn’t have the time to check it out fully. A picture from outside from these buildings is good enough for me.

After seeing The Broad and Walt Disney Concert Hall, I turned back around and headed towards my hotel again. Walking past it, I made my way to LAPD headquarters, a Federal Court House, and the Los Angeles Times Building. While I was there, I also took a walk in LA’s City Hall Park and snapped a pic of the City Hall building. These buildings were all beautiful, as I’m constantly repeating over and over. My favorite, though, was City Hall. Asides from the tall design of the city hall building, it really reminded me of the City Hall Park back home in NYC.

Once I finished with City Hall, I ended up going back to my hotel. It was around 10:30, and well, I was getting really eager to meet my LA friend. It’s been four years coming. That’s what’s next to come.

While most of my time in LA on my first day had been during the daylight hours (visiting Griffith) I made sure I could also experience that Los Angeles Night Life. My LA friend told me this is a big thing for people who visit this city.

Now, I’m not one that goes to clubs or bars, but I am one that likes enjoying night time walks around a new city. So, my idea of “Night Life” might be a bit different from yours.

Walking back from US Bank Tower to my Hotel was my LA Night Life experience. I took my time and looked around Downtown LA. Some shops and restaurants were lit up in lights, and I had finally noticed all the fancy hotels. I also noticed the fancy architecture for the Red Line train stop at Pershing Square. It looked pretty good lit up at night.

It was also cool seeing all the lit up office buildings from below. There’s also a neat water fountain running next to the stairs at the sides the US Bank Tower that was lit up in white lights.

I had also noticed members of the LGBT community out and about, hanging around bars and some of other hipster places around downtown. Of course, there were some cute girls out and about near the bars too. I smiled, waved and said “Good evening!” as I walked by. They actually responded to me too. People in LA are nice! in NYC, I’d just gotten a dirty look from em!

Side note, NYC is also home to one of the largest LGBT communities, so it again felt like I was right in my own city seeing LGBT folks walking around LA.

You’ll also notice that I didn’t take many pictures while walking around LA at night. There’s none for this post, and good reason why. I enjoyed walking around LA at night the most. I wasn’t focused on pulling out my camera. I just wanted to take in the experience, because I heard so many good things about it. It also could be because I was afraid I’d be stabbed by a homeless person. No, just kidding. I saw lots of cops around LA during the night. It was very reassuring.

Anyway, I would say I walked a good hour before heading back to my Hotel for the night. I had put in over 26,000 steps in just one day and my feet were killing me, so it was time to go back to the Hotel and get some rest.

I had a big day ahead of me. After four years. I would be meeting my LA friend (who I met online!) for the first time. I had to make sure I got enough sleep and didn’t look like a Walking Dead Zombie when I met her.

As I continue to dive deeper into my trip to LA, I’m now going to write about the second part of my first day touring this fabulous “Left Coast” city. If you missed it, I already covered Griffith Observatory. This post will take a look at my visit to US Bank Tower, and Skyspace LA. There’s also a third part on the way soon!

After my return from Griffith, it was a bit late. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon, so I was tired. I ended up laying around in the hotel and resting my feet.

During my research time before booking this vacation, I had heard that the US Bank Tower has a cool observation deck known as Skyspace LA. Since my research showed that it was also open past nighttime — and I was sitting in the hotel not doing anything — I ended up booking a last second ticket for Skyspace LA access at 7:00 PM. It was right around the corner from my hotel, and I didn’t need to take the train there or anything. So the late-night time of day didn’t matter to me.

In between 4:30 and 5:30, I purchased a $30 lunch from the restaurant next to my hotel. It was some garlic bread, and eggplant sandwich, and two sodas. Also, some french fries. I really liked how it tasted, but I felt really stupid afterwards. The Marketplace was right next to my hotel, and I could have easily eaten there for cheaper. Lesson learned. The food was good though.

Around 6, I left to go to US Bank Tower. It was getting sort of dark, and I spotted this strange haze in the sky. My LA friend tells me its from the smog in the city. Anyways, I walked up to US Bank Tower, and experienced DTLA. Lots of office towers, just like back home in NYC. I really loved this part of LA. Tall buildings, jackhammers, traffic, it’s like I never left my city!

Eventually, I went inside US Bank Tower and was quite amazed that not a lot of people were here. The lines for security were empty, and I was one of the only ones on the elevator ride up to the top. If this were NYC, or the WTC, I’d be waiting in line almost all day to just get to the elevators!

