HOLLYWOOD & DISNEY, etc.

Okay, so where was I? Oh yeah, we left Russ’ house and headed south. Before we arrived in LA (Los Angeles) we had a couple stops first.

The first was the quaint coastal town of Carmel which is made up of lots of boutiques, shops, and restaurants, but most importantly for our purposes, Clint Eastwood was mayor. Imagine our disappointment when we didn’t run into him there (though according to my mom’s journal my brother, Jim thinks he might have seen him). Can you imagine what it must have been like to be sentenced there for a traffic violation or something? “Do you feel lucky today?” Clint might have asked many an offender. I know that’s not a mayor’s job though (maybe only in those really, really small one stoplight towns like Mayberry). http://www.clinteastwood.net/mayor/

I had the good fortune to visit there again in 2011, this time with my husband, and we were joined by my uncle. My outstanding memory of that visit was dipping our toes in the Pacific in late afternoon,

and then having dinner on the patio of a nice restaurant where we were treated to a personal concert by local musician Mark Banks. In fact, we even ended up buying his CD afterwards.

Anyway, back to the past when we were driving down the coast on Highway 101 (which is extra thrilling in a motorhome as you whip around those steep curves with only a few feet between you and a steep cliff to the ocean below. I imagine I did a lot of praying then.

My mom wrote, “Arrived in San Simeon around 5:00. We walked to the ocean and watched a guy fish (ing). He caught a small perch and much seaweed. I saw a seal. It was very cool.”

The next day we visited Heart Castle in San Simeon. Acc. to Wikipedia, “Hearst Castle, San Simeon, is a National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmark located on the Central Coast of California in the United States. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his architect Julia Morgan, it was built between 1919 and 1947.” To maximize profits the tours were divided by floor with each a separate cost. We opted to tour the bottom floor which included the grounds and fancy swimming pool.  

I should add that before you get to the castle you park in a lot located at the bottom of a hill where I’m not sure you can even see the mansion, but you board a bus that whisks you up the hill (past lots of exotic animals that populate the wooded area of the hill, I think).

I think the one memory that sticks in all of our heads is the fact that Hearst may have been a media mogul, but he was still a normal human being when it came to his love for condiments as we saw several bottles of ketchup on the enormous dining table. Apparently they were there to make guests feel right at home. I think he also liked to make meals interesting by inviting both Democrats and Republicans and seating them next to each other. I’m not sure if that’s accurate or not, but does make for an interesting story, true or not. https://hearstcastle.org/

Later that day we dropped by the very charming town of Santa Barbara, which my sister and me were dying to visit as we were big fans of the soap opera by the same name (which, for the record, my mom also watched with us sometimes). It looked just like it did on television with lots of stucco roofs with terracotta tile. I even recognized some of the street names and took pictures of the signs. My mom wrote, “the girls took pictures and gift shopped there.”  We also noticed designated bicycle lanes, which we hadn’t seen anywhere else previously, so the Californians obviously take the safety of their cyclists seriously. Not sure if we have any bike lanes here in Ohio, or at least not many if so.

My mom wrote, “…we were off to our motel in Los Angeles. It was a very nice motel (The Vagabond Inn). It turned out that they overbooked that night and had to give us two adjoining rooms with king size beds for $60. John and I really enjoyed the whirlpool there.  We also were recommended a fine inexpensive restaurant. Complete meal including wine and dessert - $50.”

(internet photo)

The next day we got our first taste of what real freeway traffic is like and what LA commuters must put up with every day. I feel like we probably got treated worse being in a motor home and all – people were certainly in no hurry to let us change lanes in front of them. I’m just glad it wasn’t me driving as I would have probably had a heart attack from the stress, but my dad seemed to take it all in stride.

Once we exited the freeway, actually finding the entrance to Universal Studios was a bit tricky. I seem to recall driving down lots of streets and seeing the backlots to several places, possibly Culver City, not sure. Too bad we didn’t run into any celebrities who could have helped us find our way. I think I’ve seen that situation on at least one sitcom or movie.

My mom wrote, “Headed for Universal Studios. Had a little trouble finding it. Kids really enjoyed it though. Jim said it was worth every penny to see. Didn’t see any stars but were told that “Simon and Simon” (one of Cindy’s favorite shows) was being filmed and Angela Lansbury in “Murder She Wrote” (also a favorite of Cindy’s) was also being done. I enjoyed seeing the old “Leave it to Beaver” house and “Marcus Welby, MD” also.

Not sure what my favorite attraction was at Universal Studios, but I think I enjoyed all the “Back to the Future” stuff from the DeLorean to the studio lot still set up from the movie with the familiar store fronts and iconic clock. I think I also found it a little depressing as it’s such a reality check when you realize it was all make believe and just a moment in time.

Here’s what I wrote, “Today we went to Universal Studios. Saw the HOLLYWOOD sign and the Walk of Fame (with the stars), Merv Griffin theatre and Hollywood and Vine.” I think we also saw Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Other than not seeing any celebrities, I think I would chalk it up as a success in my book as we saw most of the icons that I expected to see.

No trip to California would be complete without a visit to everyone’s childhood dream, Disneyland. Truthfully, at 16, I was way over the whole Disney thing, and I was never into the whole princess thing as many of the little girls I’ve since babysat were. However, it’s still an enjoyable enough place to visit even as an adult, but probably a lot more thrilling if you’re young(er). I wrote, “A lot of it was a bit too immature, but we could still enjoy it.

my sister Karen posting next to one of the park's characters

Nice shows, fun rides.” I seem to recall that I particularly enjoyed the show featuring animatronic presidents (expertly designed down to the last detail). It’s particularly stunning when you see President Lincoln slowly stand up to speak. I think I’d probably still be impressed by that today.

I remember enjoying the Electric Light Parade, which, according to my mom’s notes, was at 11pm, which makes sense since it needs to be completely dark, but it was definitely a late night for us as my mom said we got back to our camp (on foot) at around 12:15am. When my husband (then boyfriend) and I visited Disney World in Florida almost 10 years later (in September), we didn’t get to see that as they either don’t do it year round, or maybe we just didn’t want to stick around for it.

Our last stop in California was the San Diego Zoo where I remember seeing some animal for the first time that we didn’t have at our Cleveland Zoo, but a giraffe or zebra are hardly that exotic, so I doubt that’s what it was. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a panda either since very few zoos have those. Actually, I think it might have been a Toucan? Anyway, it was a nice enough zoo and I’m pretty sure I enjoyed myself (plus, I think we all got free zoo pins since it was their 70^th anniversary).

Thus, concluded our California adventures and we headed eastward home (where we stopped off at a bunch more places, but that's another blog post for another day...)