LA or Bust via Route 66, the adventure continues: Westward Hooooo!, er um, Eastward I mean

With My Apologies to Lewis Carroll…

“ "The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings.”

What in the blue blazes is he talking about?

Well, shortly, I’ll be leaving LA and starting my journey back home, and honestly, nothing sums up my thoughts on La La Land better than Lewis Carroll’s nonsense rhyme.

I I’ve hinted before that LA, more than any other city I’ve visited, is a walking contradiction.

You have the beautiful, self-absorbed people competing for space with the homeless, self-absorbed people—one group desperately chasing attention and fame, the other just trying to disappear into the background. And let me tell you, there are a lot of the latter. To most Angelenos, they’re simply invisible.


Moving to a better neighborhood


Waiting for God

Rich man's Leftovers, Poor man's treasure.

LA really is the city of dreamers and broken dreams. A beautiful and yet sad place existing around a mythical shining city on a hill called Hollywood. This last sentence is Hyperbole by the way. The actual hill is a bump in the centre of LA that’s a colourless dusty mound with a famous fading sign on it.

Queuing in the hope of being discovered.

And yet—despite all this—LA is home to some of the friendliest people I’ve met. Even those living on the streets, when approached, are often not just kind but genuinely fascinating individuals. Of course, discretion is key—some encounters have been wonderful, others… well, let’s just say I’ve learned when to make a quick exit. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Shooting the Streets

A lot of street photographers shoot from a distance, using long lenses to keep a safe barrier. And while I understand the risks, I believe that’s more voyeurism than photography. Shooting from afar earns you nothing but suspicious glares. Getting close, engaging with people—that’s where the real stories (and photos) happen.


Phil played for me. Down but not out.

Street Kids Skateboarding in a safe caged off area

The LA Attitude

My daughter thinks the city's cheerful vibe is a result of the year-round sunshine. Or maybe it’s just that nobody wants to be negative—you never know if the person you’re talking to is a big-shot Hollywood producer who might hand you a golden ticket to fame.

Whatever the reason, LA is a mix of wonderful, bizarre, and heartbreaking.

Either way, there are many wonderful, yet at the same time, strange and sad aspects of this city.

The LA Dream. For One Brief Shining Moment We Can Almost Fly.


Their Dream Arrives. Another New Running Shoe Store's Stock Arriving.

Most great cities have something non-human that defines them.

New York has its concrete canyons.
Miami has its beaches.
New Orleans has its food.
Santa Fe has its Pueblo-style architecture.
Sedona has its red-rock buttes.
San Francisco has its hills, prison, and cable cars.
San Diego has its Navy.

But LA? More than anything else, LA is defined by its people. Oh, and that Hollywood sign.

Even the small ones what to make a statement

For me, LA is like a mosquito bite—you scratch it, but the itch keeps coming back. I know I’ll need to return and explore more before the itch finally fades.