With my sister and her husband in town this past weekend from Maine, we wanted to do the Hollywood clubbin’ thing without dealing with the actual Hollywood clubbin’ thing (read: velvet ropes, $20 covers, grumpy doormen and long lines).

Me + My siser at Beauty Bar

I don’t remember how I first heard about it, but we decided to do the Hollywood Club Crawl.  Here’s their official promotional pitch from their website:

Join us for a legendary night out in Hollywood!
Birthday Parties / Bachelorette Parties / Visiting Friends
celebrate with us! Travelers, Singles, come alone and party with the best!
Most clubs charge $20 each club and have you wait in line for up to an hour, join the Hollywood Club Crawl and experience Hollywood VIP style - no cover charges / no waiting in lines!
$15 covers the entire night! ($15 pre-sale / $20 at event)
We meet at 10 pm at the Beauty Bar in Hollywood - 1638 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
All clubs are a few blocks from each other on Hollywood Blvd and easily walkable as a group to party at each non stop all night!

Seems like a pretty good deal doesn’t it? We went out Saturday, August 28th, and the lineup was Beauty Bar, Ecco, The Music Box at the Henry Fonda, and Vanguard.  Though their website suggests that the lineup could change from week to week, it looks like it’s usually these four.

Online tickets were $15 plus a $2.45 service fee for each ticket totaling $17.45/pp in advance or $20 at the door.  Girls get a free shot at Beauty Bar to “start off the night right” - sexist, I know, but hey, I ain’t complaining.

The four of us arrived at Beauty Bar a little after 10 and there was a decent amount of people already there.  Jason, the organizer, was standing near the front checking off names and handing out wristbands. He was quite helpful and told us the plan for the night, saying we’ll be leaving at 10:30 (if I remember correctly) for Ecco.  There were also people who were paying the $20 for the Crawl there. I noticed at least two people who were just showing up to hang out at the Beauty Bar and left after they spotted Crawlers in line waiting to pay. They thought the Beauty Bar had a cover and immediately exited!

Speaking of which, I don’t think Beauty Bar usually has a cover or line, so hanging out there is something you could have done without the crawl.  There were a lot of girls there together all dressed up, and after our complimentary shots, we went next door to Ecco.  We did have to wait in line briefly at Ecco because there were a lot of us and they checked ID again (they checked ID everywhere we went even though we had wristbands). Once inside, the place had a good crowd and I really like the decor of Ecco (it used to be Tokio, a Japanese restaurant).  Jason told us we would be leaving for The Music Box at 11:30 so we had an hour.  Our group didn’t really mingle with anyone else. We danced a little but the four of us agreed that the DJ was very inconsistent.  He would get you pumped with a high-energy song and then the next song would be totally different and zapped the energy and vibe he had just built!

At 11:30, Jason found all of us and we walked to The Music Box which is located in the Henry Fonda Theater.  Their website says “all clubs are a few blocks from each other on Hollywood Blvd and easily walkable as a group” but I will have to disagree here.  Personally, I didn’t think the walk was a big deal. I walk a lot and I often walk 30 to 45 minutes at a time.  However, my sister in her stileto boots and a lot of other girls in their high heels were falling behind.  According to Google Maps, it’s about 0.4 miles which is nothing for me but was a bit of an ordeal for others.

After the 8-minute or so walk, we got into The Music Box quickly and had until 12:45.  The Box is very big with a couple levels and a nice outdoor roof deck where we lounged for a bit.  The DJ here was similar to the DJ at Ecco so we didn’t dance as much as we would have liked to.

At 12:45, we all gathered together (those of us who wanted to anyway, forgot to mention that you can choose to stay where you are if you want) and walked to Vanguard down the street.  Vanguard had a different vibe in that there was more security and the men were frisked while women’s purses were searched.  There’s really nothing all that special to the inside of Vanguard and it reminded me of a big warehouse.  There were a lot of people inside dancing though and Jason told us that it was the last stop of the night and we could stay til closing, which I think we did before walking the few blocks home.

So what’s my overall impression of the Hollywood Club Crawl and would I recommend it?

Pros
If you don’t want to go clubbin’ solo or are not sure where to go, this is a good choice.
It was very organized and Jason was attentive and informative.
After paying for the Crawl, you don’t have to pay other covers and have to wait in line just long enough for the group to move in.
A good way to break the ice and talk to others if that’s your thing.

Cons
There was no real socialization or introduction so if you’re not one to initiate, don’t depend on the event to do that for you.
Walking may be an issue for some people, especially girls in heels.
I’m not 100% convinced that those places would generally have a cover or line to begin with. Beauty Bar is the type of place you can just walk in and hang out and I didn’t notice a line for the others.
I wasn’t impressed with any of the DJs.
The drinks at all the places were SUPER expensive! I am use to going to Dillons and other bars and paying $3 - $6 for drinks. Beers were $7 at most of the places and mixed drinks were through the roof!  We spent a lot of cash on drinks.

