Goin' In

That's Lincoln as a hot dog, Lank as (Abe) Lincoln and Barbapoca as a pirate.

The Grove

If you've never been, it's a lovely outdoor mall with beautiful fountains and statuary, overpriced stores and eateries, and yuppies and security guards a-plenty.

Busted!

I counted. We were on the premises for three minutes before this guy approached us. We were told that our presence would cause a disturbance, we'd upset the customers, and disturb the condo. I'm not sure what that last part meant. When I told him we were just passing through, taking a shortcut to the Farmer's Market, it seemed to appease him. -Barbapoca

I feel secure!

There's The Grove's faux cop force, keeping the mall safe from people wearing strange outfits!

Farmers Market

Once again, the boot.

First Stop

The young people actually stopped to ask us what the hell we were up to. Game on!

Lank Trade #1

And Lank managed to trade his golf pencil for a button that says "You Are Dumb", courtesy of the fine folks at The Onion.

Second Stop

The ladies at this bus station were very nice.

Lincoln Trade #1

Lincoln traded his pencil for a half-full water bottle. It was bigger, if not better.

Lank Trade #2

And Lank traded his button for a Life-Saver. Not sure this was bigger, better, or more bizarre, but like I said, they were nice.

Photo Op

And we took pictures with them. Pirate Barbapoca is agog that he has yet to make a trade.

Third Stop

Then we ran into this pair of drunk gay French guys. One offered his penis for a trade, but I said only if it was detachable. They asked where I was staying that night. These guys were smashed and it was only 4pm. Awesome!

Lank Trade #3

Then one of them traded me a dollar for the Life-Saver.

Barbapoca Trade #1

Barbapoca managed to trade his pencil for a nice pen from a couple of girls walking down the sidewalk. Notice the fine old-world craftsmanship of the pencil.

Fourth Stop

This couple on a bus bench were intrigued by our game and thought for sure that it was a TV show and that there were hidden cameras somewhere.

Barbapoca Trade #2

Barbapoca, now on a roll, trades his pen for a fresh white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. Bigger, yes, and possibly more bizarre. Notice the fine, old-world craftsmanship of the cookie.

What else?

These two really wanted to find more stuff to trade.

Lank Trade #4

Lank trades his paper dollar for a Sacagawea dollar coin.

Fifth Stop

We stopped for a while to try trading with this odd-looking old couple. Try as he might, Lincoln could not pawn off his half-empty water bottle.

Lank & Barbapoca on the Blvd.

People liked our signs.

Lincoln as hot dog on Hollywood

Workin' it, but still can't trade off the water bottle.

Lank Trade #5

Lank trades the Sacagawea for a genuine fake $1,000,000 bill. There's a monetary theme here. Maybe because of the dead president costume.

Lincoln Trade #2

I think this guy was thirsty. Lincoln finally swaps the water bottle for a "Bring Your Own Cup" sticker.

Lincoln Trade #3 (?)

Not sure that this one counts, but Lincoln saw fit to trade his HOT DOG COSTUME for this kid's Jon Stewart '08 t-shirt.

Shirt Swap

Yep, you saw it on Hollywood Blvd.

There's a new hot dog in town

Swap complete. But I don't think Lincoln wants to trade the shirt...

Barbapoca Trade #3

Barbapoca manages to trade his cookie to this lovely Australian girl for a Woolworth's discount card - also from Australia. Notice the fine, old-world craftsmanship of the Woolworth's card.

Lank Trade #6

Lank also engages the Australian lasses. For his million dollar bill, he gets an Australian coin worth $50 American! (I think she was either lying or not understanding the exchange rate. It was a big, cool-looking coin, though!)

Workin' the Blvd.

This guy was a hoot.

Lank Trade #7

Lank finally traded his Australian 50 cent piece for this guy's Alcoholics Anonymous 9 years of sobriety coin. He said he'd be getting his 10 year coin soon anyway, and we congratulated him.

Lincoln Trade #4 (?)

Lincoln trades his "Bring Your Own Cup" sticker for one of this girl's rare and irreplaceable bracelets. We're about ready to pack it in now.

Barbapoca Trade #4

As luck would have it, we ran into ANOTHER pair of lovely Australian ladies on our way back to the car. So Barbapoca had no trouble trading the Woolworth's card for a beautiful shell that came from a beach in County Donegal, Ireland. Meanwhile, Lincoln flirted.

The Shell

See how Irish it is?

Lincoln, Lincoln, whatcha drinkin'?

Abe needs a mocha.

Final Items

They certainly didn't get much bigger. Lincoln ended up with a pink bracelet, Lank with a 9 years sobriety coin, and Barbapoca with a lovely Irish shell.