Day Twelve - Star Struck

This morning we slept in beside the ocean and awoke to a beautiful view of the crashing waves and sea foam. Lingering around our campsite, we watched the water and also the “burrowing ground squirrels” whose “rodent activity” effects the cliffs of the park. Once exceptionally chubby fellow even made his way into our garbage somehow; I took this picture before shooing him away. After a quick 50 cent shower, yay token restrooms, we were on our way up the highway and into L.A. On the way, Carl took a detour off the freeway and up route 1. Not only did it provide us with some more beautiful views of the beach, but we also saw the original Batmobile!

Along this route we also stopped for lunch at Arby’s where we met a girl who was originally from Arlington, VA and was impressed that we were on day 12 of our cross country drive. Back on the freeway, we finally rolled into L.A. and onto Hollywood Blvd.

After circling the area for some decent parking, we finally found a place which offered daily parking for $7 (this was a deal considering that the other places were charging $3 for 15 minutes and $8 for an hour), plus it had a high fence and a little Hispanic man standing watch. After loading our bags with all things valuable, we headed down Holly Blvd. our eyes constantly on the sidewalk to catch the familiar names of the stars. We even found Alice Cooper! (Well his star anyway).
We stopped by Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to see the foot and hand prints of the stars. There were a variety of names, everything from John Wayne to Johnny Depp. Here I am with Cary Grant.
We also went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not odditorium. I’ve always wanted to go to one, and Carl was willing. It was great fun! We saw all kinds of things, including a two headed baby and a statue of Marilyn Monroe made completely of money.

After walking along the strip a bit longer, we decided to go in search of the Hollywood sign. We drove up a recommended street until we reached a trail. After a short climb we could see the Hollywood sign looming in the distance. There’s really not much else to say about today. L.A. is definitely not one of our favorite places on the journey. The traffic is everything you’ve ever heard and more. The entire city is covered in a thick haze, and, compared to the desert and the state beach, it’s a whole other world.

Tonight we’re camping at a KOA just outside of Los Angeles and tomorrow we’re cruising the Pacific Coast Highway.