Hollywood

Aspiration - noun, a strong desire, longing, aim or ambition...

I'd always wanted to see this sign and I genuinely believed that being in Hollywood would be something really magical.  Linda had warned me on numerous occasions that it, Hollywood, could perhaps come as something of a disappointment to me.  She has been before and was worried that I'd be left a little deflated having seen the sign and then realised that it was the most attractive and interesting thing about Hollywood.

It was a serious thrill to see the sign in the flesh and the drive up Beechwood Drive amongst all of the mansions and the closed gates and blinds was 'hair on the back of the neck' arousing stuff and measured with the relief of no longer being on the crazy Interstate 10 getting there, parking and walking up to the sign viewing area was a beautiful moment.  Imagining ALL the people who'd stood there before me to admire it.  How many of them would I have crossed paths with in the past and how many of them have stood there shoulder to shoulder with tourists like me wearing disguises so they don't get harassed?

Alas the weather wasn't brilliant so the vista over LA couldn't really be appreciated and wasn't really worth photographing on this day.  However, it was still very impressive and I am so pleased that we got there and saw the sign and managed to take time to contemplate what it was all about!

We were only there for one night as a via point on our trip up the West coast and after the sign, of course, we had to see Hollywood Boulevard.  I have to say that I'm delighted to have been there but I won't be in a hurry to go back.  It's thrilling to see all the stars on the pavements and the familiar sights but it was so oppressive and claustrophobic.  I felt that I had to hold to everything twice as tightly as ever before and within seconds I was sick to the back teeth of people asking me for money and shoving cards and papers in my face.   Worst of all there was a demonstration taking place by a group of Muslim extremists outside of a US Army clothing (fashion) store and that was starting to get rather uneasy.  Perhaps we just visited on the wrong day / night? 

Unperturbed, we cautiously set off in the opposite direction along the Walk of Fame and I was soon distracted by all the stars on the pavement and the images of who had knelt down there to unveil that star and this star and despite the constant mither from beggars, street sellers and  con-artists I really enjoyed the experience.    .

It's a great moment to come across the stars of one's heroes and I was truly spoiled with so many.  The Grauman's Chinese Theatre was wonderful to see and seeing all the imprints of hands and shoes, feet and signatures in the pavement outside is such an evocative experience.  Lots of "Wow!!" moments like Marilyn Monroe,  Jonny Depp, Helen Mirren, Shirley Temple, John Wayne, Jane Russell, so many more but I thought I'd share this below one with you as it made us laugh!!

"Nice one Trig"

Once used to the crowds and with our Middle Eastern chums dispersed it became a little easier to negotiate the walk and ignore every other human being on the street.  The next star always made one of us stop and 'oh wow' and the time passed in a flash. Get it... Flash...

Some stars more than other made us stop and this one at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard particularly made me smile and contemplate.  What must it all have been like back then?

Couldn't resist a pose with this one having just seen his amazing Las Vegas show with Sarah and Katie before they flew home.

Another tick on life's list.

So... We'd seen the sign and we'd seen the walk of fame.  We'd seen the Capitol Records building and we'd escaped with our lives from the melee of one of the most famous streets in the world.  However, there was more...  Not as glamorous in anyway and nowhere near as busy but for me, a small boy in a big world, it was about to get far more exciting!!  I like to read autobiographies and particularly those of risen and fallen rock stars.  Nearly all of them at some time mention 'nipping down to Sunset (Boulevard) and picking up a new (or old) guitar'.   There are a cluster of massive music shops on Sunset Boulevard all with history and all with references to who shops there and who has shopped there.  Guitar Centre even has it's own Wall of Fame outside and the pavement is made up from hand prints of famous guitarists.  Inside was even better with great walls full of gear and 'special' rooms at the back and downstairs with some of the most amazing guitar collections I've ever seen.  I could get quite boring about this (if I haven't already) so I'll skip on.... 

This one is for the boys!

