Los Angeles

Here is the report I posted on TripAdvisor. Enjoy!



The travelers: me (from TN) and my best friend Joy (from TX), ages 28 and 29, both married but leaving the husbands at home for one last girls’ trip before the responsibilities of motherhood come calling!

Left my home in Knoxville at 4:30 am ET Friday morning, layover in ATL, then another hop to LAX arriving at 10:30 am PT. My flight with Delta left much to be desired. Flight attendant never answered the light (the one time in my entire life I‘ve actually pressed the button!), luggage didn’t arrive when I did, and had a nasty encounter with a hostile Delta employee in the lost baggage office. A little customer service training goes a long way, folks. Anyway, finding my friend Joy waiting for me in the baggage area was the bright spot in the situation.

Retrieved our rental car from Thrifty… I had reserved an “economy” size (read: itty bitty guppy) and was surprised to be presented with the options of either a minivan or a Jeep Compass. Obviously, two hot chicks were NOT going to be cruising LA in a minivan, so we chose the navy blue Compass. Nice vehicle, and quite a change from the sporty little Honda that I’m used to driving. Wasn’t too hard to adapt except when it came to parking that thing… it took me a couple of days to get comfortable with it.

Rodeo Drive was first on our itinerary. Parked in the garage on Brighton Way (cost $1). Browsed the street, peering in windows, actually went inside Tiffany’s, and decided to lunch at 208 Rodeo, an outdoor café on the corner of Rodeo and Wilshire. Good sandwiches and a thoroughly pleasant experience, except for the bill part. $9 for a bottle of water!!!

Continued on Santa Monica Blvd toward Hollywood to check in early at the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, recommended to me by the fine folks on TripAdvisor. At the time it was ranked 6th out of 200+ LA accommodations. I found that to be rather interesting… whereas the Celebrity was sufficient, I think I was expecting it to be a bit nicer because of the rankings. Room was spacious and clean, but somewhat drab and in need of minor maintenance. Otherwise, it was a great stay… convenient Hollywood location, free bagels and juice, quiet room, free parking.

It’s now 3 pm. We needed to be at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank by 5:30 pm at the absolute latest in order to attend the taping of “Two and a Half Men”. We decided to trek on over to Burbank since we had no idea what to expect of Friday afternoon traffic on the freeway. Wouldn’t you know, it took us all of 10 minutes to reach the studios, then we couldn’t even park until 4! We drove around Burbank for awhile before trying to enter the studio garage again. Around 4:30, we entered the studio lot with our group and walked all the way to the very back building for our show, where we were in for a long wait on the set. Taping didn’t begin until 7:00, we were told it would last for about 4 hours, and we didn’t know we could bring in food or drinks and would have no method to buy any in the studio, either. I had a leftover water bottle and 1 granola bar in my purse that I had smuggled in, so Joy and I settled in for a long, hungry night. Thankfully, we were presented with a slice of pizza and a bottled water midway thru the taping.

We did enjoy ourselves at the show taping in spite of the long evening of sitting around. It was fun to watch everyone buzzing around on the set; with the loud music between takes, it felt like being at a bizarre party. I would recommend making a show taping a part of your LA experience if at all possible. Take some snacks with you!

The only traffic jam we ever got stuck in was when we left Warner Bros going back to Hollywood that night. Construction on Highland merged 3 lanes down to 1, adding about 40 minutes to our commute. My mood brightened considerably once we returned to the hotel and I found my luggage waiting for me at the front desk! By the time we made it to bed, I had been up and running for nearly 24 hours!

Saturday morning we walked the ½ block behind our hotel to Hollywood Blvd to take in the sights. Checked out the Hollywood and Highland Center, a lively shopping area that contained mostly stores I can find at home in Knoxville, so I wasn’t that interested, but it was nice to have it behind our hotel in case we found ourselves with a few free hours. Checked out the Walk of Fame and the handprints at Graumann’s, relaxed in the lobby of the Roosevelt for a few minutes hoping for a glimpse of a hung-over starlet, and surveyed the street for a bit but didn’t find much to tickle our fancy. Joy remarked that she was surprised that Hollywood was so run-down. Based on past TA postings, I already knew to expect this, but what surprised me was that there wasn’t really that much to see that interested me. Hollywood Blvd didn’t take us long to scope out. Besides, after being hounded every ten feet by people hawking Starline tours, we were ready to get out of there!

