Hilary's Trip 2006-2007

Now in North Hollywood. It's now Saturday, November 4, 5 PM (local time) in Los Angeles. I arrived at LAX yesterday and was greeted by my father and my brother, who very kindly drove me up to the town where they live in San Fernando Valley, north of the city. It took us two hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get there--all of which reminded me of China. But today there've been clear skies and you can see the sun, the palm trees, and the mountains all around. To think it's in the 80s F. in November! Obviously, it makes you understand why so many people come to "Lala" land from all over. Even though it's crowded, expensive, covered in neon lights and so forth, just seeing the sun and palm trees probably make living here the great attraction for many people. This place is also the center of the film and music industries, as I could tell last night at Kinko's, where I checked out my email. People there were talking on MSN to their friends, colleagues, etc. in all parts of the U.S. There were dark-skinned rappers calling to Brooklyn, blond, fledgling "starlets" calling to the Mid West, etc. An interesting social phenomenon, to say the least. Also interesting were the following (see photos) people I saw on the street corner where Ventura Blvd. and Laurel Canyon Drive meet.

posted by Hilary @ Sunday, November 05, 2006