This is the city...Los Angeles, California

"The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed, to protect the innocent."

Cars are moving...how unusual for LA.

My name is Randy; I carry a camera.  And a little book where I write this stuff.  

On our California adventure, we stopped in LA for a few days.  Our hotel was actually in Hollywood, which is part of Los Angeles County.  Hollywood and all the places we saw in the area were in that county, which is one big tangle of roadways interspersed with famous places and frequented by too many people.

The weather is nice, and you get to enjoy it when you are running your air conditioning while stuck in traffic.  All the time.  Life in LA, and much of southern California, is defined by traffic.  Not for this small town boy.  I wouldn't live there for all the tea in China.  Or the theaters.

It was a short walk from our hotel to Grauman's Chinese Theater.  Always thought that Sid Grauman was a rather unique Chinese name, but hey, it seemed to work for him.

You can't get takeout movies at the Chinese theatre.

The walkway where the stars put their imprints.

Many are clever.

Here's a nice view of the Hollywood sign.
What?  You don't see it?

Look closer!

Capitol idea to create a building that looks like a stack of LPs, don't you think?
What?  You don't know what an LP is?

I believe Billy Crystal was the architect for this theatre.

Ray Manzarek, keyboard player for the Doors, had played his last tune the night before,
hence the shrine.  Why do they do this?  People are strange.

ON TO MALIBU

Malibu Beach...very nice.

Not a bad place to walk.

We had a nice lunch at the Paradise Cove Beach Cafe.
Afterward, we sat in the ocean facing chairs and contemplated the meaning of life.

The kelp beds lurked offshore.

A godsend for those with Nordic complexions.

Errant frisbee tosses.
Helping the socially inept meet people for generations.

SANTA MONICA

We had the good fortune of visiting old friends who had returned to Santa Monica after a lengthly stint on the New York tundra.  It was nice to see the calm satisfaction of returning home.

It wasn't much of a beach day, being overcast with cool breezes.
The parking lot had plenty of space.
You can imagine what the beach must look like on a hot weekend.

An amusement park right on the pier.

Maybe so, but we had farther to go...just not in a westerly direction.

BACK TO THE CITY

Parts are quite attractive.
The lack of traffic indicates these streets were closed.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.

The architect was Frank Gehry.

Clearly, Mr. Gehry has a perceptual problem.
He can't draw a straight line.

This fountain is clad in broken bits of Delft China.
The pitchers and tiles they broke for it cost more than my house.
Don't believe me?  These are just the facts, Ma'am.

Don't touch the stainless steel where the sun hits it straight on.
Seared flesh smells terrible.

Drinking heavily is not recommended when navigating the building.

Inside is also impressive.

Ventilation and support in one structure.

The glass reception desk.

And just so you don't think the concert hall is the only interesting building,
here is a freeway-flyby shot of a small portion of
the High School for Performing Arts.

A LITTLE BIT OF NORTH HOLLYWOOD

The frequent use of concertina wire surprised me.
Further travels convinced me that this is nothing unusual in southern California.
All of the people wedged between the mountains and the sea can't expected to be nice.

Another flyby shot of graffiti on a transformer box.

BACK TO HOLLYWOOD

On our last evening in Los Angeles County, we took another stroll down seedy Hollywood Boulevard.

Lots of neon.
Mary was concerned the gentlemen hanging out on the street corner
would think I was capturing their likeness and take offense.

The archetype.

Sid Grauman did Egyptian, too.

I believe the elephants were going up for a block 
on the volleyball moon.

The only reason to go back to Hollywood
is to be there for the unveiling of your star.