I longed to be at the beach all day yesterday. It was silly, really... I knew the beaches of Southern California would have been awfully crowded, and traffic would've been a nightmare. Still, I really, really, really wanted to go to the beach, so I decided that today I would go.
My toilet, on the other hand, had other plans. I woke up fairly early this morning, ready to pack up and start my day. When I went to the loo, however, I noticed a large puddle of water around the base of my toilet. YUCK! Grossed out beyond compare, I quickly dialed a recommended plumber and asked if they could come check it out (the joys of home ownership, folks - truly overrated!). They told me that they couldn't get out here until noon. Bah!
I finished getting dressed and, feeling defeated, decided to take my dog for a walk in the neighborhood instead. Neither of us were terribly happy. Around 11:30, the plumber showed up (woohoo - early!) and quickly fixed the problem. Gasket problems, or something like that? Anyhoo, I paid the gentleman and kindly thanked him. It was now noon and I was ready for lunch. After lunch, my brother convinced me that the beach isn't that far away, so I packed up Diego's things, hopped him up in the SUV and headed south.
On the way to the beach, I decided to cut through West Hollywood. A fellow blogger had told me about a very cool Batman billboard off Sunset Blvd that I really wanted to check out. Last September, my brother and I stumbled upon the Dark Knight set in downtown LA, and I have been eagerly waiting for the movie ever since. I finally found it, and was not disappointed:
At La Brea and Sunset in Hollywood
How freaking cool is that? The billboard is kind of hidden, but if you head north on La Brea towards Sunset, you'll find it just past the Jim Henson Studios :) So rad.
After our little sidetrack, my pup and I headed west for the Pacific Ocean. Boy, were we disappointed. Not only were the beaches packed, but none of the ones with available parking allowed dogs! I know that the most dog-friendly beaches are in Huntington and Malibu, but I was hoping I could at least walk him "on-leash" closer than that. Sigh.
After driving back east, I decided to head towards Burbank to go grab a green tea latte before heading back home. While I was sitting in traffic on the 101, however, I remembered that there was a terrific dog park near Lake Hollywood. Poor Diego had been such a trooper all day - the least I could do was take him there, right?
My dog has gone Hollywood!
Lake Hollywood Park (an unofficial dog park)
3160 N. Canyon Dr, Los Angeles, CA
This dog park is fairly big, but sadly is not fenced in so I had to keep Diego on leash. That's the bad thing about Basset Hounds - you can't take them off the leash unless there is a gate. Their nose will lead them on adventures, and you won't be able to call them back! Sigh. Diego still had fun, though, and made a lot of new doggy friends. He also made some not-so-doggy friends like this guy:
Creepy, right?
Alas, the sun was rapidly falling and it was time to pack it up and head home. I let Diego circle the park one last time before we went. Of course, he thought he could trick me into letting him play a little more...
We always want what we can't have...
Diego and I said our goodbyes to our new Lake Hollywood friends, hiked back up to our car, and headed back home. Of course, I still got my green tea latte... and we took a small detour through Toluca Lake to meet up with a friend... but it was worth it. Hopefully next time, we can make doggy dates with some of our friends that live down south. That, or at least go to the friggin' beach. Sigh. All's well that ends well, at least!
Until next time...
---Becks
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