So after all that excitement, we checked in to our hotel for the night at Anaheim and jumped in to a taxi to Downtown Disney.  Well...  Why not?!  We had a very pleasant potter around, of course, browsed in the Disney Store, and then settled in for some good ole' Southern Fried chicken and corn bread and lashings of wheat beer at one of my favourite places...  The House Of Blues!

Palm Springs

Good grief!!  It's May already and I haven't finished writing up our adventures from California back in January...  Where was I up to?  Oh yes, we'd left Hoover Dam and headed off across the Mojave Desert towards Palm Springs.

Our hotel, Villa Royale, in Palm Springs was a very welcome sight after such a long drive across the desert.  It was still decorated for Christmas, sorry, "The Holidays" which added to the charm of this fascinating place.

A wonderfully romantic hotel, it's formerly the home of an eccentric movie producer and the fantastic Europa restaurant is housed within what used to be the main living room.   The bedrooms are each unique villas and the whole estate sprawls over 3 acres while somehow, managing to feel very intimate.  The manager, Jack, had us howling with laughter as soon as we met him when we innocently asked if we needed to follow any particular dress code for dinner.  He looked Linda up and down and declared "Well... I would say NO Daisy Dukes and you should be just fine!"  

The food matched the accommodation for being very high quality and quite unique.  Nestled among the palms and the mountains it was just beautiful with pools, fountains, Hummingbirds and citrus fruit trees all around the grounds. 

The next morning we decided to head up the mountain on the largest rotating cable car in the world, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.    Starting from the desert floor of the Coachella Valley we rose up (and turned) more than 8500 feet to the alpine forest of the San Jacinto Peak where there were lots of families sledging and snow boarding in the sunshine.  The view was spectacular and we could see for miles over Chino Canyon in the beautiful clear skies.  We saw Stellars Jay birds and large American Squirrels at the top and really enjoyed the stunning freshness.  The tram ride is about 12 minutes and passes the sheerest mountain face in North America along the way.

Back down in the town I finally got my hands on a gorgeous chocolate and caramel malt drink in Ruby's Diner on Palm Canyon Drive.  A classic 1940's diner with beautiful cherry red leather seating and chrome everything else!  We sat outside and watched the world go by wondering who was hiding under that baseball cap and behind those shades?  The locals are quite an odd bunch really and the evidence of plastic surgery is really quite amazing.  

This is Sonny Bono.  He's something of a local hero having been Mayor and founded various festivals that are still celebrated every week, month and year around the area.

I'd heard about Palm Springs since my Parents visited in the 1970's and as we watched the pristine classic cars driving past I observed that they were more than likely the very same cars that my Mum and Dad had seen themselves 30 odd years ago. 

We decided to go off and try to find Elvis's former home and having popped the address into the satnav we soon found it amongst all the mansions of Chino Canyon. We stopped the car and got out to take a couple of pictures and as we ventured up to the locked gates to peer through a lady came out and shouted to us.  We expected to be told to 'bugger off' but were amazed when she invited us in to have a look around!  Not just a quick look around, we got a full tour and were told about every room, every rose in the garden, the light fittings, the history, the owners over the years, the battles about the contents, the rights, who he'd slept with there, how much he paid for it (she even showed us a copy of the sale deeds signed by Elvis and Priscilla),  and and and...   She really was VERY generous with her time, her knowledge of Elvis and the house, and she even took my camera off me and took pictures of us sitting in each room and around the pool.  She and her husband are massive Elvis fans and hope to turn the house into a tourist attraction if they get permission (from Elvis's people) and funding to do it all with. It was SUCH a special treat!!  Uh huh!!

When Elvis died, he owned only two properties.  Graceland and this one!

Linda and I relaxing in The King's living room

The Lady who owns the house explained every detail about the house and the garden.

The fountain that Elvis gave to his wife on their first wedding anniversary is in need of some repair.  Linda was given three of the original  glass 'penny' tiles as a keepsake.

No wonder he likes to come here and get away from it all!!

We really couldn't quite believe what was happening to us here!

