Only in LA

Los Angeles is a wonderful place especially due to its weirdness and that above all is why I feel so very at home I guess. I mean where else in the world might you see a Weimaraner being chauffeur driven on the back seat of an open top Bentley other than down the Pacific Coast highway?

The other evening I went for a nice relaxing hike up the Hollywood hills.  It was early evening and there was a gentle wind with a soft mist rolling over the ridge top.  It already felt truly magical as I looked to my right and there was the most tiny little hummingbird gracefully dancing near a tree branch, it’s wings flickering in the low light before it disappeared from sight.  Feeling very zen and relaxed I continued softly toward the Wisdom tree whereupon the mood swiftly broke as there was a rap video being filmed right in front of me, half naked women the lot. Again where else when enjoying a nice countryside walk would this happen? Not in the Cotswolds I tell you.

Another amusing, yet for the affected highly irritating event, that happens only too frequently takes place at my favorite location – LAX airport. It seems only in LA can you have a larger queue to leave the building than at the customs desk itself. One of my colleagues having already lost 1.5hrs of his life trying escape the hell hole of LAX, oh too hastily text me to say, ‘I’ve got my bags I’m on my way’ only to reply 30 seconds later with ‘I’m having to queue to get out the building WTF is wrong with this place’. My only reponse ‘Welcome to LAX’.

Thankfully though, as I say, despite the fact that most visitors have to arrive via the god awful experience of that airport, the rest of the city offers more enjoyable oddities. One of my favorites being the freedom of expression I witnessed on a cool March day when the drought ridden state was blessed with rain. Walking back to my house was a lady stood stock still in the middle of the road with her arms raised to the heavens. Not so strange and really quite understandable.  Suddenly by her side a very enigmatic chap broke into what I can only presume to be a rain dance.  

In any place for me it is ultimately the people that make it and in each place I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by great people, with LA no exception.  The everyday people of LA certainly add to the curiosity of the place though and I love them for it!