Friday, March 27, 2009
California Drivin'
Route from airport to hotel on Monday night:
View Larger Map
The u-turn at the end of I-110 was caused by turning onto 110 by accident, and deciding to drive it to its end rather than get off and turn around early.
Wednesday night dinner drive (that is, driven while eating Jack-in-the-Box hamburger):
View Larger Map
About halfway through I dropped the burger in the car. It was unharmed, but I decided it was probably best to pull over to the side of the road and finish eating while the sun went down.
Thursday afternoon return to airport:
View Larger Map
I was expecting to be able to follow Mulholland Drive straight through to I-405, but it didn't work out like that. Because I had not done the research, I was surprised to find the road blocked to cars. At the point where the map shows me turning around, there is a metal gate across the road and it becomes a hiking/biking trail. All is well, as this afforded me an excuse to drive a long and fairly awesome stretch of Venture Blvd.
The reason I got off at Santa Monica Blvd was to find something to eat. There were of course zillions of places to eat along there but I didn't actually commit to stopping somewhere until after I'd turned on Lincoln. George's, a non-chain burger place with a guy's first name (like Arnold's on Happy Days!) and a pay toilet (also like Arnold's, in one episode anyway). I was so excited by all this that I actually put a quarter in there, before noticing that in spite of actually accepting money the door seemed to open whether you put any in or not. I didn't bother complaining about it.
You're probably wondering why, since this trip was obviously not intended to get from point A to point B in either the shortest distance or the shortest time, why didn't I utilize Pacific Coast Highway. The answer is every single other time I've ever been to LA I've used PCH as the alternative to 101 and 405, and frankly didn't want to fool with it this time.
View Larger Map
The u-turn at the end of I-110 was caused by turning onto 110 by accident, and deciding to drive it to its end rather than get off and turn around early.
Wednesday night dinner drive (that is, driven while eating Jack-in-the-Box hamburger):
View Larger Map
About halfway through I dropped the burger in the car. It was unharmed, but I decided it was probably best to pull over to the side of the road and finish eating while the sun went down.
Thursday afternoon return to airport:
View Larger Map
I was expecting to be able to follow Mulholland Drive straight through to I-405, but it didn't work out like that. Because I had not done the research, I was surprised to find the road blocked to cars. At the point where the map shows me turning around, there is a metal gate across the road and it becomes a hiking/biking trail. All is well, as this afforded me an excuse to drive a long and fairly awesome stretch of Venture Blvd.
The reason I got off at Santa Monica Blvd was to find something to eat. There were of course zillions of places to eat along there but I didn't actually commit to stopping somewhere until after I'd turned on Lincoln. George's, a non-chain burger place with a guy's first name (like Arnold's on Happy Days!) and a pay toilet (also like Arnold's, in one episode anyway). I was so excited by all this that I actually put a quarter in there, before noticing that in spite of actually accepting money the door seemed to open whether you put any in or not. I didn't bother complaining about it.
You're probably wondering why, since this trip was obviously not intended to get from point A to point B in either the shortest distance or the shortest time, why didn't I utilize Pacific Coast Highway. The answer is every single other time I've ever been to LA I've used PCH as the alternative to 101 and 405, and frankly didn't want to fool with it this time.
