One of the coolest benefits that returning to consulting about 10 years ago and then transitioning to a instructor role has been the opportunities I have had to see close & far-away places due to my travel assignments. It all dried up for so many of us back in March 2020 due to the pandemic that we don’t say its name.

That last trip started in Los Angeles and what better what to restart it all then to come back here again. That’s like 2.5 years! I really do miss getting the opportunities to have work travel. Anywho, for this trip I flew out to LAX on Saturday night so I’d have all day Sunday to do some exploration and sightseeing before teaching a quick 2 day class on Monday and Tuesday.

I took some time researching group tours on Viator and settled on this one; https://www.viator.com/tours/Anaheim-and-Buena-Park/The-Best-of-LA-Hollywood-Beverly-hills-the-Beaches-and-more-from-Anaheim/d797-127931P1 and once I got picked up I found out they are called A Day in LA Tours and that’s exactly what we did!

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I was assigned to Bus 3 (of 3 for the day!) which got us all introduced to our driver/guide; George. There are way too many things to tell you about that George told us about (and showed us!) that aren’t on the regular tour, but I will share the major stops we took along the way.

Santa Monica Pier

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Yes, it actually is a pier. Wooden planks and all. Oh, but with restaurants, shops, and… of course, a amusement park at the end as well.

The beaches have a lot of sand over here and the pear starts at the beginning of the sand and EVENTUALLY you make it to the water line.

We learned that the original Muscle Beach was there by the pier, but it moved to…

Venice Beach

Yep, Muscle Beach moved down south just a short drive. Unfortunately, it seems all the big bulky bodybuilders like to sleep in on Sunday morning. I wandered down past all the cement to try to see the sand and the water. The water down here was definitely surf capable. No! I’m NOT surfing capable, but it would be cool to be out there for sure.

More my style and speed, although it has been a long time since I’ve been on any of my https://martin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/jazzyearl/blog/2018/08/31/682688513, but thankfully the youth of SoCal were having fun in the skate park.

I was wearing a kick-ass Lester Kasai t-shirt and none of these young skaters noticed. I felt somewhat vindicated, and almost accepted for a brief second, when an older grey-haired skater gave my shirt a double-take and a quick smile. I got a compliment at a nearby skateboard shop on my t-shirt, too, which made me glad to know folks still remember Lester.

Bonus Stuff

As I said, George gave us some fun drive-bys such as the high school were Grease was filmed and I guess the fire on the side of the street wasn’t really planned.

He took us through about 30 minutes of Bel Air which was so expensive looking just from the street. We did a stop at one of the Venice canals.

Sure… why not a selfie!?!?

We also stopped at the Beverly Hills (yes, 90210) sign (and yes, why not another selfie).

Cute sign painted on the building across the street from the picture above.

We even drove down the street that the Clampetts did when Jed struck oil!

If you don’t know what I’m talking about… you didn’t have the childhood that I did! Here’s a little clue;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzaxUF0k18.

Rodeo Drive

I guess if there was a stop that was my least favorite, it was Rodeo Drive. I’m just not into all those fancy shops, but I guess when you visit L.A. this is just one of the obligatory stops you have to say you took.

I did like seeing the hotel that Richard Gere’s character in Pretty Woman rented out the penthouse for a week.

I also like that later in the day, George drove us by the apartment balcony that Julia Roberts hung out on (this was in Hollywood).

Farmers Market / The Grove

It was getting a bit later than I usually like to wait until before grabbing lunch, so I was glad when we stopped at The Original Farmers Market to eat. So many delicious options, but I settled on some sliced beef brisket. Either I was extremely hungry or that was some of the best brisket I’ve ever had!

Connected to the Farmers Market was an outdoor shopping mall called The Grove. It surely wasn’t Rodeo Drive, but these were all relatively high-end stores so I took the opportunity to find a relaxing chair in the shade and chill out for a bit with a cold drink. No, not a beer! It was a mint chocolate chip ice cream shake and it was gooooood.

Griffith Observatory

You surely can get let down to visit the Griffith Observatory. Cool old building from some cool old movies such as Rebel Without a Cause.

Some cool stuff inside for sure, but getting up on top was much more interesting to me.

What incredible views up there, too!

And, of course, the famous Hollywood sign if you keep looking up the ridge.

Hollywood

The final stop of the day was at Grauman's Chinese Theater where I learned that the Hollywood Walk of Fame is different than the hand prints we see at the Chinese Theater. You have to get invited to come place your hand prints in front of the theater.

The Walk of Fame is more about being eligible and then paying the money to make it happen.

Some of the shops had some fun toys, too.

By this point in the VERY LONG DAY, I was exhausted. In fact, I’m exhausted now being a bit after midnight and needed to get some sleep before I start teaching in the morning. Let me leave you with a few more pictures from down in Hollywood. What a nice day indeed!