L.A Sightseeing

Hello everyone!

Today was a "bonus day" to spend in Los Angeles because I don't board the ship until tomorrow mid-day.

My friends from my time at Edwards Air Force Base, Mike and Shelly Shepherd, live in Palmdale, north of L.A. They drove down to pick me up, do a little sightseeing, and have lunch.

First, we went to see "American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience". It's a high energy multimedia presentation documenting the history and lore of the Ford Mustang. It was very well done, and we got to see some REALLY nice cars. Here are a few:

1965 K-Code Mustang

2008 Mustang GT from the 2010 Movie Kick-Ass

"Eleanor" from the Movie "Gone in 60 Seconds"

2025 Mustang GTD

We also took a fantastical "4-D" thrill ride that put us in the driver's seat of a hopped up Mustang racing madly through the streets of an AI-dominated, dystopian Los Angeles. Our mission was to evade the AI forces and deliver the stolen core of the AI's "brain" to the human resistance. The ride was termed "4-D" because we were in chairs that moved to simulate the driving experience, along with sights, sounds, and smells (and even a bit of water mist in the face) during the chase. It was good, escapist fun.

I really got a kick out of the tongue-in-cheek "advisory" posted at the entry to the ride:

Pre-Ride "Advisory"
(Click to enlarge)

After our stomachs settled a bit, we headed to a bike shop/restaurant called the Bike Shed. In addition to displaying some really cool and unusual custom  motorcycles, the also have a very nice English Pub-type restaurant, a gift/accessory shop, a tattoo parlor, and a full-service barber shop. Really an unusual venue! The food was great, but the bikes were the highlight.

Here is some of what we saw:

Mural on Outside of Building

Retro-looking Racer Built Around a Honda XL500 Engine

Cafe Racer Based on an 1st-Gen Honda CB750

Heavily Customized Early Harley-Davidson Chopper

Be sure to click on the Harley chopper picture, then zoom in to see the intricate detail work. Someone put a LOT of time into this bike!

And here is a picture of the three of us in the gift shop:

L-R My Friends Mike and Shelly Shepherd, and Yours Truly

That's it for today! Tomorrow we leave the hotel, tour the Getty Museum, then head to the ship. Stay tuned!

Jim