Commute

So I have a wicked awesome commute. I travel from Newport Beach to Burbank every morning and back the other way every evening. It takes about two hours give or take, both ways. So in plain English that's 4 hours a day. I love it. And I hate it. But I do like it.

So here's the rundown. I leave the beautiful city of Newport Beach(and my beautiful wife, who's usually still asleep because she likes sleeping in) at no later than 7am. (7:05 is pushing it, but I can still make it.) I drive up the 405 to Long Beach and get on the Blue Line.

I try to catch the 7:32 or 7:37 which will get me to Burbank on time, but if not, I can catch the 7:42, which if it's running smoothly will get me there. Any train after that, and I'll be late 10 minutes to work.

At 7:30 in the morning most riders are business people and a few student types.
This guy is reading the newspaper. He has glasses.

I travel through the amazing city of Compton. This city is so proud of itself. The train passes right through it's civic center and there are tons of murals and statues, like one of a dog. The picture I took is super blurry, so it didn't make the cut, but if anyone decides to visit Compton on vacation it's a must-see.
Check this mural out, painted on the outside of their city hall; it shows all the wonderful things that Compton has to offer. Look closely at the sign all the way on the left where it shows the symbols of Best Buy, Home Depot and a few other big box stores. Compton has come a long way.















This shows Compton's tall City Hall building, and of course the world famous Tom's Jr Burgers.
































From Compton I travel through the infamous Watts. Known for two things: rioting and weird towers that were built by some weird guy. I haven't experienced a riot, so no pics of that, but I was able to snap this shot of the Watts Towers. (They're poking up in the background behind the urban clutter.)



Here are some of the other things I see from the train as it travels north to Downtown LA:





And of course the Staples Center...


And then I get to Downtown LA. The Blue Line ends up underground, where it meets the Red Line, which travels from Union Station to North Hollywood.

Here's the rush of the 7th Street Station where people scramble to catch the next Red Line downstairs.



The Red Line is pretty boring. The only thing interesting is the people on the Subway.
This guy is wearing a hat over his dew rag. What a Silly-Billy.



Once the train arrives in North Hollywood, it's back to surface. I love taking the escalator up to the ground level. It's the Valley, but I'd rather be on the surface of the Valley than stuck somewhere underground.



From North Hollywood, I take a Burbank bus to the Wonderful Disney Lot. Where I see squirrels.



This bus hits up all the sites.



And this is where I work. My building is actually in the background there.


And then in the evening I do it all backwards. Only on the way back there are a lot weirder people and different beggers asking for money. And this lady, selling treats. (And by treats I mean candy.)


I saw this guy while waiting for the Blue Line to leave. He kept grabbing the air in front of him and shaking. Poor guy must have gotten lost from the institution.




This guy started yelling a really loud prayer. I thought that would be the end of it, but then he started lecturing us about Jesus! We all know about him, Buddy, this is America!












This guy was singing in Spanish or some junk like that. I would have tipped him, but me no speaka.














And that's what I do five days a week, except when I sleep in and have to drive, which ironically takes way less time, despite having to sit in traffic.

I love Betsy, everyone!