A journey along the shoals of a gentrifying L.A. neighborhood

The kayak refused to obey.

I had done everything as instructed: I’d measured my grip on the paddle by holding it above my head with my arms at 90-degree angles. I’d swept the blade in a wide arc across the water to turn the kayak. And I’d used my torso, along with my arms, to add power to the stroke.

Still, the little red boat hurtled towards the jumble of rocks downstream.

Not that such insubordination surprised me. Kayaking, along with anything that resembles sport, does not number among my strengths. But I’d had the idea that reporting about Los Angeles – in particular, the swiftly gentrifying riverside neighborhood of Frogtown – from the rapids of the L.A. River would be a fine way to close out my two-year stint as the Monitor’s West Coast correspondent.

Thus I spent Memorial Day in a bright crimson kayak, scraping myself off of watery impediments (often rocks, more often other people’s boats) about once every five minutes, for the entire hour-and-a-half expedition.

This fitful creep downriver was every bit as aggravating as you might

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