Only in L.A.

Okay, this place is just WEIRD! You won't see this in Orlando, my friends ...

1. Many places have preferred parking for vehicles with low emissions. And, of course, the spots are super compact.

2. There are restaurants that serve nothing but boba milk tea. Boba, it seems, are little tapioca balls suspended at the bottom of the tea cup.

3. A huge block of the 110 was shut down today for a police investigation. Seems that during a high speed chase, a gun was thrown out of a car window. Three arrests followed.  The upshot (no pun intended) was that it took me over two hours to get Matt to the airport, which is only 15 miles from our apartment.

4. It's often impossible to make a right hand turn in downtown Pasadena because of the throngs of pedestrians. When Matt says, "Hey, why don't you just head down Colorado ...," he gets a look from me and then says, "Oh, yeah, I forgot. Bad idea."

5. Grocery stores have entire refrigerator sections dedicated to organic Greek yogurt.

6. Matt and I are almost always the only white people on the train or bus. I don't get it.

7. I can't seem to get out of the grocery store for less than $200 a pop, but free concerts, plays, tours, and lectures abound.  That gets the Forbes stamp of approval.

8. Magnolias and jasmine are blooming in July. JULY!

9. You can get a ginormous lunch at pretty much any Mexican restaurant for about $5 (assuming you can read enough Spanish to order with confidence). The food tastes incredible, and you leave wishing you had a second stomach.

Totally unrelated note ... I saw a hummingbird this morning during my run. He hovered over my head for a few seconds before heading up the hill. Another goosebump moment.