Barry's Notes 10.22.01 
 
L.A. California/Gallup N. M. = Not The Same Good morning.  
 
It's Zero Dark Thirty and we're getting our kicks on Rte 66, heading our way back across country towards the east coast, after spending the night in the town of Gallup, NM. Gallup is a quiet town, from what little we gathered in the time spent there. We didn't make it to Albuquerque, NM , so Gallup it was. This is some wild terrain, with great big boulders and dry vegetation and dusty, powdery dirt. Behind the hotel was some hikeable land and we asked the concierge if it was OK to explore, as we didn't want to be hiking on protected Native American territory. She gave the OK, and Terry and I hiked up the rocky foothill to survey the land. It was getting dusk and we figured something would be jumping out of the brush at any moment to seize our ankles and drag us back to one of the many critter holes that we seemed to be passing. Terry said he saw 'something with a furry head' duck behind some rocks silhouetted against the sky, and I'm ashamed to admit that the first thing that came to mind was an Indian wearing a warrior headdress, none too happy about the Lewis and Clark idiots booting over the dirt of his ancestors. How can you NOT feel guilty when there is a Taco Bell not 200 yards away? Terry went on to describe it as a 'cat-like creature'. Perhaps it was a cat then, I retorted. 'Bigger', he said. Like a bobcat, a mountain lion perhaps? 'Yes, a bobcat'. 
 
So we continued walking in the dim light through the brush towards the top.  
 
It's near dark now and Terry sees a rabbit, which he later would classify as a Jackalope. How he could determine these classifications is beyond me, unless he has some Indian blood in him that I'm unaware of. On we go, until we reach the top, only to discover there is a dirt road leading to the top from the other side. We walked to the cliffy edge and determined it was high enough to die. Looking down over the edge we discover 5 or 6 backyards. At that moment, 5 or 6 dogs starting barking and we headed back down the other side, this time taking the road. Another dog ran toward us and jumped and sniffed and licked and ran off, back to his owner, who was taking an evening stroll. Later, we swam in a freezing indoor pool, and then a lukewarm hot tub. Scott and Jordan hit the life cycles. We all ate a lot of food later….for pretty cheap.  
 
Which was certainly not the case in L.A. Our good friend, L.A. tour guide and resident industry mogul Christine Offutt took us to a three-story sushi bar on Hollywood Blvd, or somewhere like that. THREE STORIES of Sushi, called Miyagi's, which is not all about 'wax on wax off' but rather, Miyagi is a place in Japan. See, we learned this upon our arrival, because we were greeted with a complimentary round of shots then given a guided tour by the hostess of the restaurant before being seated. This is the point where I turned to Jordan and said, "We're going to spend some money, aren't we?" Jordan nodded affirmatively and on we went with the tour of Sushi Park, USA. It's easy for EVERYONE to feel like a Star in L.A., for the simple fact that there is valet parking EVERYWHERE you go: from Miyagi's to the IHOP. "Parking is at a premium in L.A." Christine said. No kidding. 
 
Earlier in the day included a touchdown on the Pacific Ocean, where we grabbed sand and water just to prove we'd been there. Carter took a picture on the rocks next the sign that said "Stay Off Rocks". Here we watched some dolphins close to shore that were so damned cute and perky entertaining it was as if they were being PAID. We have porpoises on the East Coast, but they mainly just putt along, pissed that their backs are chewed by nets and propellers and their fins are rotting black from some diseased water. 
 
Bfast was served on an ocean front eatery that was nice. Christine is all about the hyping of Carbon Leaf and she knows how to get people's attention around town. She would call and make reservations, saying "I have the band Carbon Leaf with me and they need to get fed pronto", and of course people bow in accordance thinking they MUST be SOMEBODY. Who would have the balls to be so sassy? Well Christine IS sassy and gets what she wants. The Owner came out at one point and made up some hooky small talk about the dolphins just to see if we were famous enough to get our picture taken and smacked on the wall with his HUNDREDS of other stars who ate at his breakfastery. Alas, it took him about three secs to determine whether he should come back with the camera. He never did. It's OK, his Omelet was good. 
 
Other points included Rodeo Drive, big houses that cost 4 million, and tiny houses that cost 2 million. Also, Hollywood Blvd and all that comes with it, including a Marilyn Monroe and Crocodile Dundee look-alike who were drinking coffee together on the corner. Scott really really REALLY wanted to stop at the Bad News Bears Baseball Field, which was where they filmed the movie, I guess. So we went and the guys did a run around the bases. I went to the pitcher's mound and fondly recalled my Azalea Little League days. Though I sucked and never left Left Field. ( my coach was a racist anyway, so I will blame him for not enthusing me on the subject of baseball. Though I like The Bad News Bears movies. Weird.). 
 
Oh, and the show was great, blah blah....