Southern California, Here We Come!

Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood and Vine street sign in Hollywood.

We recently traveled to Los Angeles to meet with friends. What a week! We packed in so much sightseeing and touristy stuff in such a short time. I felt like I needed a vacation to recover from our vacation.

Highlights of the trip included staying in Hollywood, the Walk of Fame, seeing a Star Trek original cast member receive his star on the Walk of Fame, beaches, TV show tapings,  Mulholland Drive and the canyon drive, celebrity sightings, movie settings, as well as the Nebraska-UCLA football game.

The best part of the trip was spending time with close friends.

We opened with a drive to Venice Beach, AKA Muscle Beach. People work out along the

Surfer at Venice Beach
Surfer at Venice Beach.

beach – bodybuilders, etc. Arnold Schwarzenegger worked out there decades past. We did not see any bodybuilders on the equipment.

We did check out the beach action. Surfers were catching waves. That was cool to see. While we were taking in the views, an Omaha newspaper photographer introduced herself to our group. Somehow, she pegged us as Husker fans in for the game. What gave it way? Perhaps, the fact that two of us had on Nebraska T-shirts and ball caps? She took some shots of us (which later made their website), as well as other Husker fans walking along the beach or swimming.

Venice Beach
Venice Beach had so much going on.

We eventually made our way back to Hollywood to check in at our hotel and catch dinner on Hollywood Boulevard. We met other friends at Musso and Franks in Hollywood. The restaurant is the oldest in Hollywood, opening in 1919. Our friend Fred found out that Sean

Musso and Frank's
Musso and Frank Grill.

Penn supposedly enjoys sitting in the booth we occupied. The six of us had a great dinner. It was not too pricey.

Afterward, we all walked along Hollywood Boulevard, taking in the views and people. We eventually made our way past Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood, to Grauman’s Chinese Theater. We looked at the hand prints, shoe prints and autographs in concrete of stars, including Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Shirley Temple, Harrison Ford, and the original Star Trek cast. Each of us –  at least once – put our feet in shoe prints to see if we matched up.

Grauman's Chinese Theater
Grauman’s

Graumann's Chinese TheaterOn  our walk back to the hotel, our group stopped at the Dolby Theater, home of the Oscars. We walked the stairs that the celebrities walk for the Academy Awards. Each winner of the Best Picture of the Year is listed throughout the lobby. Interestingly, there are spots for futures winners up to 2071.

Dolby Theater stairs

Over the next few posts, I’d like to review our trip and some of the highlights of one of the best vacations we have ever had. I hope you’ll enjoy.

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