Adventuring

It's been a while since I had a LA daytrip, seeing as college somehow manages to eat up my free time without fail. But with Spring Break finally here, I decided to get out and do something interesting. So I kidnapped some friends from Pomona and took them on a mini tour of LA that didn't involve Melrose, Hollywood, and Pink's.

First stop - Dino's Chicken and Burgers.

You get half of a bird on a bed of fries and coleslaw for $5.50, which frankly is an awesome deal. Especially considering that fact that there's so much food, we got 2 orders for three people. The chicken is flame-grilled and dripping with deliciously orange-colored oil, lime, and an assortment of peppers that are flavorful without being too hot. The oils then drip down over the fries, soaking them in a bath of heartstopping goodness. Did I mention it all cost $5.50?

After waddling out of Dino's, we headed downtown to check out some old historical sights. You may recognize this one from Blade Runner or, more recently, 500 Days of Summer.

The Bradbury Building is a landmark with such beautiful craftsmanship that I couldn't help but stare. Ornately wrought iron, wood paneling, marble walls - it really took me back to a classier time.

On the subject of 500 Days of Summer, one of the few worthwhile movies to be filmed in LA in recent memory, we headed up to Pershing Square to get our hipster on.

Look familiar? The angle's not quite right, but I'll take what I can get.

After taking Angel's Flight up to some plaza with a name I cannot remember, we found a Famima! Oh, how I miss those... particularly because of one of the greatest sodas out there: Leninade.

Get hammered and sickled.

Over to MOCA, for their "First 30 Years" exhibit. All of the pieces have been switched in and out for the museum's thirtieth anniversary, so after dealing with an annoyingly rude ticket seller, we headed downstairs to delve into something interesting.

This is my favorite installation piece that I've had the joy of experiencing, and I was glad that it survived the scrutiny of whatever curator decided what pieces belonged in the anniversary exhibit. There's just something incredibly calming about the soft glow of the blue light as it slowly emanates across the walls of the stark white room. We took the time to sit down and enjoy the dimly lit void.

Kidnapped another friend and wandered around the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Somehow ended up with these cool pictures in the meantime.

Photos by Nick, except for the one of himself.

The mirrored surfaces of the concert hall had the great effect of acting as reflectors, thus creating some great light without any additional strobes or anything of the sort. It was kind of a perfect situation, and we made sure to take advantage of it.

Next, a short drive over to Scoops for some remarkable ice cream. Even upon entering the place, I felt welcomed and quite amused by the cute worker who seemed genuinely excited about the ice cream she was serving. After getting tastes of some ridiculously awesome flavors (salty caramel or Guiness rasin, anyone?) I settled on a scoop of Green tea butterscotch and Strawberry Pomegranate. Good choices, both.

Scoops' claim to fame is the fact that they switch out most of their flavors everyday and are constantly accepting suggestions for new flavors. I'm rooting for jalapeno-blood orange. Their ice cream is all natural, and is significantly creamier than the typical scoop of ice cream. This does cause quicker melting, but you'll be downing the cool treat so quickly that it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Then, a quick stop over at MILK to pick up some baked goods. Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip cookies for the guys, and a velvet popper for Hannah.

Yum.

Ate at a restaurant that warrants its own post, which I will do soon. Ventured to some other little places around the city, but ultimately ended up at the Bonavista Lounge in Downtown, enjoying the revolving cocktail lounge that gives a 360 degree view of the LA skyline. Mind you, this was after the twenty minutes of driving around looking for parking when the lounge will actually validate parking at the hotel. Wow. And of course, we're too young to purchase cocktails so we stuck with some Apple Tarts.

Unremarkable, but quite pretty.

By some amazing feat of intestinal fortitude, we were still hungry after all of the food consumed thus far. So we meandered over to Little Tokyo and Mr. Ramen! Shoyu ramen ftw.

Not the best in the world, but the pickings get pretty slim at 11 at night.

And so we ended our day with happy tummies, tired feet, a drained ipod, and an empty tank of gas. Twas quite a good day, indeed.