Unfiltered: Week in Review

It's 6PM on a Saturday.  I've already been up for 12 hours and I need some air. I tie on my trail runners, head toward the hills, hustle up Fuller drive and make my way into Runyon Canyon State Park. Headphones in, I beeline straight for the ridge sending a dust storm into the air. I pass a few couples, some unassuming celebrity types, and a dog walker as I finally reach the peak. Beneath me lies LA, soaked in a thick sheet of late summer smog that colors the sky a deep red. The Hollywood sign is just within reach, it's eerily quiet and before I know it, the city lights start coming to life. It feels like a scene from a movie.

That being said, my life is nothing like a Hollywood film.  But if it were, here's an unfiltered backstage to week 5 in LA.

Week 5 

Laurel Digs Morning

The Commute

Laurel Hardware

Manhattan Beach

The Greek Theater

Coyote Sightings in the Hills

So Fresh it hurts

Lucky #4

1 social security number, 2 apartments, 3 close calls on my bike and 4 weeks later, I’m officially starting to make sense of Los Angeles.

Drivers are nice…to people on bikes. Sweats are popular workout clothes when it's 100 degrees out. I never know if the pee I’m smelling belongs to a dog or human. And there are two major health insurance options, a PPO and an HMO – both require a PHd to understand.

I’ve been here for a month.  And I’d be happy to squash any myths and rumors I was told before getting here.   Especially the one about wearing white in LA – it’s just completely untrue that your shirt will be grey by the end of the day. Sorry. 

But seriously, LA is great and still very much a mystery to me. In the coming weeks, I’m looking forward to exploring more hoods, meeting more people and taking my #toofittoquit attitude to places it's never been before – including my first ever triathlon this November. 

Quote of the week

"Winners build on mistakes. Losers dwell on them."

Follow along on Instagram - @thedavecoast.

Cruising down the PCH - Malibu, CA

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