Meandering day

Anaheim, CA

Today I decided my ultimate destination would be Santa Monica Pier, but that I’d wander a bit before getting there. I didn’t stop to take too many pictures because most of what I saw is stuff you’ve all seen pictures of anyway and I wouldn’t have been able to cover as much ground if I stopped frequently.

I started at the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park. I’m ashamed to admit it was just to stop to take a picture of the Hollywood sign since I’d read it was a good place to get one. I just didn’t have time to stop and have a look at the Observatory, although it looked really interesting.

Hollywood was my next stop. I parked near Hollywood and Highland near the heart of the area. Turns out they were just implementing a diagonal crosswalk at that corner and the traffic was a mess because everyone was confused about what was going on, both pedestrians and drivers. I managed to cross without getting killed.

I wandered along the Hollywood Walk of Fame looking at all the stars there. I was actually surprised by how many of the people I didn’t recognize. In one block is the Hollywood Ave entrance to the Dolby Theatre which is where the Academy Awards have been held since 2001 when it was opened (previously called Kodak Theatre). There is also a 4 story mall with restaurants and shops as part of the Theatre complex.

It’s just down the block from historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre which is where the Oscars were handed out in the 1940s. It was opened in 1927 and still hosts openings of movies from time to time. In the courtyard in front of the theatre are the hand and footprints (and glove print in the case of Michael Jackson) of generations of Hollywood stars.

There are other tourist traps as well such as the Madame Trussaud’s Wax Museum and Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Then it was down to Sunset Blvd and the Sunset Strip and then over to Rodeo Drive which I drove from north to south where it joins Wiltshire Blvd. I didn’t stop to shop or even take a picture. Every designer you’ve ever heard of has a store there.

Then on to Santa Monica Boulevard for a quick stop at the Beverly Hills sign and lily pond, and then all the way out to Santa Monica Pier. Yes, another pier. This is my second favourite after Santa Cruz. I think it must be the roller coaster and carousels. It was cool and really windy, so not a great beach day. Santa Monica is the western end of famous Route 66 which used to go east all the way to Chicago, Illinois covering 3, 940 km.

Coming back I freeway-hopped back to Anaheim. At times I was speeding along at 90 and others I was crawling along at 40. Thankfully I was never stopped completely. I certainly couldn’t do this freeway driving on a regular basis.