An Acquired Taste: On Location

Photos from a trip I took to LA in August 2022

When I finished the first draft of my novel in Spring 2022, I celebrated with a trip to LA to visit many of the locations I wrote about. My childhood friend, who lived for a time in LA, went with me.

It was a wonderful trip. I saw almost everything I wanted to and a few places I didn’t even know existed.

Here are some photos from that trip.

Some final thoughts I penned while waiting for my flight home:

I’m in LA. The past few days I’ve done things that most people in the world may only dream of, including having drinks at the Hotel Bel-Air and the Beverly Hills Hotel. It made me happy, in part, because it was a unique experience and I got to enjoy it with my friends. Looking at the other people who were staying there though, definitely in a different class, I wondered how happy they were.

For me, it has been a rare experience. For them, it’s probably rather quotidian and I imagine they have to keep chasing bigger and bigger dreams. It’s a common theme amongst the Hollywood elite.

The dedication page for An Acquired Taste reads: “To those who have been chased by a dream and found a nightmare, may you awaken to a new dawn.” It’s something we should all remember as we focus on dreams. Are they the right ones?