Places Visited:
California: Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu, Venice, Rodeo
Drive, Burbank, and Long Beach
Saturday, May 21, Golden Shore RV Resort-- Long Beach, California: $45.90 with GS discount FHU-50amp. Paved interior roads gravel sites. N33° 45.919' W118° 12.210'
Today portends to be a special day for us. We have friends living in Hollywood that are going to take us sightseeing today. All we have to do is drive from Long Beach to their home in Hollywood where will leave our Saturn and take their car for a tour of the city. We got up early and were on our way to "Hollywood" by 8AM. It is 35-miles from where we are in Long Beach to their place in Hollywood and traffic is supposed to be "LA" so we allocated 1-hour to navigate that 35-miles. Surprisingly we make better time than expected. Without any problem we pull into Mark and Amber's place.
Mark is our son's best friend so Mark practically grew up at our house. Amber is Mark's new bride. We spent a few minutes getting a tour of their new pad before jumping in Mark's vehicle for our sightseeing adventure.
Mark and Amber were excellent tour guides. They drove us up in the hills to the HOLLYWOOD sign then through a maze of narrow roads high on the hill accessing all the amazing houses on the hill.
Then we headed to a vista point where we got out viewing the city.
Then it was
back to Hollywood where we stopped at the 101 Coffee Shop on Franklin Avenue.
The 101 Coffee Shop is one of the Hollywood hangouts especially with up and
coming actors. We enjoyed the breakfast but didn't make any "star-sightings".
If you are into "star-sightings" you might want to try the 101 Coffee
shop at 6145 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood.
Our next big stop was the Walk of Fame with all the "stars" in the sidewalk. The sidewalks go on and on with all the stars. I think everyone has a star but me. We didn't see but a fraction of those stars before we stopped at Man's Chinese Theatre where famous actors have their hand and feet prints in the concrete.
We are not Star War fans but I have two BIL's (Brothers in Law) that are. Mark & Van would have loved being here since this is a big weekend for Star Wars fans. Extreme Star Wars fans were dressed-up/made-up as Star Wars characters and mingling with the crowd in front of Man's Chinese theatre and up and down the sidewalk for that entire block. People were getting their pictures made with these characters that were enjoying the adoration of the crowd.
Caracters from other movies were in evidence as well. We don't watch enough TV or movies to know who these folks are dressed up as do you?
Crowds just gather in front of Man's Chinese Theatre where movie and TV stars have been immortalized with their hand prints in concrete.
Then we inspected the Kodak theatre where "Oscar" presentations are made. Joyce and I walked where the "red-carpet" is laid out. Of course it goes without saying---- there was no red carpet for us.
We could see the Capitol Records building from nearly everywhere in Hollywood as well as the ubiquitous "Hollywood" sign on the mountain.
I think
my favorite stop of the day was Rodeo Drive. Mark found a parking garage at
2-Rodeo Drive where we stopped for a short stroll. That way we could get up
close and personal with the place. I was fascinated by the shops but infinitely
more intrigued with the Wiltshire Hotel that is situated on Wiltshire and Rodeo
Drive. If you remember the Wiltshire Hotel was made famous in the movie "Pretty
Woman". We didn't go in to see the lobby area where many scenes were filmed
but Mark and Amber pointed out the balcony where "Julia Roberts" was
in the final scene of the movie when Richard Geer returned for her.
I encouraged Mark & Amber to find the dress shop where Julia Roberts had been snubbed by the sales people. You remember the one where Richard Geer walked in to tell the sales people they had ---- "made a mistake ------- a HUUUUUUUGE mistake". Everyone who saw "Pretty Woman" can remember that line…………. And what a "HUGE" mistake it was indeed.
We had a good time walking around and window shopping on Rodeo Drive.
From Rodeo Drive Mark introduced us to Bell Air and Brentwood then to his "favorite-cookie shop". He really did stop by a cookie shop where we went in and got some absolutely divine chocolate chip cookies, mine was white chocolate.
Just when we think it can't get any better, it does. VBG
Not long after that we were heading west on Santa Monica Boulevard to Santa Monica Beach and the world famous pier, Hotel California (everyone remembers the Beach Boys song) and beaches.
In giving us the GRAND tour Mark then headed north on the Pacific Coast Highway past Will Rogers Beach State Park and into Malibu where they filmed scenes from the Bay Watch Series. In Malibu Mark finally turns around and headed us toward Venice Beach located a bit south of Santa Monica Beach.