Conclusion
I would consider doing the Hollywood Club Crawl again if the line-up was different.  I see an upcoming Friday crawl has Kress and the Cabana Club and those two venues usually do have a pretentious door and cover. However, I’m sure their drink prices are also through the roof and being a drinker, I don’t want to deal with that. I would recommend the Hollywood Club Crawl if you’re just visiting L.A., have friends in town or you’re part of a big group for a special event like a bachelorette’s party or something. It is an easy way to do the Hollywood clubbin’ thing but bear in mind that the Hollywood thing includes overpriced drinks.

The important part is that my sister and her husband enjoyed it. It was an easy way for them to experience the Hollywood nightlife before heading back to Maine.  She definitely gives it a good review aside from the walking part and the DJs.  As for me, I’ll stick to $3 drinks at Dillons and dancing to the jukebox at the Frolic.

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Dawn in Boston near where I was staying

We arrived back in Los Angeles late last night after having been in Boston since Friday evening.  Tim’s nephew had his First Holy Communion, which I’ve since learned is a big deal for Catholics. As the godfather, Tim’s presence at the event was important so we both flew back for the May 2nd event.

After a long but smooth flight, we arrived late Friday evening and then went out to eat at Morton’s Seaport location in Boston.  I was a bit hesitant to eat there because the prices were outrageous, but Tim’s mother was paying and she insisted on having a special dinner since the previous day had been Tim’s birthday.  I got the single cut filet mignon with lump crab on top and asparagus. It was delicious but I still shake my head at the prices there.

The "Filet Oskar" at Morton's

Saturday was spent walking through Boston. We went to Downtown Crossing and then cut through the Boston Commons and the Public Garden. It was a beautiful day and so many people were out. The Commons was packed with families and sunbathers! The Public Garden was absolutely gorgeous with the tulips in full bloom. I snapped a few shots here and there but was too busy enjoying myself to pause and take pictures.

Swan Boat rides at the Public Garden

In front of a yellow tulips bed in the Public Garden

I absolutely love the way Boston looks with its contrast of sleek, marvelous skyscrapers and old, colonial buildings. Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States but also one of the most technologically and culturally advanced.

The historic Old South Church in Boston

Me in front of the Old South Church

Unfortunately during our trip, disaster stuck and the public water was contaminated. I don’t know the full story, I just know that we were all told not to drink the tap water, cook with it, or even wash our hands with it. Every business we went into either said they couldn’t serve certain things (like coffee or tea) or had signs saying that they are boiling all their water before use. It was a bit crazy. There were stories on the news of people packing supermarkets to buy bottled water and of price gouging. Lucky for us, Tim’s mom, how was our hostess, stocked up on bottles of spring water before our arrival so we were all set.  However, I did feel a bit grimy taking a shower in water that was considered possibly contaminated - yuck!

All in all, it was a good trip. The weather was different each day. It was cool and breezy when we arrived, gorgeous the next day, and then really hot and humid on Sunday. When we left on Monday, it was still humid and warm but also cloudy and drizzling. I didn’t mind that all at all though; I love rain on a humid day.  That’s something we don’t get out here in Los Angeles. Also, I ate a lot of seafood and had lots of lobster!

What Tim had for lunch on our last day in Boston

Anyway, I’ll be creating a gallery of the few pics I took. I’m now focused on trying to switch over to Pacific time again. I woke up early today and even around noon I felt that it was getting really late in the day. I need to get back on track again!

Hanging outside of Tim's mother's house: a typical example of the neighborhood in Southie

A shot of out my window during our flight back to Los Angeles

A few months ago, while walking the dogs, I noticed the Google Maps van making passes through my neighborhood.  At the time, I wondered if we would be caught on camera.  I forgot about it until tonight and I decided to go see if I could find myself.  Check it out!  Heheheeeee

View Larger Map

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In Picard's chair: My offical Star Trek The Exhibit photo

With the Star Trek exhibit in town, I decided to use Halloween as an excuse to dress up for it. (Because, of course, I’m not nerdy enough to dress up for it otherwise. )

I chose to go as an Orion slave girl, an iconic character among Star Trek fans.  I thought it would be easy to pull off - a little green body paint, tussled hair, and a sexy outfit.  Boy, was I wrong.  Applying the green body paint was a major pain in the ass.

I used a professional product, Mehron Paradise AQ makeup, in Amazon Green.  It’s a water-activated makeup that doesn’t smudge off once dry.  That was a big plus for me because I didn’t want to be worried about rubbing off on people or furniture.  Cream makeup would have been easier to apply but it transfers quite easily.  However, getting the water-based makeup to go on evenly and smoothly was next to impossible.  It really was like working with watercolors.  Streaks and layered edge lines were easy to come by and hard to get rid of.  It dried quickly so I had to re-wet an area in order to blend it better but sometimes instead of blending it would just come off!  It was two and a half hours of utter frustration.  In the end, I gave up on trying to make it look perfect (I had washed and redid my face 3 times already) and settled for good enough.

