Moments of the Week – #25

A bunch of awesome moments from this week!

(have some of your own? to be featured in a future edition of MOW! :)

 

From a bike ride in Sierra Madre to the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval—here we go!

 

I met up with a Couchsurfing host for a day of train and bike riding. We took the subway from North Hollywood to Downtown, and then picked up the Gold Line out to Pasadena and Sierra Madre! I had never ridden on the train out that far! Here’s a shot from waiting downtown.

 

 

During our day of bike riding, we stopped for lunch at Whole Foods for a meal of sides (and electrolyte water)! It’s actually a pretty good deal: that whole plate (of 3 different salads) for only $6! Brussel sprouts, kale and butternut squash—mmmmmm! :)

 

Here’s Lucas with our bikes on the Gold Line. He works in the “biz” on set and props—Argo was one of his recent movies! Very cool to hang out with him for the day! :)

 

 

After filming at SunCafe and hearing they had a Cookie Dough Pie, I knew I’d be back there soon! Yup, very decadent. To be honest, the pie part was great, but the chocolate sauce on top was a bit too strong for me. Good thing I was able to share…

 

I met Laura while filming at LifeFood Organic (she worked next door in the Spa), so I knew she liked healthy food! We also split a whole coconut, and the portabello mushroom sandwich! Yum! :)

 

I ended up staying on a couch in West Hollywood, just in time for the Halloween festivities. About 500K people are expected every year. I took a walk down to Santa Monica Blvd. and it looked surreal to see no cars there! This street was going to be quite different at night…

 

 

But first: dinner! I whipped up a chili/stew of tomatoes, onion, kale, black beans, mushrooms, carrots and a bit of cayenne pepper, and also made some cinnamon and nutmeg sweet potatoes. Gotta be properly fed if you’re going out on the town. My host also loved the meal!

 

Here was the main stage right at Santa Monica Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd.—as it is West Hollywood, it’s definitely an LGBT-friendly party! :)

 

I think I wandered around for the first hour with my mouth open and smiling—there were just so many cool, creative costumes and so many people! For years I never wanted to come to this because of the hassle of getting here, but since I was already staying in the thick of it, the decision was easy, and I had a blast!

 

Even the cops got into the fun: for a bit of cash, you could get your picture taken as if you were being arrested—ha! :)

 

So this is that same street from above (during the daytime)—lots of people: and it was only going to get busier…

 

 More of the throngs!

 

Wow—it’s Dark Helmet from Spaceballs—awesome!! :)

 

Here’s my buddy Fawaz as Jean Valjean (prisoner 24601) from Les Miz.

 

The level of creativity and work that go into these costumes is amazing—and I love that Captain America and Iron Man (on the right) are taking pictures!

 

La Cienega and Santa Monica is a pretty busy intersection—amazing that the people have taken it over and not a car in site!

 

Here’s the view down La Cienega—traffic looks particularly horrendous. Glad I’m on foot! :)

 

Another stage: I think I happened upon a voting contest with Waldo and Michelle Obama participating!

 

And yes, here I am amidst it all—I went as a nomad! (In keeping with my minimalism, I didn’t have to buy anything extra! ;)

I knew cats slept a lot, but the two I was staying with really liked to drive that point home…

 

It was funny actually, as these two cats looked amazingly similar to the cats I used to live with (about 7 years ago)!

 

My host Alejandro rockin’ out! It’s still very cool to drop into people’s lives and be able to experience what they love to do!

 

See ya next week from somewhere else in the world!

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About

Former life: actor/office worker/virtual assistant; lived in Los Angeles for 11 years. Since then: sold nearly everything, took a $5 flight to Hawaii, lived there for 3 months, wrote an eGuide about all of it, and still traveling. Currently: digital nomad - looking to improve myself, have fun and serve others.