Once those elevator doors opened, I took a free souvenir photo. There also was a small exhibit on LA Sports. Plenty on hockey, basketball and football, but as a baseball fan, the Dodgers were the only LA Sports team I really followed! Side note, I paid $45 for my ticket, and it included a drink, photo, and a ride on the Skyspace slide. Quite worth it, I think!

Once I got up to the glass observation deck, I was quite busy taking selfies and photos. I had (and was using) my selfie stick out in public, but nobody cared. There weren’t a lot of crowds! The music playing in the background was also nice too. They kept playing generic songs that uplifted you and made you happy. I really enjoyed it.

Now for some numbers. At 1,018 feet the US Bank Tower isn’t as high as the Empire State Building (1,454 feet) or the Freedom Tower (1,776 feet) in NYC. At such a height, I was still quite amazed. I could see all around LA, as far as Dodgers Stadium, and even a hint of the Pacific Ocean! It was also cool to see the top of adjacent buildings. Curiously, each building has its own helipad on the top. I was wondering as to why this was so, so I asked my LA friend at a later point, but she didn’t have an answer.

Another thing that was amazing with Skyspace was the glass slide. The slide at Skyspace goes down from one story to the next, and is just inside the glass observation decks, but runs outside when between floors. I wasn’t afraid to ride it at all. In fact, it was short and sweet. I’d say less than 15 seconds. I was busy staring out the side, and it was like I was floating in air! There’s a short video of me on the slide below. Not the best camera angle, I know, because cameras are banned on the slide. I snuck my phone in my pocket for this shot. I also toppled over in the end. Whoops.

Asides from the slide, I also noticed and there was too much haze around the tower. I figured it all might fade by sunset, so I ended up hanging around for it to pass. I always wondered, what does LA look like from above during dark? Well, I was about to find out!

Sunset was at 7:45. By the time that came around, all the buildings were lit up. I must say, LA is really beautiful at night. I also “lol’ed” a bit, because I could see out to the highways, and where all the red taillights from traffic. Nonetheless, LA at night reminded me of NYC. I took some selfies with the pretty looking lit-up buildings.

Once I experienced the LA sunset from US Bank Tower, there wasn’t much else for me to do there. I wish I could have stayed all night, but the place was closing at 10. I left at 9:30 and ended up going back to my hotel. Of course, I also walked through Downtown LA at night, which is what I’ll talk about in my final post covering day one of my trip!

Well, I’ve already wrote about flying to LA, and landing at LAX, so now it’s time to keep things going and write about what I did in my first day in LA. This might be a long post, and it will be a doozy. For the sake of this blog, I will divide up my first day in LA in three parts. This is part one, all about Griffith Observatory.

To begin, it is time to go back to the train talk. After I ended up a Union Station, I took the Red Line just one stop to my hotel. Finding the train was as easy as walking down a long hallway in Union Station. Lugging up my suitcases up the escalators wasn’t too hard, but I was quite amazed at how deep the LA Metro subway stations were. That’s not something I’m used to. In New York, our trains are just one or two levels underground.

Anyways, ended up getting up to South Hill Street, where my Hotel was location. It was a quick 2 min walk. Checked in at the hotel and called my parents, and then ended up changing clothes and taking a quick shower. The Hotel room wasn’t the most fanciest, but it got the job done, and was cheap. Couldn’t ask for more! Hotel located, and fresh clothes on my back, I was getting ready to go tour LA.

First stop in my first day of touring LA was the Griffith Observatory. My LA friend told me I should visit here, so I made it my first stop. Of course, with my new TAP card in hand, I wasn’t going to Uber there. Like a New Yorker, I took LA Mass Transit. Ended up riding the Red Line again few stops, and got off somewhere close to Hollywood and Vermont. I had to wait for the LA Dash Observatory next, but I missed it. Unlike in NYC, that meant I had to wait a full 30 mins for the next one. It was really hot, so I ended up going inside a gas station and waiting, also got myself a large bottle of water, since it looked like a far walk up.

The bus ride was only 50 cents, which was amazing to me, as a single ride on a bus in NYC costs $2.75. Sadly my TAP card didn’t work on the bus because it didn’t have any pre-loaded value. I had to pay with cash because my card was a 7 day unlimited pass. The fare box on the bus accepted dollar bills, again, unlike in NYC which is all coins.

Speaking of looks, I could see the Hollywood Sign from where the bus stop was located. I’ve always seen this in movies or TV shows, but this was the first time I actually saw it in person. Man, was I amazed. It was so far away, but I felt like I was in a Hollywood movie myself. It was always my dream to see the Hollywood sign! It was finally happening!

