Tag: Games

Wednesday, January 2

Tina’s only “must-see” in southern California was the La Brea Tar Pits in the middle of Los Angeles. La Brea was closed on New Year’s Day so we visited it on our way out of town. Despite the fact that their gift shop is full of dinosaur memorabilia, nobody has ever found dinosaur bones at La Brea. In fact nothing older than 60,000 years has been found there.

Outside the museum we watched the methane gas bubble up in the little lake and marveled at tar pits that had only recently appeared in the grass. As I repacked our luggage in the roof rack, I asked Tina if we should use the tarp. A passerby in the parking lot asked where were going. When we told him “Oregon”, he said that we were headed into a big storm and that we should definitely use the tarp.

It took forever to get back onto the freeway but we did finally see that elusive “Hollywood” sign. After grabbing some Thai food, we finally found the freeway and began the long drive to Redwood City in the Silicon Valley to visit my friend, Rob, whom I’ve known since my first day as a freshman at Wartburg College.

Predictably, we were behind schedule and the drive took longer than expected, so we didn’t arrive at Rob’s until evening. Even so, we spent several hours with him playing on his PS3 (Ratchet & Clank, Guitar Hero 3), watching David Letterman’s first show since the writer’s strike started and just talking. Finally, at 3:00 AM, Rob, Thomas and I retired because at least two of us had a long drive ahead of us the next day.