Happy 4th of July!

Thank you for reading my blog. I would like to wish all of you a happy 4th. I was at Topanga State Park earlier and it could not have been any more beautiful. I'll be heading out to Mt. Baldy this weekend, so come back and check out the pictures.

Backbone Trail Run-Topanga State Park

This morning, before the heat set in, my daughter and I set off to Topanga State Park to clock some running time in the Santa Monica Mountains. Using the gateway at Will Rogers State Historical Park, we were on the Backbone Trail in no time. Wednesday is not one of the popular days in this park and as expected, we ran into less than a dozen other people. This trail is always preferable to Griffith Park during the frequent summer heatwaves. It is at least 10 degrees cooler here than in Hollywood. The Backbone trail runs from Pacific Palisades to Point Mugu. While I have been to the park over one hundred times this year, I have never run the entire length of the Backbone Trail. It is on my short list. I saw a couple of people with dogs this morning, and while I understand that people love their dogs, and truly, for many people, their dogs are their children. I empathize with you, but it is pretty arrogant to think the rules don't apply to you. I am not the Ranger, and I loathe law enforcement, but seriously, fuck you people who go on this trail with dogs. The highlight of the trip today was a giant black raven sitting on top of a yucca plant. This guy must have tipped the scales at 3lbs. An awesome sight. The photo was taken with an I-Phone Camera at a distance of approximately 15 feet.

Seen better days.

A hefty dose of trash from Los Angeles' past, these four places just will not die:

1. Pink's Hot Dogs 709 N La Brea Ave Los Angeles, CA 90038 (323) 931-4223 Getting food here is like being assaulted with a deli weapon. It should be codified in the California Penal Code as a felony. It is absolutely reckless, just insidious to serve this fecal matter to people. Landmark my ass. More like skidmark

 2. Tam O'Shanter 2980 Los Feliz Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90039 (323) 664-0228 I come here on occasion for business dinners. Without fail, the hostess will always tell us that Walt Disney used to sit here. That fucktard was inspired by the architecture here when he thought up Disneyland. The food is bland, a study of mediocrity, a glorified Swanson Hungry ManTV Dinner. Vegetables, especially the creamed spinach, are decent. The place needs a deep cleaning. It smells like the floor of the Viper Room in here.

3. Musso & Frank Grill 6667 Hollywood Blvd Hollywood, CA 90028 (323) 467-7788 If nostalgia means puking up gin a few hours after you leave this place along with some toast points, then you are gonna get a hefty dose of nostalgia here. If you do not drink alcohol, and frown on the food available at the Circus Circus Buffet in Reno served by waiters in red monkey suits then you will not want to drop one hundred bucks on Welsh Rarebit. With that said, Mario the bartender will expertly facilitate your drunkening with a martini (with sidecar) by which all martinis should be judged. You can close your eyes and inhale the stench of this old carpet, and you can almost picture W.C. Fields pissing on your leg in the bathroom or Gloria Swanson trying to grab your wiener at the bar.

4. El Cholo 1121 S Western Ave Los Angeles, CA 90006 (323) 734-2773 Every dog has its day best describes how I feel about this place. Lots of people have been doing lots of things for many years. Take working as a prosecutor, for instance. I once knew an elderly prosecutor who worked at the Glendale Courthouse, and he had been scrubbing out toilets and kissing a lot of hairy bean bag since the 1920's, just like the kitchen staff at El Cholo. How special! The watered down canned tomato based salsa is a harbinger of the mediocre combo plates to come. If you grew up in LA, you know what I am talking about. The #1 and the #2. Here, you are mostly going to find a lot of #2. For all of those people who live nearby or attend clown college at USC, you don't have to look too far to get a better and cheaper pseudo-Mexican meal. What is up with all the high ratings for this place?

The oppressive heat is no excuse to weasel your way out of exercising!

Get on the trail and stop making excuses. Drink plenty of water, and eat a couple of bananas. Take at least an additional liter of water per person. Today, I decided to tackle Griffith Park from the Western end of Ferndell. Just walk a couple of hundred yards past the kid's playground and keep to the left. There are several ways to speed this section up the best was is to just start running slowly and bear right past the sycamores to a little trail that will take you straight up the ridge and finish up at those picnic tables just below the road. Cross the street, and head up the hill and soon you will be at the bridge. Keep on going up, breathe through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Keep hydrated. Take a look at the panoramic views and the inevitable pair of raven soaring overhead.

