The vacation is over, it’s time to go home and I’m ready for it. Another great adventure with seeing beautiful places and meeting friends and family and driving many miles. I’m in the airplane now, so I have plenty of time to write.
Let’s go back to where we left off. Lake Tahoe. I had some relaxing days there and it sure is one of my favorite places. The lake surrounded by snow capped mountains is a very peaceful location to spend a couple of days. After being busy driving, hiking and working for the past few weeks, it was especially relaxing to be here. I didn’t do too much, just hanging out in the cozy studio, cooking dinner, doing laundry and go on a few hikes. Among my favorite things were the early morning walks to the waterside to watch the sunrise. Definitely worth waking up at 5am for.
After the vacation days at Lake Tahoe I have a long drive ahead of me, about 8 hours back to Los Angeles. A couple of podcasts and roadtrip songs later, I arrive there late in the evening and return some of the camping stuff at Walmart. My friends in Montana taught me a few years ago that you can return almost everything at Walmart as long as you have a receipt and it’s still in decent condition. That saves me quite some money, since I can’t take it all home with me anyway. After the long drive of today I desire some familiar comfort and so I go back to Mel’s Drive-in as Sunset Boulevard where I had dinner a few weeks ago. It’s a cool fifties diner with complementary valet parking and good food. Definitely a place to check out when you’re in Hollywood.
After dinner I drive to my usual parking place in the neighborhood for my last night of camping. It’s not as peaceful as before, because I wake up during the night by some loud noises of someone’s garage door that keeps opening and closing for about half an hour, but fortunately it stops at some point and I fall asleep again. I don’t mind it too much anyway, as I’m just happy to be in Hollywood again. I wake up early in the morning which gives me the opportunity to see the sunrise over the Hollywood sign mountain. I’ve hiked up the mountain many times before, but I don’t feel like doing that today and so instead I hike on the hills across the mountain. That turns out good, because it gives me a beautiful view of the sunrise above the sign. I stay there for a while, enjoying the scenery until it gets warm from the rising sun. I drive to Griffith Observatory to enjoy the views from there. At one of the picknick sites I meet with a guy who remembers me from a few weeks ago. His name it Tom and he walks his dogs in the park every day and we talk for a while. I enjoy meeting this friendly guy again, go for a short walk near the observatory and then drive further to my favorite coffee place in Hollywood, Beachwood Cafe.
When I arrive at Beachwood Cafe I’m greeted with a lot of enthusiasm by the staff. “Welcome back, we’re happy that you’re back!” I’ve been coming here several times through the years and love it that they treat me as a regular, even though I live on the other side of the world and can only visit when I’m traveling here. The cafe is not too busy yet since it’s still a bit early and I get a table next to the window, my favorite seat. I order their delicious two-two-two: two eggs, cherrywood smoked bacon bacon and pancakes, mmmm. After breakfast I hang around to enjoy some more coffee, reading and writing. I love how they never rush you here to leave even when it gets busy, but instead keep coming with coffee refills. I love being here and stay a while before I say goodbye. What a great start of the day.