No longer star struck, my journey up to Griffith continued. I excitedly texted my LA friend telling her how far I’ve come on my own with mass transit. She has been telling me that the mass transit isn’t reliable in LA, and, after missing the bus, I guess she was right.

Anyway, I eventually boarded the bus. It was a long trip up the curvy and steep hills. I loved the scenery! I’m used to tall buildings, and never have I seen this much nature in one place. Sure, there was Central Park, but this was a lot of palm trees and grass, as well as forests. Every time I saw a palm tree, I took a photo. We don’t have those in New York!

Griffith was the last stop on the bus, so there was no getting lost. I got off the bus, and was one of the last off. I was busy taking pictures. I probably took 300 pics alone, but I walked my way up to Griffith, and I was again amazed.

WOW. I was over looking the entire city of Downtown LA. I could see the office towers on one side, and the hills of Hollywood to another. One side reminded me of NYC, and the other reminded me of California, and everything that I came cross-country to see. I snapped a few pics, and helped this cute tourist girl take a few photos. I just stood there for a while, amazed at what I was looking at. I might sound like a broken record, but never before in my life have I ever seen anything like this. All those pics I’ve seen on TV and online were coming to life. It was amazing. So much to see from one spot.

To continue, I ended up going inside the Observatory. There wasn’t much in there that interested me. Some science stuff and a giant telescope. The views were most amazing the most if you ask me. I took a few pics, went to the bathroom, and then rode the bus back down to the Red Line train and back to my hotel. There were more adventures to come.

So, I wrote about what it was like leaving NYC and flying to LA, but now, the fun starts. Here’s what it was like landing in LA.

The minute my plane landed, I was one of the last to come off board because I like hanging back so I can talk to the captain. When I greeted him and thanked him for the awesome flight, the captain told me we were lucky to land at LAX on time because all the flights out of NYC were delayed due to weather. Anyways, the plane landed in a remote part of the airport and we had to be “bused” to JetBlue Terminal 5. Again, I was last to board the bus because I was busy taking pictures. When I finally got on the bus, I talked to a flight attendant who said it’s rare for a JetBlue flight to NOT land at a terminal. She joked and said we’re getting a bonus experience and free trip by not landing at the terminal.

Long story short, finally got to the terminal. Walked up some stairs into the Airport like the good old TWA days. Sadly, once I got up those stairs I was lost. I did’t know where to go for baggage claim. I had to ask for help. Whoops, what a way to make an entry into LA. Hah.

Turns out, I had to walk down into the basement of the airport and go down some escalators I just missed. The signs at LAX really weren’t clear. Once I found that escalator and headed to the carousel, my baggage was one of the last left. I grabbed it and headed outside for more trouble.

I had wanted to take the Flyaway bus to Union Station, and then take the Red Line train to Civic Center and walk to my hotel. It was supposed to only be $9.75 instead of a $35 Uber, but the problem was I had no idea where to find the damn bus! An airport employee told me to stand outside the terminal, but all I found were gypsiecabs and sketchy looking people offering rides for on the cheap. Quite frankly, I was afraid. I was very close to calling an Uber, but I was saved.

This African fellow (Sadly, I can’t remember his name) ended up approaching me and asking me if I needed help, as he saw me pacing around and had looked lost. I told him, yes, and that I wanted the Flyaway Bus. He introduced himself and told me he’s lived in LA for the last 16 years, and that I can trust him for directions. He said the bus is usually late and not to worry. And so, I ended up talking with him while waiting.

Once we boarded the Flyaway bus together, he was quite the genuine person. He gave me tips and tricks for getting around LA, and also told me about his life. He also said he’s been traveling all around the world. During the bus ride, he pointed out some of the famous landmarks and mentioned some of the problems with LA (that’s homelessness and the high rent.) He went with me all the way to Union Station and after I paid for my bus ticket, he even showed me around how to buy the tickets for the TAP Card. (More on that later, where I write to compare LA’s Metro to the MTA in NYC.)

Anyways, it was nice having this man show me around Union Station. It really helped me for my return trip for when it was time to go home. Anyways, I ended up buying some lunch (A $13 Subway Sandwich!) and then I rode the Red Line back to my hotel.

Coming from NYC, i was amazed with the Red Line. It was the first time I experienced mass transit that wasn’t the MTA. The trains were quite different, as well as the method of paying, etc. I was a bit afraid when riding though, because of the homeless folks in the station. I hid my phone and tried to blend in (which is why I didn’t wear a Mets cap like I do when I usually go out.) Eventually, I found that from Union to Civic Center was just one stop! I was getting up to my hotel after less than 5 minutes!

The fun just started.