Part I: Oct 4th – Oct. 5th
The gummies bought on my last night at Austin would set the mood for my arrival to L.A. on Oct. 4th, 2023. I was supposed to meet two of my best friends in the afternoon outside LAX. One of them was already there, waiting in a Tesla, while the other two of us arrived separately. Minutes later, we were going inside the first cannabic dispensary of our trip. We then drove to In-n-Out and then headed to our hostel.
We walked around the area looking for some beers and to get to know the way around. We somehow dropped the acid less than a couple of blocks away in the middle of the street. It was already getting dark, so finding the little transparent bag took us some time. There was some cool activity going on in the hotel and they were giving a free drink. We hung around a little while enjoying our purchase from the dispensary before going to Lemmy’s place: The Rainbow.
I had seen the place before from outside, maybe walked in to look around, but this time I got to enjoy a couple of drinks in the area devoted to Motorhead’s legendary frontman. There’s an actual-sized Lemmy Kilmister statue, next to a bar and some tables in an outer area. The more you detail the place, the more Motorhead/Lemmy things you see. On the tables, walls, everywhere. What a great way to celebrate the night before riding to the desert. PowerTrip 2023 awaited.
We had the following day to go to the Santa Monica Pier, walk around the beach, and have lunch before returning the Tesla. We then had to pick up the car we would take to the festival, as well as the tents we rented, and then wait for my cousin and his friend to arrive at LAX. I wanted to borrow an acoustic guitar from a Guitar Center to take for the weekend and was about to get it -it was in a black case behind the cash register, ready to be handed to me – before they asked: “Do you live here?” (in the U.S.), to which I understood I wouldn’t be able to take the instrument with me.
The plan was to leave L.A. after picking up the rest of the group and drive to Indio to sleep there and avoid any traffic on Thursday morning. It was a great idea. We bought some Carl Jr.’s burgers and slept early, as everyone was tired and the next day would be a long one: Iron Maiden and Guns n Roses live, on the first day of the most epic hard rock festival ever.
Part II: Oct. 9th – Oct.