My wife, literally the-girl-next-door, and I moved to LA in late ‘68 and quickly found an apt in Hollywood. We were so poor, our entertainment was walking Sunset or Hollywood Blvds and watch the people show - strange scenes for a a couple of kids from Ohio.
We spent many weekends at the beach, mostly Santa Monica (it was the closest) but got as far north as Oxnard/Malibu and south to Huntington.
Spent a few weekends in Vegas when the downtown was THE spot.
It was sunny & clean - unlike what it has devolved into the last 20 years.
The Manson murders occurred during that time and even without a TV it was THE hot topic everywhere you went...esp in our Hollywood neighborhood.
I still recall a Saturday afternoon we had our clock radio sitting atop the refrigerator listening to KHJ when the disk jockey was playing a new, unreleased double album. Before each track, he talked about the song and what was happening in the studio.
The disk jockey? George Harrison.
The record? Beatles “White” album.
Seems like yesterday....
btw, tell your cousin Steely Dan I said “Howdy”...
And on a somewhat related not...we were just in NYC last week and we stopped by The Dakota.About a dozen people there..with the doormen fielding questions.