Los Angeles CA

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Hwy 15S into Nevada into California...agriculture ?????stop ? Agent asks us ‘where are you coming from?’ I said, ‘Zion’ and Kathy says ‘North Carolina.’ ??’Are you carrying any produce?’ We both said ‘no’ and carried on...forgot, we did have a couple apples ???First experience with that and we did not want to have the entire Subie searched.

We kept on...Mojave National Forest ? and desert? Joshua trees...lots of land and military training grounds. Exit Zzyzx Road ?

Back on Route 66 into Barstow CA...Up and down San Bernardino National Forest through the Cajon Summit. Cars ?, trucks ?, cars?...4 lanes and traffic for the first time on our journey. Train ? overpass - Lake Arrowhead and now you can see the smog ahead ?

Made it safely on Wednesday afternoon, November 8th, to Val’s new house ?.

Welcome to Lala Land ?It’s actually sunny ?Time for us to relax, take showers?, and clean some of our camping ⛺️ stuff. Kathy and I get a few items from the grocery store and heat up leftover chili and make a salad ? for all of us for dinner. Val has to work Thursday, so we go to the Culver City ? Stairs and hike to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. We can see the entire downtown LA area as well as the Hollywood sign in the hills and the Pacific Ocean ?. Tonight, when Val gets home, we are headed to downtown LA for an art walk and food trucks. We also checkout a cool rooftop bar called Perch...very cool and live music ? which was ? great!

Val takes off Friday so we can hang out and get ready for her house warming party ?...~50 people are coming between 7-11pm. Yummy ? food, cocktails, friends, and tons of fun ?We met so many nice and interesting people. Late night and an after party with cleanup for us...finally to bed ~2am ? Saturday we help Val plant some rosemary and Lily’s in planters to provide some privacy along her fence. Our evening plans are to go with her and Michelle to one of her friends gallery openings in Culver City - The Liquid Series, Joan Scheibel, and then grab some dinner. Interesting and cool art and we meet more nice ?? people. Culver City is soaked in movie ? making history and had a buzzing dining and nightlife scene, including art galleries, playhouses, and the storied Culver Hotel. Time to eat...La Cucina for dinner. Val orders a variety of small plates for us to all share. Wow...everything is so fresh and has amazing flavors! We enjoy some dishes we have never had and all of us are satisfied ?

Sunday and Monday we are heading to Palm Springs and the Joshua Tree ? National Park with Val to visit with her friends Tisha and Rachel, who have a new home in Joshua.

Our plans include enjoying some relaxation, hikes, great food and drinks ? , and maybe even check out where Johnny Carson once lived. Kathy ❤️ Johnny Carson?

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