Even though
Joyce and I strolled up and down the boardwalk at Venice Beach yesterday things
were different today. This was mid-afternoon on Saturday and the place was pulsating
with throngs of people of all makes, colors and shapes. The thing that changed
from yesterday was the sheer volume of people. Blending in is NOT one of the
fashion statements in California. In fact the object is to wear something that
will call attention to one's self or to decorate one's body in such a way as
to call attention. In any event, this is a target rich environment for people
watching.
After Venice Beach we headed back to Hollywood for a late lunch at Mel's Drive-In. If you remember the movie American Graffiti --------- Mel's is the Drive-In. Mark thinks the filming for American Graffiti was done at the Mel's in San Francisco. None the less we ate lunch there and enjoyed the music, memorabilia and food.
Mark and Amber have shown us a wonderful day. We said good-by to them and head to Mark's Sister's house less than 8-miles away where we are going to spend the night. We have been invited to dine with Donna and Don and their Children tomorrow and they knew that the drive back to Long Beach tonight and return trip to their place tomorrow would be brutal------and they were right, so they invited us to spend the night with them. It is amazing how well friends are treating us. They have also invited us to park our motorhome on the street in front of their home. There is NO-WAY I am going to drive my motorhome up the windy road to their house high on a hill/mountain above Hollywood.
Don is a successful corporate attorney servicing the movie industry and appropriately their house sits on a mountain high above east Hollywood. For those of you that are familiar with the area it is the mountain that separates East Hollywood from Brentwood.
Sometime after 9PM Donna and Don took us for a walk in their back yard that is flat for about 60' then abruptly climbs up the extremely steep face of the cliff their home is built on. They have constructed a walkway up that cliff to a deck near the top. From that deck to the west they can see the pulsating lights of West Hollywood all the way to Santa Monica and the Pacific. To the south they see lights in sky scrapers of downtown LA. What a view and the cool night air is so refreshing. A haze hangs over the downtown area slightly blurring those lights but the view toward West Hollywood and the Pacific is crystal clear.
To say this was a full day would be an understatement. There is absolutely nothing better than good friends, AMEN!
Sunday, May 22, Golden Shore RV Resort-- Long Beach, California: $45.90 with GS discount FHU-50amp. Paved interior roads gravel sites. N33° 45.919' W118° 12.210'
As if yesterday was not enough we were treated to breakfast at Bob's Big Boy the original "Big Boy" restaurant. In the southeast Big Boy franchises are Shoney's Big Boy Restaurants many of which still feature the drive-in where you order from your automobile. We had a good time eating breakfast at this landmark in Burbank.
This is Donna & Don and their children Louis and Anna posing with "Bob's Big Boy".
This Big Boy restaurant has been here since 1949. The restaurant was honored in 1993, receiving the designation as a "State Point of Historical Interest" by the state of California. The most prominent feature of a "Big Boy Restaurant" has to be the Big Boy statute in checkered coveralls. Now as Paul Harvey would say "you know the rest of the story".
After breakfast Donna took us on a sightseeing spin to see Universal Studios and the Disney Animation Building, Warner Brothers Studios, then where NBC has the Jay Leno studio, and by Paramount on Melrose (I think I recall one of those studios being the Dr. Phil Studio) all in the Burbank area, I believe. As you can imagine with all this information being delivered in staccato fashion my poor old mind was spinning and getting things confused.
No matter where we are in Hollywood we keep seeing Capitol Records.
Then, as if that wasn't enough Donna drove by Hollywood and Vine (that is the BIG corner in Hollywood) to get to the Hancock Park the area of LA where incredibly beautiful "Old Money" homes were located in the heart of Los Angeles.
While in that area she drove us by the La Brae Tar Pits where we elected not to stop and walk around the Tar Pits since some big function had the area swarming with people.
Back in Donna's neighborhood she continued past her house to a vantage point where we could see the famous Hollywood sign high on a mountain probably east of where we were. The only reason there was an opening in the houses where we could see the sign was because two houses had fallen down the side of the mountain as a result of mudslides years ago. The city now owns the property and no one can build on them.
Across the street from Don & Donna (the down hill side of the street) two houses have been condemned as a result of damage from the heavy rains this winter and spring. These are beautiful houses with awesome views that are on the verge of falling down the mountain.
After our drive we said our good buy's to Donna, Don and family and headed
back to Long Beach. Driving on the LA freeways is something else. Thankfully,
we made it back to Long Beach.
Until next week just remember how good life is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to be added to the e-mail distribution list for these travelogues
please let us know via
e-mail Mailto:mikehendrix@isp.com
Mike & Joyce Hendrix
mikehendrix@isp.com