Notes from the Road - Day 22

2/20/04 Midnight Los Angeles, CA

I take it all back. The hostel I stayed in last night was the worst I’ve ever encountered. I grabbed some coffee and a donut, and then checked out and hauled my stuff out to my car. I had the feeling I’d be hightailing it to San Diego tonight, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Instead, as soon as I’d packed everything up, I just toured around the city, first simply looking for gas (which ranged from $2.39-$2.69 per gallon in just three blocks), then looking for San Pedro, the southernmost tip of L.A. It turned out the HI hostel at San Pedro was closed for the season. Instead, I drove to Hermosa Beach after checking out the view of Port Los Angeles from a bluff overlooking the ocean. There’s a traditional Korean bell and garden there, dedicated in 1976 for America’s bicentennial, that I think was used in The Usual Suspects.

At Hermosa Beach, I found a spot to park and somehow I’d instinctively recognized one of the hostels advertised in the guide, even though there was no sign for it, and it was located above a Chinese restaurant that was being renovated. I asked a bystander to be sure, then checked in. It has coed rooms, the first I’ve seen in a hostel, and I have at least one female roommate tonight. The parking was about three blocks up a hill, but it’s free and the French woman running the place said it was safe.

Instead of walking the beach like I did last night, I sat in the common room watching Just Married with several of the other guests, including some French Canadians and an Australian named Guy that I ended up hanging out with. I walked back to my car to get a jacket when it started getting dark, but neglected to stop at any of the restaurants for supper. The Comedy Club had a couple available tickets since someone cancelled, but I didn’t buy one because I thought I’d see if anyone else wanted to go first. When I got back to the hostel, though, I didn’t ask because everyone was going to a bar for happy hour. I met a bunch of people there and had some fun conversations, then me and Guy went to another bar called the Poop Deck where they sell an entire keg in $1.00 pitcher increments, and met a couple guys new to the area who lived nearby. We all ended up hitting on some girls who came up to our table, then headed out in different directions. Guy had just flown in earlier in the day and was still looking to go to another bar, but I was too drunk by that point. I went to one more bar with him anyway, but the memories are hazy. I ended up getting sick, but at least I made it to the toilet. If I’d had supper, it probably wouldn’t have happened.