I missed taking a shot of Richard's vanity plate and aftermarket exhaust tips. Good stuff. I asked him if I had kept up the pace enough and if he had any words of wisdom about how I could do better. He said, "You did alright". I gotta tell ya, those 3 little words made my frikin day. He said turns were easier for him because of the position of his engine in the middle of the car.
As my trip odometer clicked to 100 miles- every bit of it gorgeous twisties- we rolled down to the Pier View bar and grill. Their parking lot filled and some of us went trolling for spaces on the road.
I pulled in front of the Malibu Sunset hotel next door, to go inside and get a brochure since I had a hard time finding a hotel near the meet point coming in. I hadn't even stepped out of the car when this guy comes out and says, "That's a LOADING ZONE". I said, "That's OK I am coming inside for a brochure." He said, "That's a LOADING ZONE", I said, "I know". He said "That's a LOADING ZONE", I said, "English is my native language and I can read the sign, so get out of my face" He said "That's a LOADING ZONE". I said, "OK I don't want a brochure anymore because you are an asshole." I started up towards the restaurant parking lot to see if a space had cleared and he ran after me. By the way, it's not a really good plan to run after a New Yorker. I said, "Look, what are you going to do, chase me down and tackle me?" He said he was going to call the police, I told him to have a nice time calling the police because I would be gone before the police arrived. He said "That's a LOADING ZONE". I found a prime parking space, moved the car and returned to the motel to get the manager, and this kid says he is the manager, and an equally mealy faced girl chimes in as well. I didn't know that hassling people was the high point of their existence, so I lobbed them some choice expletives and headed to the grill. That was the first time I remembered why hadn't liked LA before.
Inside the grill, I met up with the hard core riders, the ones who stay to the end, toasted Robert for his utterly completely excellent drive and prepared for the next stages of my journey. I took a hobo's bath in the bathroom, changed out of my sweaty, wet togs. What a great bunch of people. I had a good laugh at the younger set among us whining about how wiped out they were. :) 
Back row:?, Karl, Janet, Ara, Brad Front row: Richard, Debbie, Robert, Silvy Janet bought my gray TalkAbout for $50 (the deal still holds Janet, if you find one cheaper I will refund the difference) and we yakked about my flight to Sacramento and she said it was good I wasn't on Southwest because they don't confirm seats, it's a first-come first-served shuttle. She doesn't know how both later came to save my wretched ass. The only thing that kinda sucked was knowing that Robert BoxStar would post again about his next ride, and I wouldn't be able to take it. I could not say "Goodbye" it seemed too serious so I just said thanks and took off. Janet led me to 405 and with a wave I was on my own again against the LA freeways.
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34 Goin' West Part 1 ~~ Part 2 ~~ Part 3 ~~ Part 4 ~~ Part 5 ~~ Part 6 ~~ Part 7 ~~ Breakfast of Champions Part 8 ~~ Part 9 ~~ The August 5th Malibu Canyon German Roadster Rebellion Part 10 ~~ Part 11 ~~ Part 12 ~~ Part 13 ~~ Part 14 ~~ Part 15 ~~ Part 16 ~~ Part 17 ~~ Part 18 ~~ Part 19 ~~ Part 20 ~~ Part 21 ~~ Part 22 ~~ Part 23 ~~ Part 24 ~~ Part 25 ~~ Part 26 ~~ Part 27 ~~ Part 28 ~~ Part 29 ~~ Part 30 ~~ Part 31 ~~ Part 32 ~~ Part 33 ~~ Part 34 ~~ Stockton, San Francisco and Getting Home Part 35 ~~ Part 36 ~~ Part 37 ~~ |
 Esmerelda's Home Page
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