Sightseeing

I forgot to post photos of the Third Street Promenade on the post from yesterday, so I'll just put them here.

Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica

On the 21st of April, I woke up and decided to take care of some of the chores on my list.  I started by looking up a better place to stay than my roach motel, and moved onto calling USPS about my knife.  Anyway, I packed my crap and went out in search of oil.  I stopped at a place called West Coast GP Motorcycles and priced out some oil.  I asked what they charge to do the change themselves, and the guy said $40.  I didn't want to pay $40 to have someone loosen a single bolt, then put it back and pour oil into my bike.  But I'd have to go and find something I could use as an oil pan, and then buy it, and then deal with my spent oil, and waste time that I'd rather spend enjoying California.  So I told the guys I'd spring for the change if they give it a good once over and inspect stuff because I wanted to be in tip-top shape before heading back.  I bought the oil and paid for the change, and I'm so glad I did.  It turns out that everyone in the store races bikes.  Not just that, but they all race SV650s!  So they know these bikes inside and out.  They changed my oil, checked (and topped up!) my coolant, inspected and approved my brakes, inflated my tires to a better pressure (and told me what it should be given the weight I'm carrying), checked and sprayed my chain and gave it a good once over.  Best $40 I ever spent.

From there I went to check into the Super 8 in Culver City, CA.  I then wasted the majority of my day trying to get passport photos taken for VISA applications I need to send.  It was a debacle and I eventually gave up.

I went to the beach and found that it was too cold to swim.  So I walked along the beach in the water for a while, and then decided to do something else.  I went back to the hotel and spoke with a biker named Wes in the parking lot.  I went back to my room and decided I should just work on blog posts and stuff for the rest of the night (it was already dark).

On the 22nd of April, I went to Hollywood.  I walked along Hollywood Blvd on the Walk of Fame.  The vast majority of the stars on the walk said "Reserved for Grant Salton".

Part of a mall

Hollywood Blvd

I then went downtown LA to pick up my knife from the post office.  I went to the city center but I didn't really find anything interesting.  I think I was in the wrong area?

I left the downtown area and decided to visit:

To get to the vantage point in this picture, I had to hike a fair bit.  Here's the view from the top:

From there I decided to take a drive through Beverly Hills.

A residential street

A section of the sidewalk

Perpendicular view from above

It's all so nice... Everything just seems so ... expensive.  Here's Rodeo shopping district:

From there I went back to the hotel, changed into warmer clothes, and then went for dinner.  I ate at some upscale restaurant/sushi bar.  The sushi was very good, but also very expensive.  I wanted a cup of coffee or something, so I went back to the Third Street Promenade.  In Starbucks, I spoke to a Jamaican guy who used to ride a Honda fireblade.  We talked for a while, and by the time I got back to my bike I had a parking ticket.  I was confused - I'd specifically parked so that I was leaving the space available for other cars.  I got a ticket for parking like this:

The ticket is for being "100% in the red".  I had initially parked in the space as though I was a car.  I thought it was kind of unfair and wanted to move it.  At that moment, some official looking guys ("community service officers", apparently) rode by and I asked if parking was free.  They said yes and told me I should move my bike to where it is in the pictures so I don't snake a whole spot.  I agreed and moved it.  Anyway, I asked local cops who said it was ridiculous and told me to contest it.  How much is the ticket?  ... $65.  Ya, I know.  So I called it a night.

On the 23rde, I got my stuff sorted out and then went to the beach for a bit.  I went in search of sunglasses and ended up buying a bamboo shirt on clearance.  I then went to the water and body surfed on the waves for a while.  It's not the same as the regular surfing I wanted to try, but it'll do. I went back to the hotel and worked on my visa applications for travel.  It took forever, and it became too late to take passport photos.  I just hit the road.

On the way, I stopped in Fontana CA for a coffee and to check maps.  I spoke to a biker in the store who strongly recommended I not try the mountain pass that night due to high winds, winding roads, excessive trucks, and a general danger.  All the nearby motels were ridiculously expensive, so I decided to camp.  I stopped at Target for supplies (can of dinner, etc.) then drove around looking for a good place to stop.  I was in a really posh area, so nothing stood out.  Eventually, I just said "screw it!" and camped on a soccer/football field in the middle of town:

It's right here:

View Larger Map

From 1-2am the sprinkler system came on and sprayed my tent.  One of them was really bad so I got out and went to divert the water until it turned off a couple minutes later.  I was successful although the tent was soaked.  It didn't matter in the end because it rained in the morning anyway.  I was also freezing cold that night and barely slept.  And so concludes my Californian adventure.