Last weekend, the other intern and I went down to LA to have some fun and see the sights. We took the Pacific Coast Highway down there, which goes right along the ocean... and the sun was just setting Friday night so it was quite the sight. On the way we saw Malibu and Pepperdine University, which is a Christian university... who knew? It is nice and it is so close to the beach that someone could go swimming in between classes... that would sure be better than sitting in the commons and wasting an hour!

Once we got to LA, we went to Hollywood Blvd which is where all of the celebrities have their hand prints and stars in the side walk. The whole place just felt like one big party because everyone was walking around and just having fun, and there was so much ENERGY! Even though it was 10 at night, there were more people walking around than there are in Moscow at any given time. There was the 'El Capitan' Theater (pronounced Cap-E-Tan), Kodak Theater, and just the air of fame. I even saw a guy that I recognized from Fear Factor... and I have only watched that show a few times but he had his hair spiked into horns so he was rather recognizable. I have put up a few pictures from that famous street.

The next day we went to the La Brea Tar Pits, and IHOP (ohhh... I love IHOP). I also saw the LA version of a farmer's market, which really has very little to do with produce and a lot to do with ice cream, sun glasses, and other wares. The most impressive thing in my mind was that I survived driving in downtown LA, which is no small feat. The lanes seem to be about equal to the width of the car minus a few inches. Then there are busses which always seem to take up a few inches of other people's lanes, and of course there was oncoming traffic with no divider. I swear... they must set up cameras and just watch people screw up driving. After that, we walked through China Town, where you can get anything and everything cheap. A full suite that would meet Kevin's standards was only $80 (with tailoring)!

My favorite part was when we went to Venice Beach though. The weather was perfect, and there was so much going on. People were performing different things, one person would not juggle swords until the crowd moved up to almost his ladder, and another started yelling at the crowd when most people walked away without tipping him. There was a semi-pro basket ball game going on, a wall setup to graffiti on (where there was some serious spray paint artists going at it), and more of that general California party feel. I put up a few pictures from there.

I love this place. I am starting to think that this is a paid vacation, where I will get experience that I can put on my resume… but mostly it will be one heck of a summer. Not only that, but I am pretty well financially independent right now. I am not saying that I am cut off from my parents, but right now I am paying for California rent, all of my food, my car, my insurance, my gas, and my phone. I am doing it... and that is ALMOST as impressive to me as driving in downtown LA.

Almost.