As luck would have it, I was in Los Angeles for work and a visit with my son, when I discovered it was Oscars night! After my son flew back to El Salvador from LAX, I was alone in my hotel, so I went up to the rooftop restaurant for dinner to console myself. It was bright, cold and windy, not the warm California sunshine kind of evening you imagine. But, it was also an opportunity to watch the sunset over Beverly Hills and Hollywood Hills from a rooftop and eat a delicious dinner at one of my favorite hotels in the city of Angels.

I went up to the rooftop early to enjoy the “golden hour” and sunset while I ate dinner, choosing to sit outside among the heat lamps, rather than the glass fishbowl inside. This would allow me to wander the rooftop and take photos of sunset between bites. I was so early that I was the only diner on the rooftop, but my waitress approached with a “sad face” to inform me there were reservations for 6:30pm, so I would need to give up my seat if I was still there. “No worries!” I said; how could I possibly take more than 1.5 hours to eat dinner?

That’s when I noticed a TV screen inside the glass fishbowl blaring LOUDLY with some big, epic, Hollywood event — OMG, it was the OSCARS!!! Looking around amused, I noticed the plastic, miniature Oscar statues on each table, the Hollywood sign in the distance, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures brightly lit up to the east, and realized I might run over the allotted 1.5 hours…

How did I spend my 90 minutes? I ordered food, wine, ran around the rooftop taking photos on my iPhone (the best camera because it was the camera I had with me — thank you Steve Jobs), ate a few bites, watched the Oscars inside the fishbowl, swilled some Pinot Noir, and took more photos as the sun lowered towards Hollywood hills.

As expected, a bunch of well-dressed people showed up at 6:30pm and were shown to their reserved tables on the rooftop. A few moments later, when my waitress walked over with an even sadder face than before, I was ready and said, “Don’t worry, I know I have to move! Can I sit at one of those little tables under the heater, watch the Oscars, and drink more wine?” With a relieved, grateful smile, she said, “Yes!”

Golden Hour & Sunset

Oscars Night in LA

An Interesting Person

Watching the Oscars inside the fishbowl from outside under the heaters, I noticed an interesting person watching in parallel. They were dressed in a faux fur coat and reacted with great passion and interest to each update on the big (television) screen…

Camera: iPhone 16 Pro Max
Editing: Hipstamatic iPhone app
Photographer: Russ Murray / remages
Subject(s): Faux Oscar statue on restaurant table, Hollywood Sign in background, photos of live Academy Awards, sunset in L.A., etc.
Location: Kimpton Wilshire Hotel, Los Angeles, California