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| There it is! The famous "Hollywood" sign - we have arrived! |
Good morning folks! Back to California this morning. Oh I do have a lot of photos and videos to post of our adventures in Los Angeles this past January. By the way, yesterday Pat finalized his plans for visiting me here in Delaware at the end of next month. Hopefully my leg is back to normal then. So now I have my plans finalized for visiting Pat in Tornonto at the end of August and of course next January we're back out in Los Angeles to pick up where we left off this past January.
Today's installment of "Ron and Pat's Excellent Adventure in La La Land" takes place on Mulholland Drive. That's right folks, the fabled Mulholland Drive. To actually drive, walk and see these famous iconic landmarks of Hollywood history was such a thrill for both me and Pat. Every day, a new adventure. Today we wanted to see the Hollywood sign.
First we had to drive up Mulholland Drive to get to the top of the hills to see the Hollywood sign. We weren't the only ones driving up the Hollywood hills that beautiful, sunny, glorious, spectacular January day in Los Angeles. What a wonderful way to have a vacation, no set plans, no particular place to be on a certain day, just get up and take off wherever we felt like it. What a pleasure it was to travel with someone like Pat who didn't have another agenda to meet someone else and had all the time in the world to spend with me. Someone who appreciates the same things that I do, like visiting all these Hollywood landmarks.
One thing that surprised me where we visited was all the hills in Los Angeles. I guess I've just gotten used to the flat coastal plains of Delaware where I live now. When Bill and I took our trips south we encountered mountains, very little flat land. Los Angeles is interesting because there is this vast valley and the hills (Hollywood) surrounding it. I may have this wrong so feel free to correct me for those of you blog readers who know more about Los Angeles (Tony, Jon) than I do.
We were looking for a place to park at the end of this day so we could see and take our pictures of the Hollywood sign.
We finally found a place to park. Then we continued our trek to the top of the mountain to get a good view of the Hollywood sign. We were at the end of a perfect weather day and we wanted to see the sign before the sun set.
The last time I climbed a "hill" like this was when Bill and I visited the Pisgah Mountains of the hillbilly country of western North Carolina to see my great grandfather Isaac Lewis's grave at the top of the mountain. Just about killed me then to climb that mountain as it did this day. Pat didn't seem to have any problem though bounding up the "hill." All that yoga training he's had was paying off.
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| We're at the top of the hill! Pat points to the Hollywood sign. |
And then we finally arrive at the top of the hill and see the sign. What a magnificent view! Look at all those homes in the Hollywood Hills. What a wonderful place to live. Of course there is drought of the century going on in California now. They're running out of water but hey, look at the view. Don't they have fires up here too because of the dry brush? Oh well, at least they don't have to worry about hurricanes like I do here in coastal Delaware. Everywhere you go in the United States, even Hawaii there is some risk. But one thing is for sure, those Hollywood Hills sure are beautiful.
I guess if you lived there, you would get used to it. I don't know though, I think I would luxuriate in this beauty every day and never take it for granted. I am so glad I took Pat's suggestion to visit Los Angeles and disregarded all those who advised me against visiting L.A., most with the common refrain "There's nothing to see and you'll need a car!" Well, we got a car and had a LOT to see. So there you naysayers (you know who you are).
Of course we weren't the only folks on top of that vantage point in the Hollywood Hills that day taking in the views. I'm pretty sure all of the other people up there were young folks. Pat and I were the only two old geezers who made the climb that day. Proving yet again that although Pat and I may be as old as the hills, we're still young at heart and always will be.
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| One of the young people that day doing his Leonardo DiCaprio Titanic "King of the World" impressions |
