The trip down from Crestline was typical LA travel.  Switching from one freeway to another with 6 to 8 lanes each way moving at 60 miles an hour, then slowing to a stop-and-go crawl that kept up for about 30 minutes, during which time we went a total of 3 miles.  Accidents on the LA freeways don’t seem to be as common as I remember, but it doesn’t take much to tie up traffic.  This time it was the result of two tractor trailers trying to occupy the same space at once.

For the next couple of days we will be at Ken and Manola Hackman’s home in Studio City.  We had lunch with them at a small local deli called Marv’s.  I had the best Pastrami sandwich in more than 40 years.  Oh yeah, the last one was also here in LA.  On the way here from Jose’s, we swung through the old neighborhood where I lived when my boys were small.  We moved from this house while I was expecting with Chrystal, my oldest daughter, but this is the only address I remember.

We came in from a different direction than I was used to because we were coming from the mountains.  After I took a couple of photos I was pleased to be able to find my way back to the road we used to take going into LA.  The street where the house is located has been extended and more houses built.  In fact, the whole area is much more built up now than it was then.

When we owned the house, it had a white rail fence  with rose bushes climbing it and a carport instead of a garage.   The neighborhood still seems to be pretty good and the houses are well taken care of.  I think I’d still be comfortable living there.  Considering what I’d been hearing about how the area had changed, I was wondering if it had turned into a gang-ridden slum.  I’m glad to see that the reports were exaggerated.

Ken and Manola live in Studio City.  Their house is built on the side of a hill, like many houses in LA.  They are right downtown.  They have a beautiful home with skylights, tile floors, and gorgeous accessories. I am enjoying getting acquainted with Jim’s friends and getting a different view of him from them.

We will be here until Saturday.  We are signed up for the Worldwide Photo walk near here on Saturday morning, then it will be on to Utah.  On the way there we will pass through Las Vegas briefly.  Since we expect to get there around lunch time I don’t expect to find much of interest for me to take pictures of.  I’m just not really into that kind of cityscape photography.  Maybe at night, the neon does fascinate me.

Right now we are enjoying good conversations while waiting for Manola’s delicious dinner to finish cooking while enjoying wine and cheese with fruit and crackers.  Tomorrow we plan to visit the Getty Museum and then tool around LA for a while.