The Greater L.A. Metro Area
The 8 lane highway heading into Los Angeles started not far from Barstow. As we got closer, the traffic got thicker and so did the smog. About 60 miles away from LA, you enter the outer crust of the city. You think you've arrived in the city of angels, but you haven't. You are passing through a bunch of small cities that have all grown so much they just blend into each other and form one giant mass of urban development. As you speed through, you can barely tell the difference from San Bernardino, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Montclair, Chino, West Covina or Covina. Before we knew it, those towns were are all behind us and we saw the skyline of LA. That's when the panic set in. I didn't have a clue to where I was going. I had an address, but no directions. Wendell pulled out a map of the area and we frantically looked for our destination.

We got off the interstate on Melrose Ave, and began to slowly find our way to North Stanley Ave. Around 10:30am we were ringing the bell of my friend's apartment and my new home for a while. We all unloaded the car as quick as possible. Shortly after, I fell straight asleep. Wendell on the other hand was ready to go, go, go. He had 24 hours to take in Los Angeles and he was going to make the most of it. He headed straight down to Melrose -- the ultra hip shopping district of West Hollywood -- and started his project of painting the city red.

Copyright © 2000 The Van Gogh-Goghs