Once you get to the top take a look around and start heading down at once Pick up the pace a little bit and scan the trail ten feet in front of you. Let gravity carry you down the hill, and do not stop. Breathe and keep hydrated. Run at 3/4 speed until you get to the picnic area. Stretch for at least 15 minutes before heading to your car. Face it, it must have taken you a couple of years to get into bad shape, and it will probably take you at least a year to start seeing good results. You have to eat whole foods also! Working out alone is not enough. It is a lot of work. If you want to keep fit, you are going to need to do this run at least five days a week pushing yourself each and every time. You can go in the morning, or in the evening, it does not matter as long as you do it. It does not get easier, ever. Park your car across Los Feliz Blvd. so you don't get a parking ticket, and so that you don't cut any corners like a cheating bastard. There is another way to get a really good workout and that is by going up the steep hill to the right of the ever popular fire road leading up to the Observatory out of Ferndell. Run up this hill if you want to work your body the fuck out and fill each and every cell in your body with rich oxygen and nutrients. When you get to the top of the first steep hill, run like hell down the slope until you can barely take it anymore. Try to make yourself run up the next hill. Then the next one. And so on. After running this trail every day, I feel like 98% of my problems have been solved. I feel great, and look 10 years younger. Trail running even makes my hair grow back in a lush and shiny manner. I suspect that you will probably get the same results. I did it, and you can, too!

The Best Roasted Chicken in Los Angeles

Some people say that Zankou has the best chicken in Los Angeles, but those people are fucktards. I don't care what god you pray to up in heaven, but there is one thing for certain, he buys his roasted chicken from Pollos Ala Brasa on Western and 8th in Koreatown. Not only does Pollos have the best Pollos, but some damn good french fries as well. Skin on, thick cut, fresh potatoes which are fried to order. Not only is this the best roasted chicken, it is also without a doubt, the cheapest place to feed your family in a one hundred mile radius. Back in the Summer of 1998, I took an extended vacation to Peru, and determined that the very best thing about the trip was the Peruvian Food. Not only the perfect roasted chicken and fries available on any corner, but the magnificent variety of ceviche, fresh seafoods, and anticuchos that are so good that they can bring a tear to a grown man's eye. But one does not need to travel to a different hemisphere to fill up on wood fired chicken. Pollos Ala Brasa has a half a chicken, fries and a fresh salad for just under ten dollars. The chicken is smokey all the way to the bone, and the Aji served on the side is a wonderful and spicy addition to this great meal. You are going to thank me later!

Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

There is a reason why New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment and clearly it is places like this. Just take a little extra time to get out here and hike up to the top of the Slot Canyon Trail to check out one of the best views I have ever seen in my life. The canyon itself is pretty narrow, and when we came up was completely filled with snow. The scenery, as you can see from the pictures is unforgettable. When you get to the top, the reward becomes quickly evident when you catch your first panoramic glimpse of the valley. Spectacular!

Crystal Cove State Park

I have never felt welcome in Orange County. Not for one moment. OC is the birthplace of punk rock music, and there are some great Vietnamese restaurants, but I'll voluntarily stay on my side of the curtain. I do like Crystal Cove, however. One cannot wonder what this place must have looked like before someone got the bright idea to litter the landscape with a golf course and faux-talian mansion monstrosities. Fortunately this little strip of the Orange Coast and a few thousand acres of behind the beach are protected and a great campground with million dollar sunset views is available to the general public. There are sites with all of the amenities (showers, water, tables) down by the beach, and a couple of dozen sites with fewer features if you are willing to hike 3 to four miles into the backcountry with all of your gear, water and food. There will be nobody camping in the backcountry, so if you are looking for solitary experience you are going to find it here at this time of the year at night (during the day the trails are swarming with people). Several trails go into the backcountry and if you decide to walk along the park boundaries it is about 11 miles. It took us a little over two hours to make the loop, and was stunning. It is not really a trail, it is more like a fire road. It is evident that they maintain this place very well. There is a lot of costal sage, and oaks at the bottom of the canyon. Red tailed hawks, turkey vultures, robins, and beautiful black ravens are abundant in the park. This time of the year, the canyons were green and lush and there were plenty of wildflowers. The rodent population seemed pretty healthy as well. You cannot access the beach from the campground. It requires a short walk up PCH. There are no campfires or bbqs allowed anywhere in the park. A Trader Joes is located less than a mile away and there are plenty of dining options in the area. This park is one of Orange County's crown jewels.