Wasn’t that the title of an old George Benson album? If so, it’s very appropriate for this post.
Saturday morning I fled the fog of San Francisco for the sunnier climes of SoCal. This was my first time using AirBnB for lodging. The apartment I’d chosen was in West Hollywood, about 5 blocks from my old apartment. My shuttle got me there earlier than planned by about half an hour. I’d called the apartment owner and apologized for being early, but she said it was fine (although she later confessed that she hadn’t quite been up yet). She took me upstairs, gave me a quick tour, pointed out the apartment rules, showed me the internet password, made sure I had her number and left. I’d also mentioned possibly having to store my luggage with her on Monday, which she said would be fine. The apartment was a studio with a small balcony overlooking the pool, a full-size refrigerator, stove/oven, microwave, toaster and a hair dryer. There were no toiletries (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, body wash), but one bath towel was provided. Even without a TV, telephone or music of any kind, it was comfortable.
Soon after freshening up a bit and changing clothes, I dashed off to the Metro to go downtown. I made my rounds in the Jewelry District (was looking for a star sapphire that closely matched one that I already have), then had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. I was back at the apartment by 2:00 p.m. “Rock N Roll Ralphs” was across the street from the apartment. It’s a grocery store that’s open 24 hours. I assume it’s called “Rock N Roll Ralphs” because it’s frequented by M.I. students. Actually, my ex-boyfriend and I often did our grocery shopping there at around 2:00 a.m.! I was there to pick up picnic supplies for the Hollywood Bowl. My choices were a turkey Panini, potato chips, pasta salad, cantaloupe, bottled water and a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, 2 or 3 people had said that they didn’t think I’d be able to take the wine into the Hollywood Bowl. Their website said it was ok, but I didn’t want to risk having the wine confiscated if they didn’t allow it for this special festival (even though they had in the past). Not having been to the Hollywood Bowl for about 10 years, I wasn’t sure what rules had changed. I threw everything into my backpack and walked to the Hollywood Bowl, about half an hour at a leisurely pace. Although the Playboy Jazz Festival officially started at 3:00 p.m., I showed up about 4:45 p.m. As I was searching my section for my row and seat, an inebriated man offered me a piggyback ride to my seat. He was dead serious, too, and kept saying “Now don’t be shy!” I passed and managed to find my seat on my own. It was right in the middle of the row, but not bad for viewing of the musicians. The group on my right were men and women, both black and white; seemed to be about 7 or 8 of them together. There was a middle-aged black couple on my left. While the group on my right were partying hard, the couple on my left seemed rather subdued. All of them were very nice and friendly, though. Aside from the usual beach ball throwing and blowing bubbles, people were also throwing Mardi Gras beads and jello shots! I managed to nab some beads mid-air, but wasn’t lucky enough to grab any jello shots. One of the guys on my right offered me my choice of shots, though – vodka, Malibu or Fireball. I went for the Malibu. He also kept trying to feed me potato chips and various other snacks from their picnic bags. Beings they also had wine, champagne and beer, I knew that alcohol, in every shape and form, was definitely allowed. The couple on my left also offered food to me; they knew the keyboard player in the last set, which would also include Al Jarreau and Stanley Clarke in a tribute to George Duke. The weather was warm, but not scorching. I had my sunglasses on, but didn’t bother with a hat or extra sunscreen. My favorite acts of the evening were Dianne Reeves and Jamie Cullum. Loved Dianne Reeves version of Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You.” Made me a little emotional; reminded me of my ex that I’d lived with in L.A. many years ago. When we first met back in Kansas, both of us had that Marvin Gaye album with “I Want You” on it. Jamie Cullum was quite hyper, jumping all over the stage, on his piano, grabbing hats and drinks from crowd members, etc. I wasn’t as impressed with Patti Austin or Al Jarreau. In the midst of the George Duke tribute, I decided to head back to the apartment. I didn’t want to be stuck in that last minute run for the Exits, followed by a massive traffic jam as everyone tried to escape the parking lots. Many other people had the same idea, but it was still better than waiting till the last possible minute. I stopped off at CVS on Hollywood Boulevard ’cause I’d forgotten to bring a contact lens case. After getting a case, I was looking around confused. They had self scanning. San Francisco, being a few years behind major cities, doesn’t seem to have that yet. One of the employees scanned my case, anyway, since I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing! Back in the apartment, I felt a little sad for the life, the man and the apartment that I’d given up in L.A. all those years ago. I’d always intended to get back with him and always intended to move back to L.A., but those things never happened. I’d been too busy partying and been too caught up in other relationships. When they say hindsight is 20/20, they’re not kidding.
