Check Off Hollywood

One more popular destination can be checked off the list of places to see in the United States (of course I’m saving some things for a second, third, fourth trip and etc.). Hollywood, hmmmm… I’m not sure how to summarize it. In a way it can be seen as the epitome of California and as a huge part of the lifestyle in U.S. culture. And to answer your questions, no, unfortunately I didn’t see anyone famous. At least not that I know of. I don’t pay attention to much of that stuff so someone could have walked right on by without my notice. Now there were some people around me that were really into it. They were all about the star maps, every time a limo drove by there stopped a stared at it, if they saw a group of people they were wondering if it was someone famous everyone was staring at, and who knows what else. Heck, I think I enjoyed the street performers the most. I tried making my way up closer to the Hollywood sign, but no luck. And it would have been really nice to have a local with me to help me see things, it was just one of those places where it would have been cool to have someone along with me. But oh well. Walking on the sidewalks of Hollywood and Sunset boulevards was me walking with my head down reading all the names of the stars. Most names I didn’t recognize, and I only took photos of a few. I was thinking, “If there was one name who’s star I found to best represent Hollywood, who would it be?” When I came to Frank Sinatra’s star my search was content. I snapped a photo or two and moved on. I spent a little time driving around the hills just wanting to see the huge mansions. All in all, as materialistic as it is, I really liked Hollywood, more than I expected to. I really had to see it while I was nearby.

Anyways… enough of that. If people want to read about Hollywood they can pick up a tabloid at their local grocery store. I came home to a delicious spaghetti dinner at Bill and Carol’s home. The house was also full of their children’s families, which included their five grandchildren. Bill worked at the El Segundo High School for his career, which is right across the street. Most of his time there was spent as an English teacher. Although he is retired he still fills a position on the school board. But what keeps Bill and Carol busy is the California Yacht Club where Bill is the Commodores, representing some 1,200 members in the club. I connected with Carol who is the cousin of one of our good family friends back home.

Carol and Bill have been very courteous to me at this time when I sort of need a hub. They live just a few miles away from LAX and it’s nice that they can help make this hectic time a littler easier with a trusting place to leave the Compass. Of course I flew to NYC and just got back yesterday. But that’s old news now. Tomorrow I fly out to Honolulu, HI. Hawaii!!! This is going to be one of the best weeks of the trip, it has to be …it’s Hawaii. And I plan to take a few days to put my feet up on the beach while I’m there. I’ve never been to anywhere tropical and you can’t bet that I’m pretty excited. And I have to say a special thanks to Mark and his family back in White Bear Lake, MN, who were kind enough to fund my ticket to Hawaii.

P.S. How’s the weather back home in Michigan everyone? Just to let you know it looks like a sunny 80-85 degrees for the upcoming week in Hawaii.