... (at least in L.A.):
serendipitous celebrity sightings. Yesterday, on my ride home through
Playa del Rey, I did my usual scan for hazards while crossing through the intersection of
Pershing and Manchester and spotted the unmistakable figure of
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, waiting, on foot, to cross Manchester to apparently drop off some dry cleaning. Who said, "Nobody walks in L.A.?" Freakin' Kareem does!
This sighting comes only about a month after seeing former U.S. soccer star and current
L.A. Galaxy General Manager
Alexi Lalas walking his dog early one morning just a few blocks south of the same spot. But for me the biggest highlight came earlier this year when I saw none other than
Larry David holding court with about a dozen hangers-on outside
Chaya restaurant on Main Street in
Venice/Ocean Park. Since I saw filming-location signs for "CYE" just down the street a few days later, they must have been in the neighborhood scoping things out for the next season of
Curb Your Enthusiasm. I briefly thought about yelling something stupid like, "Hey, Larry, You're the Man!," as I rode past. But besides thinking I'm too cool to do something like that--but apparently not too cool to blog about it--I was quite legitimately afraid of what he might have yelled back!
None of this really matters, except to point out how much more attuned to the surrounding landscape one is when passing through on bike, rather than tucked away in the cocoon of an automobile. And with the
Culver City model-train store now closed, perhaps bike commuting is the new best place to catch your favorite celebrity on the westside.
... (at least in L.A.): serendipitous celebrity sightings. Yesterday, on my ride home through Playa del Rey, I did my usual scan for hazards while crossing through the intersection of Pershing and Manchester and spotted the unmistakable figure of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, waiting, on foot, to cross Manchester to apparently drop off some dry cleaning. Who said, "Nobody walks in L.A.?" Freakin' Kareem does!
This sighting comes only about a month after seeing former U.S. soccer star and current L.A. Galaxy General Manager Alexi Lalas walking his dog early one morning just a few blocks south of the same spot. But for me the biggest highlight came earlier this year when I saw none other than Larry David holding court with about a dozen hangers-on outside Chaya restaurant on Main Street in Venice/Ocean Park. Since I saw filming-location signs for "CYE" just down the street a few days later, they must have been in the neighborhood scoping things out for the next season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I briefly thought about yelling something stupid like, "Hey, Larry, You're the Man!," as I rode past. But besides thinking I'm too cool to do something like that--but apparently not too cool to blog about it--I was quite legitimately afraid of what he might have yelled back!
None of this really matters, except to point out how much more attuned to the surrounding landscape one is when passing through on bike, rather than tucked away in the cocoon of an automobile. And with the Culver City model-train store now closed, perhaps bike commuting is the new best place to catch your favorite celebrity on the westside.
