I was stranded.

Being in LA without transportation is comparable to being on a desert island.

I could call Uber or Lyft, but I am still upright and mobile so I decided to walk to Santa Monica which is an 8 mile roundtrip excursion.

I took the beach path to Equinox, became one with myself in Pilates, stopped at the market and then made the return trip.

All was groovy until it started to rain and then my spirits and gait were dampened.

It’s a good thing you need to bring you own bags to grocery stores in LA because a paper bag would make a sad sack.

I made it home without melting.

Saturday, we headed to the downtown Music Center and thankfully gave ourselves a 2 hour cushion since LA freeways never fail to disappoint.

The 14 mile trip took over one hour which gave us about an hour to find sustenance.

The Music Center is under construction so they cleverly installed Cocina Roja, a Mexican food pop up which is open for 2 hours before all Music Center performances. The food was actually delicious.

Satiated we were off to see Linda Vista, a new play by Tracy Letts in association with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Letts is a master at capturing emotions and he did not disappoint.

He is the the Pulitzer Prize winning author and star of the Broadway stage version of August: Osage County. Letts also played the father in the film, Lady Bird and won a Tony for his Broadway performance in, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. He will be starring on Broadway this spring with Annette Bening in a revival of Arthur Miller’s, All My Sons.

The Mark Taper is an exception, intimate venue and we had great seats for $30.

Letts edgy wit keeps the dialogue smart and continually entertaining.

Ian Barford who played the father in Broadway’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is excellent in the lead role of Wheeler, an irascible 50-year-old white guy whose marriage has collapsed and is seeking a new start.

The only negative was the play ran almost 3 hours and as with some plays you could have easily shaved off 20 minutes and left the audience as entertained as it was after the first act.

We scurried from the Music Center to barely make our reservation at Nightshade, a truly amazing new restaurant located a mere mile from the Music Center down an alleyway in the very hip and trendy Arts District.

The food is exciting and innovative and I will review tomorrow so stay tuned. Nightshade is beyond fabulous.

I would venture to say we experienced a New York state of mind escapade in LA…all right, all right, all right.