96 Hrs in Los Angeles (Oct. 2023)
On Wednesday, May 14, I asked my Instagram followers to decide which of my past adventures would feature in the third blog of this series.
Kingston headed the pack, with Philadelphia and Los Angeles trailing behind neck and neck.
I really intended on honoring the results of this poll—truly! But then, around 11:30 AM the next day, I was driving around town when the song Pacific Coast Highway (The Hip Abduction x Trevor Hall) started playing on Spotify.
From that moment on, the Kingston blog stood no chance. The poll lost all merit as the car windows came down, my hand—the available one, lol—went up in the air, and I started belting out the words to a song that takes me back to a place I loved so much: Los Angeles, baby!!
I pulled the car over into a parking space and immediately began writing these words here yonder. This, as I’ve touched on before, is kinnnda how my creative process goes. Inspiration calls, and I either pick up the phone or I don’t.
Sooooo…get in?! And let’s travel back to L.A., where I spent 96 glorious hours with Basquiat, Coldplay, a few lost items, and, you guessed it, the Pacific Coast Highway.
Planning & Scheming
Coldplay is one of those timeless artists whose songs you know, probably grew up listening to, and should go see at some point in your life. This is what I told myself in March 2023 — why I bought a ticket to the Pasadena, California, leg of their Music of the Spheres World Tour.
If I’m remembering correctly, the tour was already well underway and had sold out when the October 1 show at the Rose Bowl popped up. It was a late addition due to popular demand, making it the tour’s grand finale.
In early September, I booked my flights and a stay at the Freehand Hotel in downtown L.A., turning California into a four-day trip. I had only explored L.A.—by which I mean Venice Beach—once before during a six-hour layover, and wanted to spend more time getting to know the city I kindaaaa liked but still had many questions about.
I rented a car via Turo because a girl had a vision and a dream of driving around Los Angeles. And drive around, I did.
Saturday, September 30, 2023
My Delta flight left Florida at 8:05 AM EST and arrived at LAX around 10:30 AM local time.
I went from the airport to my Turo car and drove straight over to Roscoe’s House of Chicken 'N Waffles for…chicken and waffles. I then ventured to a popular bakery I won’t name for a vanilla cupcake I did not enjoy. (Hype, as it continues to prove, is never worth it.)
My next stop was the best stop: the Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibition.
I began receiving emails about this exhibition—curated by Jean-Michel’s sisters—in December 2021, with the first event kicking off in NYC in 2022. When the exhibit opened in downtown L.A. in March 2023, I knew it was something I’d want to visit.
I’m not going to pretend to be a die-hard Basquiat fan, but I know of his work, bits and pieces of his story, and remember watching Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child when I was younger. I’ve always been really curious about him, and thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of his work up close and personal. It made it even more special that the exhibition was designed and led by the people who knew him best.
I got to the exhibit around 3:30 PM and wandered through more than 200 works of art. I’m a very nostalgic and sentimental person, so the pieces I loved most weren’t necessarily the grandest ones, but the handwritten markings of his everyday life: membership cards and notebook entries.
The Hostel Hotel
I got to The Freehand around 6 PM. It’s very important to first note that I parked my car at the nearby Paragon Parking Lot and paid…….$5 for 24 hours.
For three days, Paragon Parking filled my wings with air. I LOVE YOU BAD, people of Paragon. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES.
The room I booked at The Freehand was a six-bed, co-ed dormitory with an in-unit bathroom. I decided to stay at this hotel-hostel hybrid because of the affordable multi-day rates and the part of me that had always wanted to experience hostel life.
I really enjoyed my stay there, sharing the room with travelers from Australia, India, France, and beyond. That evening, some of us decided to go play pool at a bar across the street before wandering around the city under the night sky. It was during this time that I really bonded with Salomé, a fellow equestrian from France.
Sunday, October 1, 2023
Early Sunday morning, Salomé and I made a plan.
First, we’d drive to Pasadena and hike to see the Hollywood sign. Then, we’d head back to the hotel and get ready for our drive to Malibu, followed by a pitstop in the Topanga Canyon for lunch. And after that, we’d race back to the hotel to get ready for Coldplay, which she decided to attend last minute with another hostelmate and I.
We executed this plan to perfection, and a time was had.
I loved the hike, the views, and the absolute gem that is Pasadena. But one of the biggest highlights of the day was driving the Pacific Coast Highway to and from Malibu while singing along to Malibu by Miley Cyrus. I loved the Topanga area so so much, and honestly, the drive alone felt like a peak moment of the trip.
Coldplay was everything I expected it to be: enchanting, loving, unifying, warm. (Warm energetically because the jacket was ONNNN.)
There’s something very grounding about singing along to songs that have traveled beside you through different stages and chapters of life. There’s a Coldplay song for every mood. One minute you’re smiling with hands in the air, and the next minute you’re crying. Sometimes both, simultaneously.
The Rose Bowl was my first stadium tour, and it did not disappoint. The layout somehow made the stadium feel intimate, which only heightened the atmosphere Coldplay created.
Lights up — IYKYK.
Monday, October 2, 2023
I think I had to work for a few hours that morning? Which is possibly why I didn’t join Salomé for a walk around Venice Beach??
We met up in that area around 10:30 AM for goodbyes before her flight home. I ended up in Santa Monica afterward to work from a coffee shop, and it is here that I received a $63 parking ticket.
At some point during the day, I had lunch with another one of my hostelmates before they, too, traveled home. I could not tell you where or when this lunch took place.
As it turns out, I don’t remember much of this day!! But it was a good one overall—especially the drive along the Pacific Coast Highway out to Malibu and through Topanga Canyon again.
I ended the night by filling up the gas tank ($77, animal style) and driving around the city until I grew tired.
Drive as late as you want in Los Angeles. Paragon Parking has your back.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
I woke up early early to drop off the rental and arrive at LAX by 5:00 AM ahead of my 7:40 AM JetBlue flight.
Los Angeles really was a good time. I met cool people and experienced a version of freedom that felt very light, very alive, and very needed at the time.
Sure, I got a parking ticket and lost my debit card and one of my favorite socks (which genuinely drove me insane, don’t ask), but the good of the trip far outweighed any stress I experienced.
I had a blast and look forward to my next visit — which will be more relaxed and less jam-packed. Kinda like the next blog in this series ;).