Chapter 7 - California

"When we ascended to higher altitudes of the foothills of the Lower Rocky Mountains, we were able to get a more comfortable night’s sleep, making our beds from fresh cut pine boughs; and the vigorous freshness of the woodlands was a pleasant change after the continuous rolling wastes of cactus and sage brush.
Crossing the mighty Colorado River at Topock and striking camp on the western bank, we held council in order to determine the exact state of our finances. Since no one of us had slept in a bed under a roof for some four or five months, we decided that it would be rather a novelty to head for a city, and it was a gamble whether it would be San Francisco or Los Angeles. The latter won.
Although I had seen similar scenery in Florida, the trip into Los Angeles was none the less enjoyable. Over the highway we sped, with orange and lemon groves on either side, offering their fruit to those who cared to pluck it. The lazy spell of the desert and wilderness was broken by the ever-changing panorama before us. Fresh green pastures; sleepy contented cows; peach, apricot and apple orchards; avenues of palm trees and endless citrus groves filled us with eager expectations of Sunny California.
If Los Angeles is a “City of Beautiful Homes”, its surrounding suburbs are Hamlets of Palatial Mansions, where, in the pretty palm-shaded piazzas, the busy men of Yesterday sit in reflection of their life’s efforts, many of them illuminating their recollections by sipping cocktails concocted from imported scotch whiskey – made two weeks ago last Tuesday in a Chicago basement....
After working for brief periods at Hollywood and Santa Monica, I secured a position as Head Supply Man in the Alexandria Hotel, one of Los Angeles’ leading hostelries, and was boosted to the job of checking in the food control department. After seven months my work there terminated rather unexpectedly when the institution changed hands and the system was discontinued. It was during this time that I entered on the Great Adventure."