During our recent whirlwind visit to Los Angeles, for the Pantheon of Leather Awards and International Mr. and Ms. Olympus Leather Contest, we spent an afternoon in LGBT-friendly West Hollywood (WeHo), incorporated in 1984 and recently deemed the “Most Walkable City in California by WalkScore.com. Our focus was the main drag, Santa Monica Boulevard, particularly between San Vincente and La Cienaga Boulevards.
We had lunch at and avidly people-watched from the sidewalk café at Rage restaurant, bar, and nightclub (8911 Santa Monica Blvd), where comely Omar and Paul took good care of us. We looked at swimwear at LA Jock (8915 Santa Monica Blvd, www.lajock.com) next door, and shopped for leather at 665, Inc. (8722 Santa Monica Boulevard, www.665leather.com), and cards and souvenirs at Block Party WeHo (8853 Santa Monica Blvd, www.BlockPartyWeHo.com), and also stopped at LA Sporting Club (8592 Santa Monica Blvd, www.shoplasc.com) and other shops. We admired bougainvillea in full bloom and were glad to see the rainbow flags waving.
Many people, shopkeepers and other individuals, stopped to talk to us. The sight of two men in leather is an unusual one in WeHo, leatherman Mike told us, after we stopped for protein drinks at the Power Zone (8576 Santa Monica Boulevard, www.PowerZoneOnline.com), and he said he was happy to see some other representatives of “my community” visiting the neighborhood.