Sunday morning still felt like Saturday to me. I still had part of that turkey Panini left, so ate some for breakfast. I laid around relaxing awhile, then went back to Ralphs for my Sunday picnic supplies. I’d originally grabbed a roast chicken, but didn’t want to carry the entire thing. Besides, I knew I’d never finish the whole chicken before I left on Monday. My friend and her husband would be at the Bowl as well Sunday afternoon, but I assumed they’d already have a lot of food. I decided on chicken tenders instead, along with macaroni and cheese, green beans with ginger and mushrooms, then some strawberries. I still had the bottle of chianti at the apartment, but bought a Coke at Ralphs. Then I went a few blocks down to the liquor store to pick up a few of those mini bottles (i.e. airplane size) of rum. I started on that rum and Coke immediately! I even returned to Ralphs for another Coke before packing up my supplies and heading to the Bowl. My friend and her husband were already there. They were sitting in the same section as me, but about 7 rows back. My row was packed already, so I went and sat with my friend in her row. She was complaining that it was too hot, even though it was cooler than the day before. I suggested we take all of our food to a nice shady picnic area and eat. They’d brought adobo and rice, nuts, a huge submarine sandwich and a bottle of Riesling. All of us shared our food, of course. She was always an excellent cook and I love her adobo, whether it be Manila-style, Dumaguete-style or whatever. (I’ll always remember one of my ex-boyfriends enjoying her adobo, too. However, he’d thought that the quail eggs were mushrooms!) She and I actually haven’t seen each other since I left L.A. 18 years ago. We’ve talked on the phone and E-mailed here and there, but it was fun to hang out again. We ate, drank, took a bunch of pictures, then headed back to our seats. Two girls, Cathy and Kristin, were sitting on my left side. The 5 of us made fast friends. They were really having a great time and were most excited to see the closing act, Los Amigos. My luck was better on Sunday afternoon. Not only did I catch another set of Mardi Gras beads, but I had at least 3 jello shots! My friend had no idea what they were, so I explained that they were jello with alcohol. She was afraid to try one, until she saw that Cathy, Kristin and I had no fear whatsoever with ours! When my friend and I went to use the facilities, a guy named Rodney came straight up to me and began a conversation. He kept admiring my opal starfish pendant from Hawaii, too. He gave me his last jello shot, along with his phone number and told me (over and over) to give him a call when the concert was over. Meanwhile, Cathy and Kristin had seen us; they thought he was someone famous. Nope, I assured them, just another one of my groupies! As the afternoon turned into evening, my friend got really hammered. She was dancing around while drinking the chianti and managed to get several spots on her white dress! Musically, I enjoyed John Baptiste, Fantasia (who normally gives me a headache) and George Benson, of course. Fantasia did a mini set of old shool songs – Vanity’s “Nasty Girls,” Morris Day and the Time’s “The Bird” and Sheila E.’s “Glamorous Life,” to which we sang along loudly. George Benson sounded as wonderful as ever. I was trying to make videos of him, but the 3 dancing girls kept bumping into me so all of my videos of him are shakey and moving all over the place! Partway through Los Amigos set, Cathy and Kristin ran down to the front, on the off chance that they might get to meet them. My friend’s husband was ready to leave to beat everyone out of the parking lot. They dropped me back at my apartment, and we all promised to get together again soon.
On Monday morning I decided to check out around 10:30 a.m. I called the owner and told her that I’d like to store my luggage, that the shuttle wasn’t picking me up till 3:20 p.m., that I’d be back at 3:00 p.m. and that my flight was at 6:09 p.m. She told me to take my luggage to the building manager’s office on the second floor. The manager was very nice and I explained all of the same things to her. She gave me her number and said to call her whenever I was ready to get my luggage. I dashed back downtown. I found a vendor that has the most amazing silver chains, not only the usual Figaro and box ones, but so very many choices. Picking out silver chains kept me occupied for quite awhile. I never have enough chains for my pendants! For lunch I stopped in at Soi 7, a Thai restaurant and tea salon. I found it to be an unusual combination, and thought it wouldn’t be very authentic, either, but I still wanted Thai food. I ordered the basil chicken lunch combo, along with a pot of coconut chai tea. They serve their teas either hot or iced, whichever you prefer. I wanted hot. Unfortunately, they were out of the coconut chai, so I decided on midnight bleu something or other. It was incredible; the perfume alone made me want to dive in. In fact, I plan to call them later on and ask them who makes that tea ’cause I’d love to stock up on it. My lunch combo began with a veggie soup; lots of flavor, though. The fried spring rolls were fine. The simple salad was good ’cause I couldn’t get enough of the dressing, which was probably fish sauce with something! I’d asked for the basil chicken to be spicy. It was slightly spicy, but really tasty. The food was more impressive than I’d expected. When I used the facilities, I noticed that the tea “salon itself was in the back and was full of Thai people. The restaurant part in the front was mostly white people. Whatever, I had no complaints about the food. Thai food is pretty bad in San Francisco, so even if it wasn’t as authentic as other places, I enjoyed it immensely. I made it back to the apartment at 3:00 p.m. on the dot. To my dismay, the shuttle driver was already there – early! I called the apt. owner, who wasn’t around. She said to call the manager again. I called the manager, who happened to be at another building. I explained that I needed my luggage because the shuttle driver was already there. It took her about 15 minutes to make it back to the building; she was so nice, though. While waiting, I was shooting the breeze with the shuttle driver about traveling in Asia. We made it to the airport in plenty of time for me to use one of my United Club passes. In SFO, I don’t even know where the United Club is; doesn’t seem to be anywhere easily found. At LAX, I waltzed in, handed them my pass and they explained where everything was. I made a beeline for the bar, sat amongst all the businessmen in my shorts, tank top and slippers, and ordered a few rum and Cokes while watching the soccer match. Then I ate some cheese and crackers, recharged my cell phone and walked to the gate, where my group was just boarding. It was a nice experience, but I don’t understand why people would pay hundreds of dollars per year for that. Then again, if you travel constantly and have LONG layovers, I could see the benefit. Or if you can put down 10 (free) drinks in an hour, it’s probably beneficial in that aspect, too!
Thus, the AirBnb experience was a good one, the Playboy Jazz Festival was great, I had fun with my friend and I became so homesick for L.A. from being there for the weekend. I always consider L.A. my home. L.A. is where I began my life with my first serious boyfriend, it’s where I learned some tough lessons (the hard way), it’s where I had my first Chow Chow, it’s where my real friends are and it’s where I always feel comforted when I’m about to arrive via plane, train or automobile. Thanks for the memories, L.A. I intend to make more with you in the future!