It's now or never...

Yes Linda!!  Elvis's bare butt HAS been here!!

So after ALL that...  The fun didn't stop there and we dined at the Blue Coyote which we'd targeted from our research before the trip.  What a fabulous Mexican restaurant and a brilliant, brilliant atmosphere topped off by this fantastic guitarist / singer.  

A brief but really special visit to Palm Springs and I hope to go back again one day.

Hoover Dam

So having left Sarah and Katie at the departure gate we hung around the airport for a couple of hours to make sure that they were going to set off on time and without any delays, especially as the weather had turned again over on the East coast and they were scheduled to change flights in Philadelphia later that day and they'd only just opened up the airport again after more snow.  The airport has a great exhibition about Las Vegas aviation which kept us entertained until we decided that it was safe for us to set off towards Palm Springs. 

We headed for the Hoover Dam as it would only take us an hour, we could keep an eye on the flight via the phone and if we needed to get back to Vegas for any reason we could do so.

Hoover Dam was fantastic!  I'd flown over it in my one and only ever helicopter flight during my trip to Vegas a few years ago but to see it up close was breathtaking.  The route was very pleasant with superb views over Lake Mead as we approached.  Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States and is formed out of the Colorado River which is restrained from its natural course by Hoover Dam.

After passing through security check points  where they actually inspected the inside of the car we parked up and strolled down to the dam.  The first thing to see is the monuments plaza where statues proudly salute to the people who built it.  We're still in the state of Nevada at this time... more of that in a moment.  The statues honour the 96 people who died during construction as well as the designers, labourers, architects, politicians and engineers who made it all possible.  These 30 foot bronze winged monuments compare the achievement to the Egyptian Pyramids and are dedicated to the combination of intellect and physical strength that built the dam.  The floor of the plaza surrounding this monument bears reference to the seven states which are provided with water and electricity by the dam.  There are many monuments here and one could spend many hours just reading all the dedications and visiting the museums and the tour of the workings inside.  

The one fact I couldn't quite get my head around is that the concrete, all 2.5 million cubic meters of it, is so thick that despite its age, 75 years, it hasn't yet set completely in some places!

We were blessed with a fabulous sunny day and it made the dam, the lake and all the surroundings look all the more impressive.

Where Linda is bravely looking over here we could see many baseball caps, hats and sunglasses way below where people had leaned over a little too far... 176.4 feet of very scary!   The dam took 5 years to complete at a cost of $49 million which at first doesn't seem too outrageous until one realises that it was started in 1931.  It's 45 feet wide at the top where the road crosses over its 1244 feet length and at the base, it's 660 ft wide!

Looking out from where Linda is stood we could see the new bridge.  The four lane Hoover Dam Bypass was commissioned after 911 when the authorities became increasingly concerned that the dam was a terrorist target risk.  The bridge opened up late in 2010 and now many types of vehicles are not allowed to travel over the dam directly. 

Very impressive!! 

Linda noticed her Grandfather's namesake (Herbert Clarke), honoured on this plaque as we walked across the dam from Nevada in to Arizona and into a different time zone.  

The clock on Arizona side tower is an hour ahead of the one on the Nevada side.  We walked 1244 feet from Nevada to Arizona and arrived an hour later!  Aside from the engineering magnificence of the dam the place is really quite beautiful and the lovely blues and greens of Lake Mead and the Colorado River neatly sandwiched the rusty reds and browns of the desert between the water and the clear blue skies.  

We strolled back across the state line and , of course, into the gift shop.  It really is stunning in so many ways and I'm glad we made the stop on our way to Palm Springs.  Just as we headed back to the car we saw one more memorial to the workers' mascot.  Found as a puppy the dog lived among the workers until he was killed by the truck under which he was sleeping.  The construction workers laid him to rest and this plaque marks his grave just next to the memorial plaza.  Poor dog!!

After leaving the dam we stopped for lunch, outside in the glorious sunshine, in Boulder City which wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for the magnificent Hoover Dam.