You know, not everyone can turn a 6-day trip into a 3-blog series that spans over two months, but here we all are. After the first two days of comedy, hiking, street tacos, and a cemetery concert, I was awoken to the subtle sounds of Hollywood for the last time.

Nope, never mind. I was still dreaming. I actually woke up to excruciating pain. Why? Because the blisters I suffered on Thursday walking in unbroken-in boots were significantly bigger.

And one of them popped. Underneath my right big toe.

Now, I don’t know about you all, but my feet are quite large. The underside of my big toe is about the width of a Kennedy half dollar. And like Kennedy, completely split open after a scenic daytime trip.

Too soon?

In a panic, I hobble to the bathroom to get a better look in the vanity mirror. Uh oh. It’d bad. Whatever was behind the blister wall is red. Not bloody, but red, like a ribeye before it’s dry rubbed. I am struggling to put pressure on it. My left foot is mostly unscathed, side from my second toenail, which is bruised (still) and highly sensitive to pressure. Check out is 70 minutes away. I haven’t packed up yet. Haven’t showered. Haven’t eaten the free breakfast with the individually wrapped eggs, bread, and apples.

This is going to be a rough morning.

I googled pharmacies in the area. I passed a CVS on my way to the street tacos on Thursday night. Not a viable option. That was over a half mile away. I zoomed up, toward the walk of fame. A Walgreens was exactly a half mile away. Great, I thought. I shaved 0.2 miles off a round trip.

There was one other entry. A third option — a pharmacy supply store.

Right around the corner. Worth a shot.

I hopped, literally, in the shower. In and out. Hot water burned, cold water burned. With 60 minutes left until checkout, I was masked up in the elevator.

The pharmacy supply had quite a selection, but not everything. My mom told me to get Tegaderm for the wound. No suck luck here. Here’s what I bought:

• 100 Alcohol swabs (for cleansing injection points)

• 50 Sports bandages

• Medical Tape

• Gauze Squares

I think I spent $15, which was a deal, I thought, all things considered. Next came the hard part — actually putting this stuff on me.

Admittedly, that took some time. I bandaged up what I could in the time I could, haphazardly threw stuff together in my suitcase, and went downstairs for some breakfast. I scarfed down some questionable biscuits and gravy, a couple bowls of raisin bran while expanding my carbon footprint. A banana later and I was in the lobby ordering my Uber.

One issue — my late check-out time was still 3 hours before my early check-in time at The Metric hotel in downtown LA. I knew I could store my bags, but I wasn’t allowed, under COVID restrictions to be in that space while I waited for my room to be ready.

When I arrived at the hotel, I checked the bags and asked the desk person where the nearest pharmacy was. I figured, as a new hotel in the area, they’d know of the best spots someone Googling information wouldn’t know.

She Googled pharmacies in the area. And then gave me a tourist map of downtown Los Angeles.

She circled an underground mall, Figat7th, and said there was a Target/CVS inside. The other CVS she found was further into downtown, and the closest Walgreens was even farther.

Well, that was a relief I thought. The hotel is on 3rd and the mall is on 7th. That’s just four blocks.

Yes, I know now that I was being immensely dense. Four Grand Rapids blocks do not equate to four Los Angeles blocks. So, I walked. Like a dumbass.

I’m going to skip the details, but I found the Tegaderm, the CVS, the mall. I had some Greek food (while wearing my Giannis shirsey) and then looked at the map for other features. I came across the Disney concert hall and some art museums. Eh, it’s worth a look.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall is, as advertised, a really flipping cool building.

Right next door was The Broad (brode) Contemporary Art Museum, which was even cooler. I didn’t take too many pictures because I wasn’t about all the art inside, but there were some highlights. The giant metal balloon shapes were cool. As was the Roy Lichtenstein exhibit, which I knew from its extensive use as album cover art. The other photo was a giant piece woven with aluminum to make it appear as a flowing blanket. In reality, it’s about 15-feet tall. And then a photo of trees and tall buildings. I walked 3 miles.

I went back to the hotel, bandaged myself up, and waited for the next event — BEISBOL!

I had great seats, great Dodger Dogs, a few beers and cocktails. I found a great bar that was a mix of craft cocktails and well shots. I got a bobblehead for my friend, and heckled by Dodgers fans threatening to know me over a few rows and have my drinks spilled. All in good fun, I’m sure.

And the Brewers were actually competitive! They had a lead into the 5th inning before Trea Turner hit a grand slam and 50,000 people tried to rupture my eardrums. The Brew Crew lost 8-6, the most runs they’d score the rest of the season despite being the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Full on Dodger Dogs and beer… I went back to Bar Henry on Sunset, where I ran into several other saddened Brewers fans, and a guy who said he was the owner. Whether that was true, I got a free shot and tips on what to do next in LA. I told him I was going to the car museum in the morning, but the rest of the day was wide open. He gave me a food tip that threw me off guard — Singaporean.

Listen to your old men in bars about food, people. He was absolutely right.

But first, the cars.

After hiking, Dodger Stadium, and Santa Monica Pier, the James Bond car exhibit was the only other “must-see” experience I had on my list. Everything else would be cherries on top. It did not disappoint. The Petersen building is really cool inside and out. It’s built like a showroom more than a museum, but also like an auto show, except all the cars are infinitely cooler to look at.

Highlights:

• A Shelby signed by Carroll Shelby

• 1967 Ford GT40 Mark III

• Formula 1 exhibit

• The actual busted up Aston Martin from Quantum of Solace

• James Hetfield’s custom hot rod collection

After the museum, I ventured up the road (more walking) to the Original Farmers Market. I walked around for a while before I spotted Singapore’s Banana Leaf. Man did it live up to the hype. The perfect blend of hot and filling. Spicy enough to give me a pick-me-up but not too spicy to make me run for the bathroom.

I also got a carrot cake and some beer, watched some football and walked over to the Grove outdoor mall. An Uber later and I was back in the hotel, deciding what to do next.

The San Francisco Giants kept winning, and so did the Dodgers, so tickets for that Saturday’s game were very high. And I wasn’t spending $100+ to watch the Brewers lose, even with future Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes on the mound.

I found a cheap concert ticket to see Lake Street Dive with Allison Russell at The Wiltern.

That zapped me out. A great show, but I was done for the night.

I stopped at a Walgreens to get a Gatorade but ended up with ibuprofen and some white wine. Funny how that works out.

While I was in there, I spotted a security guard, presumably to prevent the unhoused theft. Well, a group of teenagers was in the back drinking in the beer aisle and eating ice cream from the freezers. I walked over to the guard and he shrugged it off. While I was waiting for my Uber outside, the teenagers tore off the metal “no loitering” sign from the entrance. One girl in that group asked me to buy all her shit. I was tired of DTLA.