March 15 2010

Monday: Randy: Today we drove to LA for some real tourist activities. We went to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to see the footprints. Some of them are really neat because they are messages to Sid Grauman who apparently owned theater. Humphrey Bogart wrote “Sid, may you never die till I kill you”. From there we walked down Hollywood boulevard, look in some souvenir shops and had a slice of pizza at a local snack bar.

On to Beverly Hills; the houses are pretty neat though the front yards are real small. These folks should visit Lindell St in St. Louis for an idea on proper showing-off yard size. We did not see any movies star houses, so on to Rodeo Drive.

At Rodeo Drive we were able to find parking on the street amongst the Rolls, Bentleys, Porsche, Audis and Lexus. It is nice to have a unique car like the Jeep Commander in a town where your car says so much about you. We walked down Rodeo and stepped inside a few of the stores. They have some beautiful things to sell and I am sure a beautiful price to match.

From there we were inspired so we stopped at a Rolls Royce Dealership and began browsing cars. They had 5 different cars on the showroom , all used. There was one that was a 1962 limo and in the back compartment it had a speedometer and an odometer to ensure the driver wasn’t wild and crazy and it was only $175,000. What a steal - the leather in these cars is incredible. Well, suffice it to say we didn’t find the right car for us but maybe at the next dealer.

One thing we saw on the street causing quite a commotion was a Bugatti. It was black and red and was a real eye catcher. The car itself was fantastic but the color choices made it look more like a freak car than a high end car (my opinion). Then we saw this Rolls show up and when the driver locked the car, the front emblem went down into the grill and a lid came over the hole to prevent anyone from breaking off the emblem. What money will buy!

After seeing the ritzy part of town we thought we ought to see the more eclectic part. Off to Venice beach boardwalk. This place is known for the strange, bizarre actions/antics of the people. It was pretty mild when we were there. There was a much older black muscle guy wearing a pair of briefs who was posing for pictures - quite a sight to behold. There were some street performers doing acrobatics. There is a weightlifting gym right on the beach with a training area for gymnastics. There were a couple of guys working on the gymnastics equipment that were pretty good. There are also paddle balls courts, hand ball courts and basketball courts.

The boardwalk is lined with stores and restaurants. There are local artists plying their wares, but they can’t sell them unless they have a permit. Therefore, to get around this they have a sign that says they accept contributions only, and according to the law they must be willing to give at least one item a day away for free if someone asks them. Some of the items were very neat. One guy was selling all types of things made from Bamboo, including medical instruments. It turn out the medical instruments are pipes to smoke the Medical Marijuana that is available. Out here they say that Medical Marijuana can cure just about anything, or maybe just make you forget about the problem. There are plenty of stores on the boardwalk to get your prescription filled.

From the boardwalk we drove home in the evening LA rush hour traffic and believe me it was not fun.


Sunday: Randy: I got up before 5 am to go fishing with Jack and went to Mountain Lake, a member only campground. It is a beautiful area with 2 different lakes. Jack said there were fish there but we didn’t catch any to prove it. We stayed there for about 3 hours, not catching fish, then we went to Bass Pro Shop where we knew we could spend money. And we did. Jackie got up later to go to church with Jean and Theresa, then lunched with them and Emma at BJ’s Brewery. Afterwards they met with Alma and some friends and went to see “Menopause: The Musical”. Great play!


Saturday: Visited my cousin Mike who was preparing smoked pork and beef for the staff of the children’s theater. Later that night we went to the theater and saw a performance of Beauty and the Beast. The kids are kindergarten through eighth grade and they did a really great job with the play.


Friday : Drove to Riverside and parked the RV in my cousin’s driveway. Visited with Jack and Theresa, then drove over to see Aunt Jean.