The Dude Abides

Los Angeles, the City of Angels. Multiple viewings of "The Big Lebowski" have largely colored my pre-existing notions of L.A. We didn't manage to go bowling while we were in town, and I didn't order a Caucasian at dinner last night, but we did manage to squeeze in Lebowski moments whenever possible.

We started out Saturday morning by taking a walk down Hollywood Boulevard, which is home to Mann's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I accidentally poured a signicant part of my coffee right next to Jeff Bridges' star, which fans of Lebowski will find cosmically appropriate, as it's not unlike the time in the film when the Chinaman peed on the Dude's rug ("Asian-American, please").

El Duderino, if, you know, you're not into the whole brevity thing

We had our sole celebrity sighting of the day by Mann's Chinese Theater. Well, you know, this isn't really Johnny Depp, but my nieces our big fans of Pirates of the Caribbean, and I thought they would enjoy the photograph. And his costume was really good (unlike the Jack Sparrow down the street, who was much less convincing).

Captain Jack Sparrow, mugging for the tourists

Next up was a quick hike in Runyon Canyon to work up an appetite for lunch (more on that later...). Josh lives less than a block away from the entrance of this popular city park. The dog to human ratio was about 1:1 (although we were probably bringing down the average), and Andrew heard more than once, "Aww... I want a dog!" Perhaps when we get back from New Zealand... The weather was great, and the sky was surprisingly clear - we were able to see all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Its always nice to find beautiful outdoor spaces within an urban setting.

Los Angeles skyline from Runyon Canyon

Andrew and Becky with the Hollywood sign behind them

Having worked up an appetite on our walk, we headed towards a Los Angeles (and Lebowski) institution: In-and-Out Burger. I think the photograph tells the whole story.


Other highlights of the day included a visit to "The Grove" - an outdoor shopping mall that feels like the Disney World of retail. There, Josh spotted Scott Bakula, sadly not of Lebowski fame. The Grove also had a terrific Farmers Market, where we could have enjoyed a delicious lunch had we not already gorged on cheeseburgers.

At dinner at the Cabo Cantina, Josh also saw David from the Los Angeles season of "The Real World" (Josh has a sixth sense for the celebrity sighting, apparently developed after five years of living in L.A.). The restaurant featured a two-for-one happy hour (with every one drink you order, they bring you two) and was very popular with the former fraternity brother and wannabe starlet crowd. Our stomachs full of nachos and margaritas (this certainly hasn't been a healthful visit to L.A. thus far) we headed back to Josh's to rest up for our last day in the states.