On to the Farmers Market for lunch and scouting out the wares for interesting souvenirs. I love farmers markets and try to visit them whenever I am in a city that has one. LA’s was very nice but I’d still have to rank it a distant third behind Halifax and Hilo as parts of it did seem more commercialized than what I‘d prefer. Anyway, a friend of Joy’s recommended lunch at Singapore’s Banana Leaf, a small stand deep inside the market. We had chicken kabobs with peanut sauce, and some kind of bread with curry sauce. Both were OK; I guess I may not be a big fan of Singaporean chow? Apparently this place typically receives rave reviews from foodies.

We also sampled our very first Pinkberry here at the farmers market… we had been on the lookout for this LA craze and were determined to test the yogurt for ourselves to see if it was worth the obsession. It was definitely different… the tangy original with my chosen add-ins of strawberries and granola was quite delectable, but I’m not sure if I would become a diehard devotee. However, Joy and I both agreed that it tasted better with each bite. We also visited the adjacent Grove shopping area, which was fun to browse but not really worth writing about.

Joy had spotted a weekly calendar that listed the Hollywood premiere of “Fred Claus” that afternoon, so we headed back to our hotel to park the Jeep and see what was going on down by Graumann’s. We arrived 15 minutes prior to the posted start time to find the street blocked off and lined with weird celebrity worshippers, actual paparazzi, and some fellow tourists. In spite of the crowds, we were able to find a decent perch behind the first row of gawkers across from the Kodak Theatre. We were directly across from the red carpet and E! TV’s interview platform, so we had a pretty good view of the events of the day. Vince Vaughn was the only celeb who actually walked over to us, but on the red carpet we spotted Ludacris with his daughter, Elizabeth Banks, Andy Garcia, Rachel Weisz, Paul Giammati, 2 blondes we dubbed the Sparkle Twins but we think they’re on some Disney show, and some midget guy who we thought looked familiar. We stayed for an hour and that was plenty of time to see all of the stars filter in.

After the premiere, we headed out to the Getty Center. Wow! Loved this place! Beautiful architecture, lovely gardens, so much to see, and just a great vibe all around. If I were single and living in LA, I would love to go there for dates. I saw many couples there doing just that. It’s open until 9 pm on Saturdays, and Joy and I closed the place down. We arrived at 5, walked the gardens, grabbed a bite in the café, and developed our plan of attack. She wanted to see the medieval exhibit, and I wanted to check out the European art (1800-). From my visit, I learned that I am a fan of Degas, sculptures with those vague hollow eyes freak me out, and ceramics bore me to tears. I feel like we barely scratched the surface of this incredible gift to LA. Definitely first-class, and you can’t beat the admission price (free!).

After the Getty, we were on our way back to the Celebrity when I realized we were in Westwood, and I remembered from checking the In-N-Out website that they had a location in Westwood, but I had no idea where to find it. We decided to drive around until we came upon it, and we basically made a huge circle all around UCLA, and we did indeed spot the Westwood In-N-Out on Gayley. Then came the challenge of trying to find the (unmarked) drive-thru entrance. If you have been to this location then you know what I mean. It took me 3 times around the block to find the right alley to drive into, but the shakes were definitely worth the effort!

On Sunday morning, we left Hollywood for a drive down Sunset Blvd toward the coast. Saw the infamous Sunset Strip, entered Beverly Hills, and decided to do a little snooping through some ritzy neighborhoods. Interesting… guest entrances, service entrances, high shrubbery, etc. Continued on Sunset thru Bel Air and toward Malibu, ending up at Duke’s for brunch. I am a huge fan of the Waikiki Duke’s so I had to visit their sister restaurant in Malibu, and although we enjoyed ourselves very much, it just wasn’t the same. While the waterfront location was beautiful, it was missing the charm of Waikiki, and the food was good but not sensational. This was funny: I asked our waiter if they served passion fruit orange guava juice, commonly known as POG juice, and if I could have some to go. I first tried it with my brunch at the Waikiki restaurant and really loved it! The waiter gave me a funny look, then said he’d bring me some in a kiddie cup. I took a sip after we walked out the door, and the juice was spiked! I was not expecting that at all but now I know why he was looking at me so strangely.

As we were leaving Duke‘s, we met Gidget, the real one, not the actress. She apparently works part-time as a hostess at Duke’s, meets tourists, and autographs her book. Of course, we bought her book and had our picture taken with her. A very charming lady!

Decided to drive up PCH into Ventura county, but since it was so hazy, there wasn’t much to see, so we decided to head back. We then got stuck in a traffic jam for about an hour; apparently there was a wreck far ahead and absolutely no southbound traffic was passing through. We eventually made it to check in early at our motel, the Travelodge Santa Monica - Pico Blvd.

