There we were deep within the recesses of the dark and foreboding urban jungle which is Los Angeles. By day LA teems with life as its citizenry move about its concrete and asphalt veins, imbuing it with a sense of purpose. By night, LA breaks free of its corporate shackles as its life blood moves indoors where all manner of art, music, and excitement can be found.

And then there are the white blood cells of LA, the dreaded motorcycle police…..

Ok, so Nathan, Robert and I decided to go to breakfast the morning after the show. Surprisingly, Nathan did not have a hang over because he can hold his liquor (then devours it), and drinks lots of water. (and his pee reeks of alcohol. Ahhh, the circle of life.) Just kidding Nathan :)

Now we originally left just to get coffee and a bagel, but it quickly devolved into a scavenger hunt. We first stopped at the Coffee Grind next to the Edison, but it had a sign that said Starbucks was open on 4th Ave, so we went there and it had a sign that said come to the Starbucks on 6th Ave. It was at that point I noticed that the message also said “This message is for the employee meeting. Starbucks is closed.” Sooooo we decided to go to the Kyoto for breakfast.

Not surprisingly, there were few people in the restaurant when we were there. It had a decent menu with $15 bacon and eggs and a friggen expensive fruit bowl. (Robert likes his fruit. Mmmmmm fruit.) Robert left a bit early to go finish packing and Nathan and I walked back about 10 minutes later. As we left the Hotel we noticed just how dead the streets were. There were no cars to be had, the cabbies were sleeping in their taxis and I think I saw two other people walking. With this in mind, we started back to the Hotel which was about 3 or 4 blocks away. As we walked up South Hill Rd, we came to a four way intersection near the Edison. Nathan and I looked both ways and noticed that there were no cars. I mean there were no cars parked, driving, or otherwise. In fact there were no bikes or pedestrians either.
So Nathan and I crossed, god help us we crossed AT A RED LIGHT! Oh the HORROR! Jaywalking, we’re such pirates...

As soon we took our first step onto the roadway I heard him, sneaking up from behind. His little motorcycle engine puttering away. Then it came… “Whoop Whoop” The familiar sound of a police siren. (Don’t ask why it’s familiar). I don’t know if he was hiding in the alley or disguised as a tree somewhere, but there he was pulling us over for jaywalking.

“You know jaywalking is a ticketable offense, and I’ll have to write you up.” He said from behind his mirrored sunglasses. “We get a lot of people hit by cars here downtown.”

Ok, WTF? I again looked in all directions and STILL didn’t see any cars at all downtown. It was at this point I turned on the “Let’s see if I can talk my way out of this.” conversation mode.

“Sorry about that officer, we were just trying to get back to hotel. We have a cab coming in about 5 mins to take us to the airport.”

“Id please..”

“Sure, sure. We are going back to Seattle in a bit, and my daughter is flying back in from Buffalo today so we are going to meet at the airport. I Hope there are no delays…”

“Id?” At this point I slip him the super secret ID card.

“Do you have a state ID too?” And then the Washington ID card.

“Ok, well I’ll give you a warning this time. Have a Happy New Year.”

Success!!
So the moral of the story is don’t pay $15 for bacon and eggs…..

Anyway, just thought I will tell you that little tale. Yet another chapter in the wonderful Misadventures of Abney Park.