Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard

Everyone has heard about Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and everyone has probably seen it in a movie or could at least recognize it. One might think it cliche or touristy to go there, and it probably is. But it's a historical landmark and it's well worth it. Follow the link in the Landmarks I've Visited to get more information.

Thousands of people every day come to see the theatre.

I think I spot some odd characters in the crowd.

Looking more closely, I see I was right. I think I see Gandalf.

Closer in on one of the towers.

Another angle on a tower.

Before the Hollywood Walk of Fame, we had cement imprints at Grauman's. Here's Cary Grant's spot.

And Shirley Temple.

Here's Gangalf.

And Homer Simpson, too. That donut looks hideous.

Hollywood and Highland

Of course when you're in Hollywood, you must go to Hollywood Boulevard. This is the first of several posts from that famed thoroughfare, with photos from Hollywood and Highland.

The most well known landmark at Hollywood and Highland is the Kodak Theatre. You may have heard of it; they host a little show each year called the Academy Awards.

Close in on the Kodak Theatre.

Closer yet...

A grand staircase takes visitors into the theatre.

Past the stairs.

The area past the stairs features an interesting rotunda.

Outside the theatre, there are several columns with elephants on top.

A plaza outside the theatre.

Across Hollywood Boulevard from the Kodak is the famed El Capitan Theatre.

Not too far from there one can find Ripley's Believe It or Not! I spent a couple of hours in there, and it was fascinating.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Dodgers vs. Padres

This evening I attended a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. Visiting were the San Diego Padres. Going to this game was one of the first events I booked while planning my vacation. I love going to baseball games, and Dodger Stadium is a great landmark.

I didn't take any photos at the game because I didn't know if cameras would be allowed or not, and I didn't want to take the risk of having it confiscated.

At any rate, it was a great game, and I met some great people in the stands. That's one thing I found in both of my trips to Los Angeles - contrary to what you might think, there are a lot of very nice people in L. A.

A Little Airplane Watching At LAX

OK, I've admitted it before that I am an airplane geek. When possible, I find a good perch to watch airplanes at the airport of the city I'm visiting. There's a most excellent spot at LAX, from which I took loads of photos. It's difficult to get decent close shots since the planes aren't exactly going slow, but I've included a few here anyway.

A Boeing 747 on final approach. It seems so low.

Ah, it British Airways. Maybe someday I'll be able to take photos at Heathrow.

The British Airways 747 passes over the perimeter fence.

Yum. When I'm in L.A., I LOVE going to In-N-Out Burger. What makes this perfect is that it's right across the street from my plane-watching perch!

A Northwest Airlines 757 passes overhead.

And finally, a pic of my LAX plane-watching perch. As you can see, I'm not the only one.

You May Not Recognize This Griffith Park

Everyone knows about the observatory and planetarium at Griffith Park, but there's a lot more to it than that. I hiked at trial leading to a place called Dante's View through some beautiful country. It's hard to believe you're in the middle of a giant city. Follow the link in the Landmarks I've Visited section to get more information about Griffith Park.

One of those big flowering things that emerge from giant yucca-type plants.

Entry to 'Berlin Forest'.


Is an explanation necessary?

Haze obscures this view.

Approaching a bridge on the trail to Dante's View.

The aforementioned bridge.

A sign warns hikers about the water situation.

I saw this fenced-in tree in a movie after I'd been on this vacation. I thought it looked familiar, so I searched my photos and found it.

Los Angeles Vacation 2004

At the end of 2003, I took a road trip from Columbia, Missouri to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I only had a few days in L.A., and I had a cold the whole time. I decided then that I must take a do-over vacation. Well, this is that do-over! The following several posts will include photos of places I visited on my do-over vacation to Los Angeles.

This isn't a landmark, or someplace I visited. It's the courtyard of the hotel I stayed at in Hollywood. Actually, it was the Ramada Hollywood Hotel on Vermont. It wasn't five-star or anything, but it was clean and comfortable. Besides, I wasn't in Los Angeles to hunker down in a hotel room.

Yeah, you know you're in L.A. when the car rental agency features Lamborghinis. This was at Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car. This was a branch office, though, on Sepulveda just up from LAX.

A Few Photos From Downtown Denver

I was in Colorado for our family Christmas gathering in December of 2003. I managed to take some photos of downtown Denver while I was there. Here are a few of them.

I tool this photo because of the large white mast-looking object. It's actually part of a bridge underconstruction.

The Gates Rubber Company building.

Denver's Union Station

A view of the capitol building looking southeast from the 16th Street Mall.

Looking northwest up the 16th Street Mall.

L. A. Road Trip Final Words

Well, my big adventure to Los Angeles and points between is over. The Ride performed well, and was a joy to drive. Even though I had a nasty cold the entire time, I managed to have fun. But the quality of the photos were a disappointment, so I'm going to take a do-over some day. If/when I do that, I'll fly out and spend at least a week, so I can hit all the places I missed this time.

You may notice that my last post was from White Sands, and that a few days have gone by since then. To be honest, I just wanted to get home, so I didn't take any photos after White Sands. Actually, there probably wasn't much to shoot anyway, so no big loss.

Now for the geeky part. As you may have gathered from the theme of this blog, travel is a great hobby of mine. Well, so is financial management. That means this trip had a budget, and I hit the numbers pretty close. Here is a breakdown. Notice I even estimated the number of miles I would drive overall...

Yeah, I didn't budget for some items, so I went over a little on cost. Not by much, though. And check out the miles - I drove 15.9 miles more that I had planned for. Now that's taking your budgeting a little too seriously!

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

On my way from Tucson to Roswell, I stopped at White Sands National Monument, which is about 15 miles southwest of Alamagordo. I've placed a link to the National Park Service's page for White Sands in the Landmarks I've Visited section.

Wide open spaces

Rippled Dunes

Dunes and Sky

Pedestal

Pedestals

Ripples in Sand and Snow

Sand Road