I won't touch mustard or ketchup. Or catsup.

Ok I can agree with the coconut and mushroom part :greenface . You should try melted jalapeno cheese on your pretzle though.. ooh baby

What the fuck is wrong with you people?! Mushrooms are great fried or on a pizza. And coconut is good, depending on how it's used. And mustard...what a great condiment!

Next, Wolf's gonna tell me that she really voted for Kerry!

;)

No, I won't.

But mushrooms are still icky.

If jalapeno cheese were readily available from a street vendor, I'd consider it. Well, probably not ... I do not want to know how a guy with a milk crate full of pretzels out on the median all day without anywhere to go to the bathroom would keep the cheese warm.

No.

Don't even want to consider it.

SM or folks that visit LA frequently: What driving advice would you offer to someone that has never been to LA? Among the cities I've driven in (including rush hours): Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia and DC.

We arrive around noon time on a Thursday, then make our way north to Santa Barbara. We're leaving on Monday, arriving back in LA around 10:30 am.

1) signal are useless. You claim a lane by putting your front fender into it. Move fast, move with confidence, people will expect it. People think LA drivers are bad drivers; they're not, they're aggresive drivers. You need to become one too, or you'll get eaten alive.

2) Know your geography. Perhaps one of the dumbest things about the LA freeway system is that it doesn't consistently use "North South East West" for freeway directions. Some of the onramps to the 101 will be labelled "101 North" but others will be labelled "101 to San Francisco" or "101 to San Louis Obisbo". It really helps to be up on your california city geography.

3) Check your map. Find where the 101 and 110 freeways cross. Then find where the 5 and the 55 cross. Before noon, all traffic will be headed toward these two points. After noon, all traffic will be headed away from these points. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the non-traffic side of the freeway will move quickly. The only difference is that it will move, where the traffic side will not.

4) After 1 am, all freeways get shut down at various places for road repair. You will be shuffled off the freeway into very unsafe parts of downtown during detours. Bring a weapon. Lock your doors.

5) KNX 1070 AM - news radio with traffic reports every 6 minutes or so. The one beautiful thing about LA is that almost every freeway has a parallel alternate freeway. The 10 is jammed? Take the 60. KNX will keep you up to date.

6) LAX to Santa Barabara at noon on thursday will take you 2:30 - 3:00 hours. Santa Barabara to LAX arriving at 10:30 am on Monday will take you 4 hours. You will be tempted to take the scenic route down Pacific Coast Highway. Do not do this. It will add 2 hours, and that's even if it hasn't been closed for fire, flood, earthquake, or endangered species.

7) If at all possible, avoid having to buy gas in Santa Barbara. It's 20 cent more there than in Ventura or LA. If you exit at California Street in Ventura (one of the last exits), it's a great spot to take a leak, gas up, see the ocean, and then drive the last hour up to Santa Barbara.

8) Have fun!

I got pulled over by a cop once for being To cautious , i saw him in the rear view mirror and didn't burn out to make a hole in traffic , dude hit his lights and came to bitch at me , " I said Yes Sir " and burned out !!!!!!!
true LA traffic story !!!

I just flew back from LA and my arms are tired.
 

I took the redeye back Friday night and got back at 6:00am on Saturday.

Los Angeles (really Montebello) was uneventful. As usual it was eat, sleep, work. About the only good thing was putting the meals on an expense account. Even so, with a severe per diem and time constraints, we didn't do anything too exotic.

Went a little crazy at the Mongolian BBQ at the Montebello Mall food court and finally realized that I am getting too old to eat really spicy food.

The place that stands out the most from this trip was Robins BBQ in Pasadena. I was avoiding pork and the chicken and beef ribs were great. Since we were eating late, we only split onion rings as an appetizer. There was almost too much food and we skipped dessert, but on the way out I saw this large glass goblet like a triple sized champagne glass filled with ice cream and completely covered with chocolate and nuts.

If I can make it there at a decent time, I'd like to try more items. They have a 'garbage can' appetizer sampler served on a metal garbage can lid.

I'm going to be back there for round two the weekend before Thanksgiving and I might have a free day on Sunday.

A full sized lid? That sounds interesting. Only in Cali I guess.

Greetings from Los Angeles...I head back to St. Louis tomorrow, after spending today in LA and 2 1/2 days in Santa Barbara. Here are some photos from the trip. Enjoy!

Ahhhh....Segways.....makes the world seem like heaven. :)

PM me your snail mail addy...I have a little present to send you. :)

I never really had the patience to eat chicken ribs. There's so little meat, and they're so *tiny*. :bolt:

Here I am again
 

I got in on Wednesday. If everything goes well, I will have a free day on Sunday. I might stay with my co-workers or go it alone. So far, the Universal or Disney plazas have been suggested.

Home
 

On the November trip, I went to the La Brea Tar Pits and Rodeo Drive.

I just got back from my final trip to L.A. On my free day, two coworkers and I took a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Point Mugu, about 30 miles.

It's a beautiful area. The hillsides are dotted with the compounds and in some cases, actual castles, of the rich and famous. It's a place where the phrase 'a million dollar view' really means just that.

We had lunch in Venice and walked along Venice Beach, which is hard to describe. For those people who think California is wierd, and the LA area is the wierd part of a wierd state, Venice Beach is the landing zone for every strange character on this planet.

Instead of a boardwalk, it's a very wide walking path. In the center, for about a mile, are shops on the landward side and along the beach side are vendor tables and blankets selling almost anything, real or imaginary. A lot of djembe drummers, didgeridoo players, people selling 'tobacco' pipes made from almost anything, crystal sellers, and one girl who looked a little like Alice in Wonderland hopping up and down behind a blanket of trinkets with an intensely blissful expression on her face.

I only took (or asked someone else to take) three pictures. I should have left on the video because it was absolutely one of the most unique places I have visited.