A
night at Sunset strip
By Oscar Montealegre
On-line Forty-Niner
It
is eleven o’ clock at night, yet traffic
is bumper to bumper. What is peculiar about
the drivers of the cars is that the majority
of them are young adults embarking on a
wild night at Sunset Boulevard.
Instead of trying to find parking and paying
a $10 fee at Sunset Boulevard on a Friday
night, Kelly Romero, an art student, opts
to park her car four blocks south from the
Sunset strip and walks her way up La Cienega
Boulevard with her friends.
The Sunset strip is extremely congested
with people every Thursday to Saturday evening.
People partake in a whole spectrum of activities
such as bar hopping, dancing, going to concerts,
dining at restaurants or just cruising the
strip.
Kelly and her friends Ian Campbell, Stephanie
Ochoa and Justin Hulquist plan to go to
as many bars as possible during their time
at the Sunset strip. As long as there is
no cover charge, then they will enter the
bar and have a few drinks.
Saddle Ranch is the first bar they attend.
The vibe is intense - everybody is literally
rubbing elbows and to reach the bar is almost
a trek in itself.
Ian is not too fond of the Saddle Ranch,
but the others cannot get enough of the
place. “ I don’t understand why everybody
loves this place. You cannot even walk here
and the drinks are expensive.”
However, Kelly, Justin and Stephanie are
enjoying their time there. Each of them
buy close to a jug of Long Island iced tea
and gulp as if it was water. After they
finish their drinks, Kelly decides that
she wants to ride the mechanical bull.
“The reason I like this place is because
of the mechanical bull. By my knowledge,
there is no place in Los Angeles where you
can have a few drinks and then ride a mechanical
bull while everybody is cheering you on,”
Kelly said.
By this time, it is midnight and Ian convinces
the others to head to another bar. He prefers
ones that do not have a cover charge and
do not require a wait that takes a day and
an hour.
All of them go to Miyagis, but the line
is too long. They walk across the street
to Dublin’s, but they find that the long
line is not worth the wait.
“Miyagis and Dublin’s are way too overrated.
They’re not bad bars, but they’re not the
best ones either,” said Justin, a veteran
in partying at the Sunset strip.
The Standard. An elegant bar, yet it does
not attempt to establish itself as a high-class
bar. Kelly and her friends sit on a beach
chair beside the outdoor pool. They call
for the waitress and order their drinks.
Nothing can be better than this - all of
them together under the Los Angeles night
sky while all their problems have temporarily
drifted away.
“Even though I am the designated driver,
I love hanging out at the Standard because
it is has an indoor bar and an a large outdoor
patio bar. You really cannot top this,”
said Ian, a psychology graduate.
Last call has been announced and the group
has been separated. Kelly is busy talking
to a guy that apparently likes her. Stephanie
and Ian are talking to a group of girls
and guys from UCLA. Meanwhile, Justin is
sharing his cigarette with a girl that just
looks too pretty to be true.
Finally, they all find each other at the
entrance of The Standard. They debate what
to do next. Kelly insists that they should
go to an after-hour club. Justin and Ian
are complaining how hungry they are. Stephanie
is too drunk to even notice what is going
on.
Since Ian is the designated driver, he is
given the privilege to make their late-night
decision.
It is 2:45 in the morning, and they were
finally seated at Mel’s Diner after a 20-minute
wait. Another Friday night has been recorded
in their lives. More than likely, they will
return to the Sunset strip next Friday or
Saturday night and do it all over again.
The only difference is that it will be Kelly’s
turn to be the designated driver.
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