"Hurray for Hollywood!"

26 Apr 2014--On Monday we headed to Mulholland Drive, which overlooks Los Angeles, and then on Thursday we headed down to Hollywood Boulevard to see some action up close.  haha

As we entered Mulholland Drive, these houses and our first look into the city jumped out at us.  If these houses aren't on a mudslide waiting to happen, I don't know what is.  And look at the "haze"!



There are a series of pullouts designated on a map for the views, with this 1st one being the best view of the Hollywood sign.



Mulholland Drive goes for a total of about 50 miles, but the part overlooking LA is only about 20 miles max.  Most of the overlooks are cut out of the LA side, so you constantly look into what a tour guide told me was a cross between "smog and the marine layer".  If you blow up the 2nd picture you can see an actual line of "smog" above the buildings in the background.  You can't possibly look down on that and say to yourself, "I want to live here"!  Cathy read somewhere that if the greater Los Angeles area were a state, it would be the 5th largest state in the country by population, and that there are more cars here than people.  Not pretty!

 


There are some really nice houses along the drive, and then lots like these across the valley that also seem like a mudslide waiting to happen.  I wouldn't want to own one half way up the hill...cause those on top are surely coming down on you when it happens.



A few of cut-outs overlook the other side of the mountain, facing Burbank and Hollywood...both Universal and Warner Bros studios are down to the right in this picture.  Much prettier than the LA side of the mountain.



Made our way home and saw one of our trusty friends that survived the Heron hunt.  haha



On Thursday we headed to Hollywood Blvd to see the sights.  This is the entrance to the now-named Dolby Theatre, formerly called the Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars are held every year. Directly behind me in the 3rd picture is the hall they are held in.  Later that day when we came back through here, we saw a hole bunch of people lined up to go in to see the "America's Got Talent" show.  You had to have tickets, so we were out of luck.

 


I got the "Woman of the year" award!  Thank You!  Thank You Very Much!!!

 

Right down the street from the Dolby was Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where lots of the stars, past and present, have put their hand and footprints.  This seemed to be the busiest place on the whole boulevard, with protesters, street people and people dressed up that you could take your picture with.  That one guy looked like he had a birdhouse on his head, but I was afraid to get caught staring, so I'm not sure.  haha




I love Johnny Depp...that 1st one is a wax figure at the Wax Museum, but then a live one with a guy dressed up as Jack Sparrow...he is an actor and musician doing this on the side to get money he told me.  We have no idea who the lady in the 4th pic is supposed to be, but Cathy told me she is holding a curtain rod...her mother has one exactly like that in her bedroom!  haha  And finally, the most entertaining of them all was the old guy dancing in the video.


 

The entertainment section of the Boulevard is about a mile long, with "stars" on either side of the street, about 2500 in all.  After a while you get tired of looking at the ground, but I did find Elvis and Judy...Doris Day, too, but her name was blotted out by the sun.  haha



So that was our trip into the city areas...we drove through the Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills areas, but didn't see anything that would make us stop.  In all honesty, Vegas was more fun, and at least in southern California, we will stick to the beaches and mountains if we ever come back.