It all
started at the beginning of summer while watching a movie, and my 7 year old
daughter pointed out the Hollywood sign. She asked me if Hollywood really
existed. The look on her face when I started to explain the origin behind the
wooden sign was priceless. Her mind filled with wonder she said, “Can we go
there?”
Currently we live in Imperial Beach,
California. Hollywood is a great day trip. Granted you can stomach the rush
hour traffic, and battle the endless “Are we there yet?”s. Luckily the husband
lets me drive since I have enough patience for the both of us, and our 2
children are practically intermediate level travelers. Therefore, we have hit a
rather sweet spot in our travel procedures. Armed with their day packs (I will
have to write a whole other post on what we pack on trips to keep them happy
& satisfied), a loose run down of the day, and a vivid imagination we hit
the road.
We cut to the chase and made our first stop the Hollywood
sign. I wanted to find a place to view the sign that was not too busy or
crowded. Plus we could stretch our legs after the long 3 hour car ride (due to
rush hour traffic). I chose Hollywood Lake Park. It has a perfect view of the
sign (great for pictures), and if you want to walk up the hill a bit you get
even more views of the city and the lake. There are swings and a play
structure. As well as picnic tables, and a wide open field. Pets are allowed,
but unfortunately no bathrooms (or at least any my husband could find).
After taking a few candid shots we headed over to the Walk
of Fame. Which is just over the hill at Hollywood & Highland. There were
plenty of $10 all day parking lots. The rumbles in our bellies were getting
loud, so we started this venture by eating at Mel’s Drive-in. Your classic
diner fair, but with a little spin like turkey burger sliders with goat cheese
or watermelon and beet salad. The French fries were amazing (although I wish I
could have tried the yam fries, but didn’t see them on the menu with all the
excited commotion upon arrival). The kids enjoyed their milkshakes, and their
food arrived in classic red paper Ford Mustangs. The Juke box in the booth kept
them busy picking tunes, and singing along while we waited for our food to
arrive. The cost was pretty affordable too.
Unfortunately the Hollywood museum was closed, which is
connected to Mel’s. Right on the corner though was Ripley’s Believe it or Not.
We let the kids look at the interesting things they had displayed in the lobby
before actually deciding whether or not to pay admission. Since they enjoyed
the weirdness we decided to take the plunge. Once inside both of them explored
with oohs and ahhs. There was a good mix of history, bizarre, and hands on displays.
(I do think I enjoy the Ripley’s in Buena Park better though, although it has
been a few years since I’ve been to that one.)
Back on the Walk of Fame we fallowed the stars seeking out a
few of our favorite fiction characters (there are lists on the web that you can
find that have the exact address of the stars). Since it was so crowed and
there was some construction going on I opted to just wing it and point out what
we saw on our way to Grauman's Chinese Theater (Now known as TCL Chinese
Theater). In the courtyard of the theater there are the foot and handprints of
many actors. Some are from the early days of Hollywood and some are more
recent. We spotted some stairs off to the right and decided to see where they
would take us. Little did we know that we stumbled upon a piano staircase! With
each step it played a note. We took a few minutes and composed a couple of
songs with the kids, even though all the people on the escalator looked at us
like we were crazy (they had no idea what fun they were missing! Be healthy and
take the stairs J).
At the top we realized we were in the Hollywood & Highland Center. Sweet! Candy
shop seemed to occupy most of this floor. We didn’t go in, but both of the kids
pointed out the window displays which happened to be Willy Wonka inspired. Each
window was a different setting and imaginative landscape with an excerpt
describing it. Since Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory is one of their
favorite movies it was awesome to watch their faces light up at each window. We
stumbled upon a splash fountain on the bottom floor. It was a Hot day so the
cool water was welcomed. To help us cool down more we got a minty mojito from D’lush.
They had quite an assortment of yummy blended drinks, all virgin of course. After
our cool down it was time to load up and head to our dinner date in Buena Park,
Medieval Times. Which I will have to share in a whole other post.
My final tip is to make sure you visit when you have lots of
patience, and everyone is well rested. Hollywood is crowded, and can be
overwhelming. It was worth it to see how the kids’ faces lit up as they were
star struck.
♣♥ Jess
