Hollywood on Bicycle: Holiday Shopping, Day 1

My personal vow for Christmas shopping this year is to do it all via bike. If it won't fit in my messenger bag, I won't buy it. I've also outlawed Gift Cards from my list. Won't do it. I'd rather give a crisp $20 than a piece of plastic with a corporate logo on it. A little last-minute, so time to get crackin'.

I set out to get "over the hill" to West Hollywood for the Sunday flea market on Melrose. This would require taking the shuttle bus over Laurel Canyon, as its a little too treacherous for a bike, especially a fixed gear. $1.25 and I was safely on my way.

I love this flea market. Always tons of cool vintage stuff; clothes, vinyl, home stuff, etc. A great place for unique gifts for people too.

Hippie mugs

bar ware

vintage chicken and kabobs

I scored several gifts for people on my list, then picked up these beauties for my own self. Fine 70's leather boots as modeled at my bar. Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk,
I'm a womans man, no time to talk.

After cleaning out the flea market, I pointed my bike eastbound on Melrose towards HW.

Banksy strikes on Melrose

Wasteland

Riding down Sunset Blvd. I happened upon the premiere for The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Jack and Morgan were both cruising the red carpet to the cheers of fans. I put the bike down on the sidewalk and walked into the middle of Sunset to get this shot, just as an LAPD office asked "Sir, what are you doing?". To which I answered "just getting a shot..." He notified me that I was blocking traffic which was already crawling so all the drivers could gawk at the fanfare. Thank you officer!

a few more stops for shopping and it was time for some refreshment at my favorite ice cream parlour "Scoops". Unique handmade ice cream that changes daily. Tonight's choice: peanut butter & coffee. So good.

All this riding around made me thirsty too, so a stop into Tiny's KO in Hollywood was in order. A proper dive bar with punk and metal on the jukebox, tat'd bartenders with no-bullshit attitudes and cheap drinks. I ordered a PBR in a can because I could. The bartender placed 2 in front of me for the low price of $4. Uh oh, some kind of Sunday night special. I finished them, still felt a little wanting, so I ordered a shot of whiskey. Plunk! 2 shots for me. Damn! I spent a total of $11 on drinks and was now well on my way to a Riding Under the Influence citation. Best to get off the streets and take the subway home.

Tiny's

Down, down, down to the Hollywood & Vine train station, by far the nicest and most ornate of all the stops on this line, maybe all of L.A. The entire ceiling is covered with film reels.