Stay-Cation #1

Last week I headed to the Bay for what seemed like a vacation, but was inevitably a whirlwind of activities. As a result, I slothed through the entire week at work and made it to this past weekend, firmly deciding to have what my local news channel calls a "Stay-Cation". What this involves is what other people call staying home and vegging out, but this funky little hybrid word makes me feel cool when I stay home. Here's a short breakdown of what I did on my first stay-cation.

Friday evening after work, I headed out of the office to eat at a new eatery in the middle of Downtown L.A., by the name of Rocket Pizza. It was good pizza, thin-crust, and the Amstel Light was crisp and refreshing. The only thing I wasn't too happy about was the large Caesar that had about 10 pieces of lettuce in it. After, it was off to Bar 107, a rare drinking hole in LA, where you can order Colt 45 and Schlitz Malt Liquor (not that you would want to). My bearded friend ordered a Guinness and after finishing it found a lemon seed at the bottom of the glass. Seeing as he had already downed his drink, he was forced to deal with the bacteria he might have imbibed. But he wanted to ensure this didn't happen to someone else so he showed the bartender who responded with "That's awesome!". 'Nuf said. (Cheap parking note: Free at all meters after 6pm, but if you get there before, try parking on Los Angeles St, there are usually open spots, but be careful after dark.)

Saturday was not terribly interesting either, but I did go see the same movie half of America saw...Space Chimps. I'm only kidding, the Dark Knight, lived up to its hype, it was dark and it was sad to watch Heath on screen for the last time, but I did have a few issues with the film. First, Batman's voice is very odd, a friend of mine thinks it might be strep, I'm worried it might be more serious like a growth on his vocal chords. Maybe he should have Alfred book him an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Also, did anyone else notice that it seemed like the movie was over, just to have it restart for the last 30 minutes? I was getting ready to head out of the theater, when I realized there was another story arc just beginning. All in all, two thumbs up, but I prefer my comic book movies with slightly more humor.

Sunday though was by far the best, because I visited my favorite summertime spot in all of L.A., the Hollywood Bowl! It was great to see all of the urban hipsters out of Silver Lake, and WeHo to watch the Feist and eat their organically grown food from Whole Paycheck. I particularly enjoyed the opening act Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, she rocked it out! For those of you who haven't partaken in the Bowl I suggest you buy some tickets (they're cheap!) , pack up some dinner and a few bottles of wine and enjoy one of L.A.'s true gems. One piece of advice is to park at Hollywood & Highland to avoid stacked $20 parking. Take the shuttle ($3 roundtrip) or walk (1/2 mile) to the Bowl and on your way back buy a Starbucks for the road, validate your parking and pay $2 (for the first 4 hours).

I can't wait until Stay-Cation #2- I think this will include a trip to the Griffith Park Observatory and maybe a beach...but the unplanned nature is what is important so I'll leave it up in the air.

Side note: For those of you (like me) who love Starbuck's holiday menu and wait for the drinks to show up in November, most of them will make you a Peppermint Mocha (or whatever else you desire) if they still have the syrup on hand! Who knew? It only added to my perfect evening!