On Sunday, January 23, 2012, I took a private cab tour to visit my must-see Jim Morrison hangouts.

Our first stop was Morrison Hotel, located at 1246 South Hope Street in Los Angeles, CA.

Although the building is boarded up, it has great potential for renovation, as it appears structurally sound.

Los Angeles is diverse and rich in culture, with fifty percent of the population coming from Mexico.

Driving through the fashion district, the streets were littered with pup tents and cardboard boxes sheltering the 80,000 homeless in the city.

Our next stop was Barney's Beanery, located at 8447 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA.

Nick Zaki was my personal tour guide, and we shared a love of Jim Morrison. The five hours we were together was non-stop talking. Actually, the day I spent with Nick was the best I had in Los Angeles!!

If, you're looking for a great cab driver in Los Angeles, call Nick at 310.339.3977.

Nick and I ate at Barney's Beanery. I loved that place. The atmosphere was laid back and fun. I could totally envision Jim Morrison hanging out there. The ceilings and walls were covered with memorabilia.

When I walked into the ladies room, the second stall had this huge photo of Janis Joplin that caught my attention immediately. Just had to snap a photo of Pearl.

I didn't use the Janis stall. I choose the third stall, and low and behold, Morrison Hotel!! Lots of great memorabilia and graffiti in the bathroom.

A shot of the bar room. Jim Morrison purportedly urinated on the bar. I guess that's a good enough reason to nick name him Jimbo :)

Another shot of the bar room. The patrons were hooting & hollering during the Eagles/Ravens game.

My breakfast -- so delicious!! Huevos rancheros. One of only two Mexican meals I had in L.A.

From our booth, I looked up, and there was Jim Morrison's Wanted Poster on the ceiling!! Had to take a snap shot.

The big highlight of our tour was our next stop: The Alta Cienega Motel, located at 1005 North La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, CA, where Jim Morrison lived on and off in Room 32. It was exciting to see the place.

I asked the owners if I could see Room 32, and they agreed. It was so worth the $10 I paid them!!

You could easily spend a weekend reading all the graffiti in Room 32 at the Alta Cienega Motel. Someone actually wrote "Nixon Killed Jim Morrison"—makes sense to me.

Although the Alta Cienega Motel is undergoing construction, Room 32 is intact! I should have signed the wall. Why didn't I think of that?!!

Extra large painting of Jim Morrison in Room 32 at the Alta Cienega Motel.

Me, proudly standing next to the photo of Jim Morrison's Miami mug shot, in front of his room at the Alta Cienega Motel. Very cool!!

Jim Morrison's Room at the Alta Cienega Motel.

This is supposedly Jim Morrison's last address: 1229 North Harper Avenue, West Hollywood, CA. From what I understand, he never actually lived here.

For a small sum of $1,000/week, you can rent the place. Next time I go to Los Angeles, I'm staying here!!

The World Famous Whisky A Go Go, located at 8901 W. Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA.

Another shot of the Whisky… Such a cool place!

The Whisky's awning on Sunset Blvd.

Read names—you will note The Doors!

Next, we drove up Laurel Canyon. Although you're in the heart of a big city, you almost feel like you're in the country. The streets are narrow with lots of woods, twists & curves and, of course, the Hollywood hills. It took a bit of patience to find the Laurel Canyon Country Store (our landmark), but the Love Street house was easily recognizable by the bell tower.

The Love Street house, located at 8021 Rothdell Trail, Laurel Canyon, CA, was burned by arsonists on December 30, 2011.

Here is a glimpse of the burned portion of the house. The house is already under renovation and luckily, the damage didn't look too bad.

A better photo of the front of Jim & Pamela's Laurel Canyon home. It was really hard to see the house with the tall fence and shrubbery.

The Laurel Canyon Country Store. Why the heck didn't I go inside?!!

The last leg of our historic Jim Morrison journey was Venice Beach, where The Doors were incepted.

This is Jim Morrison's pal Dennis Jakob's apartment building, located at 12 Westminster Ave., Venice, CA, where Jim Morrison lived on the roof top during the summer of '65, surviving on acid and creating a concert in his head that would eventually turn into The Doors original sound and unique lyrics.

Next door was a freaky looking house where I imagine some devil worshipping or witchcraft is going on. I didn't want to jinx myself by taking a photo of the house, but for sure it's a sight to see. It'll creep you out.

The last stop on my list was the mural of Jim Morrison in Venice Beach, located at 1811 Speedway. The mural is so huge, you could see it in the distance at least two blocks down.

Getting closer... Damn fence!

The mural starts at the top of the building and goes all the way down to the ground.

There are still so many places to visit, but I thought this was a great start to paying homage to Jim Morrison. On my next trip to L.A., I want to spend some serious time strolling the streets and beach in Venice. Venice Beach has such a fun atmosphere—very hippie-like. It's easy to imagine Jim Morrison strolling up and down the streets.