The woods of Norway and to wake up with the rooster in East L.A.

October 07, 2014 Longboard Lady 0 Comments

Early morning number two. The rooster wakes me up again with his cocky crow. I guess you can call it jetlag, I am surprised I'm not more disturbed by the cackle and the fact that I actually wake up with that countryside feeling is remarkable in one of the biggest cities in the United States.



I left Sweden for a couple of days with my niece, her mum and also some friends of hers. One night in the village or Røa, close to Oslo, then out to the woods of Enebakk. The perfect way to leave, bit by bit. First, happy and relaxed children playing with each other despite the age difference and adults chit chatting with each other. Then birds and trees fall asleep and the silence of the wood is so distinct it almost has a sound of its own. Scandinavian nature.

Daniel doesn't see me at first, I try to catch his attention and finally he waves back through the crowd of travellers arriving at Los Angeles with me. There! My baggage, which carries a longboard box, slips through the clumsy cart you are offered at the airport but finally we reach the car and start the long ride through Los Angeles to reach the eastern area where Daniel has found a small but cosy home.



When the rooster finally decided to be silent we get up and I explain the importance of coffee in the morning to Daniel. Starbucks is my savior and with new strength we do some errands and then fancy Beverly Hills and Santa Monica Boulevard attracts the attencion for a while. Not that any shopping could be done with those prices but still fun to stroll the exclusive avenue. The car take us to the beach I waited for. Venice. We are surprised about the fog and the sea sounds dangerous with strong waves crashing onto the beach. The warning signal for boats navigating in the fog is alarming and when finally the sun is breaking throug again a ghost like feeling is left behind for a while. The Ferris wheel and rollercoaster of Santa Monica Pier are the last to be obscured before the fog rolls out to sea again.

We stroll the pier, catching sight of a seal and then the streets of Santa Monica is alive in front of us. Earlier memories of Anders, my man back home, trying to have a smoke here and reprimended by a police officer a couple of years ago put a smile on me. You don't smoke in public in Santa Monica.



Back for a beautiful sunset at the beach and excellent food with great company in Venice is the perfect end to my first day this time in Los Angeles.