As expected, I got stares everywhere I went.  No one really knew what I was supposed to be except at the Star Trek exhibit.  (Throughout the night I got: She-Hulk, reptile, Tinkerbell, Green Girl, and zombie.)  There, everyone knew I was an Orion slave girl and they all got a big kick out of it!  Little did I know, they were also having a costume contest and made sure I put my name down for it.  A few other attendees were in Starfleet uniforms, but needless to say, I really stood out.

The exhibit itself was pretty small and was mainly a gallery of models, costumes and prostheses.  The biggest attraction for me was the replica of the NCC-1701-D bridge from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  TNG is my favorite show of all time and I was so excited to be on the bridge and have my picture taken.  As expected, they had a professional take pictures of you so they can sell you the photos on the way out.  I ended up giving in and buying the one of me on in the Captain’s chair and they gave me a deal on a hologram of me in the transporter room because I had “such an awesome costume.”  I was a bit disappointed in the lack of a gift shop; they had a few small items for sale but nothing I wanted like a communication pin or replica shirts.  I still enjoyed it though!

Below are some pictures I took plus scans of the photos I bought.  I got so lucky with my camera because the battery was dying and I was able to take almost all the pictures I wanted before it died!  The only thing I missed was a shot of sickbay; my camera died as I was about to take that picture.  I didn’t have a camera for the rest of the evening though there was only 1 costume I saw that I wanted to take a picture of: a man was dressed like the guy with the baby from The Hangover!  It was hilarious.  He had on the same clothes, a beard, sunglasses and a fake baby in a carrier on his chest.  It was instantly recognizable:

A still from The Hangover

And now the pics:

This is a hologram where I "materialize" as the photo gets tiled

At Quark's Bar from Deep Space Nine

A model of Deep Space Nine

The original that started it all

The Enterprise soaring through the galaxy

The Borg Queen's head

In the engineering room trying to prevent a warp core breach

Shuttlecraft from one of the Star Trek movies

At the helm of the Enterprise-D with my crazy eyes

Love this image - so awe-inspiring

A long-lost relative found in the mini gift shop

And Tim went as the same thing he was last year…

Tim in his Halloween costume

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Guessing that these are chipmunk holes since I saw a couple of the critters along the trail earlier.

The following pictures are of the view of the city from the trail.  Los Angeles is so spread out and flat!

The skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles are on your left.

A close-up shot of downtown L.A.

You can see the tall, commercial buildings of Wilshire Blvd.

A close-up shot of the Miracle Mile, which is about 3 miles away.

Another wide shot spanning from downtown across to Century City.

It was a slightly cool, cloudy day which made it great for the hike.  We only made it half way up the trail though. I am slowly admiting to myself that both Jesse and Penny aren’t as young and spry as they used to be (they are 11 and 7, respectively).  Penny actually made the hike pretty miserable because she had one of her “fits.”  Every now and then, for reasons unknown, Penny gets into a frenzy and tries to eat everything in sight.  Now, it’s normal for dogs to eat grass now and then, but Penny not only goes after grass, she’ll gulp down leaves, twigs, weeds, roots, stalks, and even dry, rough stuff like those things that look like wheat stalks.  They’re all too tough to be chewed, so she ends up swallowing stems that are as long as 12 inches or more!  She gets very persistent about it and it’s the only thing on her mind; I end up having to drag her away from bushes and brush areas while she make these awful hacking and choking noises as she’s trying to get the plant matter down.  I’m sure more than one passerby on the trail thought I was somehow abusing my dog!

I basically spent the entire hike, about an hour and a half, holding Penny by the collar to keep her next to me.  This didn’t stop her from trying to dive and yank towards the bushes every 30 seconds.  She is very strong and it was miserable trying to keep her from pulling us into the brush.  My shoulder and lower back are aching from the effort! I also had to stop numerous times to reach down into her throat and pull something out.  She was still crazed during th walk home and even yanked hard to try to get close enough to the fern our apartment building has in the lobby!  Ugh!  I don’t know why she does this and haven’t found anything online about it.  Thankfully, it ony happens maybe 3 times a year, but she sure did ruin today’s hike!

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Yes, it has been ages since I last wrote a proper blog entry.  One is coming, I promise.  I’ve just been quite busy these past few weeks.  One of my sisters got married and there was a lot of packing and traveling and hand-wringing.  We got back a week ago but I’m still recovering.  Did I mention that the wedding was in Las Vegas? Oh boy!  It made me realize that I’m getting old considering we were in bed at 11 PM.  That’s in bed at eleven. On a Saturday night. In Las Vegas. I think I hear my bones creaking

Details soon.