GrooveLily

Val and I live in greater Los Angeles, California. There are a lot of cars. Cars are, you might say, necessary to the economy and to a life in LA.

Recently, I found myself mysteriously without either a car or a bike. Millie Van Lily, our aging yet functional monstrous van, was on its way to take Mose and Val to Mose’s gym class. And by mistake, Val had left her bicycle in the back of the van, leaving me stranded without a way to get to Bikram Yoga that afternoon.

So I walked. It wasn’t too far, and it didn’t take too long–I kinda hustled, but there were a lot of lights. But mostly what I did was walk, drink water, and sing and ramble into my dictaphone. And by the end of the walk, 35 minutes later, I had a complete form of a song we’d been assigned to write for the Tinker Bell t.v. special, and some choice lyrics to go with it.

In addition, my walk took me on a slower, more luxurious route through parts of Glendale that I rarely pay any attention to, and I liked it. I liked looking at the natural flora and fauna that creep into the cracks in the concrete jungle. I liked walking under the train track bridge as a commuter train thundered by overhead. I liked the whole thing.

So here’s what I’m doing for my birthday next Friday, August 6th: I’m walking from my house all the way to the Santa Monica Pier. Then, if I still have any energy left, I’m going to walk down to the Venice Pier, and meet friends for dinner, and then go soak my tired dogs. Here’s my planned route:

Where I'm walking on August 6. Click for a close-up view.

Along the way, I’ll be tacking a few other writing chores, and taking pictures and videos of interesting stuff in all the neighborhoods I leisurely pass through. If you’re interested in seeing what I come up with, follow me on twitter at @brendanmilburn where I’ll be linking to all the photos and videos I upload as I walk.

Mostly I just like the anachronistic-ness of walking in LA. Really, nobody does it, and I’d love to have a singular experience for the celebration of thirty-nine years on this planet. Wish me luck.