What a nice surprise this motel was! It was our consolation prize… we REALLY wanted the Embassy Hotel Apartments, which were booked… but this place was newly renovated, pleasant, spacious, and affordable. We were even upgraded to a room with a full eat-in kitchen. Trader Joe’s sits right next door, a very fun place to stock up on snacks!

After checking in, we headed down to the boardwalk at Venice Beach for some people-watching. My my my. I’d heard it was a freak show and it definitely appeared to be just that. I know this will probably sound terrible, but I felt like we were the only two people there who’d bathed that week and were not high on something. Forget eating… I’d hate to see who was fixing the food. If they were anything like the folks outside, then personal hygiene most likely went out the window, not to mention health dept food service codes. I’m sure someone will be offended by my assessment of Venice Beach, but that‘s honestly how I felt about it. Even so, I was glad we went if only to say we’d seen it.

On to Santa Monica. We parked in the ginormous lot at the pier and walked up to 3rd St. Enjoyed shopping at Restoration Hardware, Ripcurl, Guess, and Anthropologie. Headed back to the pier to prowl and take in the views from the ferris wheel. After several hours wandering around SM in the chilly breeze, we were ready to call it a night.

Monday morning, took Lincoln Blvd to return to the airport. Traffic from this direction was flowing well and we experienced no delays at all. Returning the rental car was a breeze and my flight back to Knoxville was delightfully uneventful.

Other notes:

See my individual reviews on the Getty, Travelodge, Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, 208 Rodeo, Duke’s… not sure if all have posted yet…

I actually had a lot of fun driving in LA. I was looking forward to the challenge… I love to drive, was blessed with a good sense of direction and a fast reaction time, and am decisive and confident behind the wheel. That said, I would not want to fight that traffic day in and day out. It was like rush hour all day long, and local drivers basically do whatever they want to (consistently run red lights, create new lanes, etc.). It did help to study the map on the plane before I got there… I became familiar enough with the streets so that I always had a general idea of where I was and therefore never got lost.

The thick smog was downright depressing. That bothered me more than the traffic!

Shopping in LA is an entirely different experience from anything we have in Knoxville. Sure, many of the stores are the same, but in LA they are all amped up. Forget the plain 4 walls and racks of clothing in between. This is retail at its finest, with immaculate displays, dramatic décor, and occasionally even a live DJ spinning thumping beats, right there in the store.

Always join your rental car agency’s preferred customer program. Thrifty’s Blue Chip program is free, and as always, I bypassed the long lines at the counter and proceeded directly to the parking garage to sign one paper and select my vehicle.

My so-called life

I have spent my Saturday vegetating in bed in my PJ's watching my Blockbuster rental of the complete series of "My So-Called Life". My only noteworthy accomplishment for the day has been brushing my teeth. :) Well, that, and realizing just how far I've come since high school... I remember Angela Chase's pain all too well.

Late night last night... went to a bonfire at Eric's, he taught me how to drive his tractor. I'm sure we looked pretty ridiculous chugging along in circles on a hillside in the dark, but it was crazy fun!

I had an insane experience yesterday with a bottle of Nexcare hand sanitizer. No details, sorry, but I will never look at it the same way again, and my friend Steve, the witness, is scarred for life. (If you are familiar with the product then you may know what I mean.)

Halloween... can I just say that our costumes ROCKED?! Imagine Don with several days of stubble, a blond mullet, feathers in his hair, beads on his biceps, tight black jeans, tight black sleeveless shirt, black cowboy boots, fingerless black gloves. Imagine me in 5-inch black patent leather peeptoe platform spike heels, an edgy denim miniskirt, a lacy black top, the biggest bra Wal-Mart sells (stuffed with the contents of my sock drawer), looooonnnng dark nails, dramatic makeup, and a bleached blonde wig.

Who were we? Dog and Beth, of course! (And no, the Dog drama came out the day AFTER Halloween!) We worked on our costumes for almost a year and it paid off... I have never had so many people crack up laughing at anything we've done before! We had complete strangers asking us to pose for pictures and even had a few throwing their babies into Don's arms for pics. We spent almost the entire day in our outfits and had jaws dropping everywhere we went. As a general rule, I dislike being the center of attention, but on that day I became Beth... attitude and all...

I'm home, sort of

I will eventually get around to posting details about our weekend in LA, but suffice it to say, it was awesome!

My planet has been turning at breakneck speed over the past few weeks... bridal showers, Halloween parties, working a fundraiser that took an entire weekend, TA get-together, church obligations, my Monday girls' nights, other random social functions. I got home from my trip at 10:30 Monday night, worked yesterday, went into psycho cleaning mode as soon as I got in from the office, and my mom arrived 2 hours later and will be staying until Friday morning.

Breathe... Amber... breathe...