CALIFORNIA SUMMER
The V Man back in Los Angeles
July 2000

"This ain't no disco...Ain't no country club either...This is LA!!..."
Sheryl Crow All I wanna do


Well, it looks like the ol' V man just couldn't resist. Here it is a mere eighteen months after my last LA sojourn, and I'm back again! Back to sunny Southern California! Can you really blame me? I mean, how long do you think a guy can go without a single bacon cheeseburger from Carl's Jr., or a large beef bowl from Yoshinoya? I think eighteen months is enough time to be deprived of such fine cuisine!

But culinary cravings aside, here are yet more photos taken during my relaxing two week stay in the Los Angeles area which included places like Hollywood, Santa Monica, and downtown LA. This time around I've also included some photos from my little Las Vegas side trip. After viewing them, you too might exclaim "Viva Las Vegas!"

I've also included a special Hollywood flavor in this photo set in that some of the photos below are of places you might recognize from your favorite motion pictures like The Terminator, Grease, and Diehard.

So, without further adieu, let the slide show commence!


BRADBURY BUILDING
Broadway street, Downtown LA
You might recognize the striking architecture of this building's interior from movies like "Wolf" (1994), "D.O.A." (1950), and one of my favorite films of all time, "Blade Runner" (1982), where in the final scenes of the movie, Daryl Hanna's character, Pris, torments Deckard, Harrison Ford's character, before being shot dead. Deckard, pistol in hand, then goes hunting within the famous building for Rutger Hauer's character, the evil, but misunderstood replicant rebel leader, Roy Batty. The final scene, on the rooftop of the Bradbury on a rainy night, is a classic in my book.


BEVERLY HILLS
Corner Of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Blvd.
Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills is THE quintessential place to shop for ultra-luxury items and expensive gifts when you're in Los Angeles. Trendy, upscale stores like Bijan, and Giorgio Armani are only a few of the classy shops that are situated along this famous thoroughfare.
This famous area has also been featured in hit films like "Pretty Woman" and "Beverly Hills Cop". Can't you just picture Eddie Murphy driving his beat up old Chevy along this street? Or Julia Roberts bouncing from shop to shop, going on a spending spree with Richard Gere's credit card in hand?


STAIRCASE FROM THE MUSIC BOX
923 Vendome street
If you're a Laurel and Hardy fan you might recognize this concrete staircase from their Academy award winning film "The Music Box" (1932). It's from one of their most famous comedy sequences ever, the scene where Stan and Ollie are trying to move a large piano up a steep flight of steps. Today, there is a plaque on the staircase commemorating this famous moment in Hollywood history.
But alas, also today, the neighborhood around the staircase has fallen to ruin. When I took this photo, it was early in the morning, and even with the streets empty and calm, the area looked dangerous and foreboding. Let's just say I 'm glad I didn't take this photo after dark.


MARILYN MONROE'S GRAVE
Westwood National Cemetery,
Westwood
Marilyn Monroe was one of the most famous actresses of all time and here, in a plot in a cemetery in the middle of downtown Westwood is her final resting place. This particular cemetery is nestled in between two large office buildings and was particularly hard to locate. After several attempts to locate it, I almost gave up when all of a sudden from my peripheral vision I saw a little entrance to what seemed like an alley way with a sign that read "Westwood National Cemetery". I drove in and voila! There it was!
Many other famous people are buried here including Dominique Dunne, Mel Torme, Natalie Wood, and Dorothy Stratten.


VENICE HIGH SCHOOL
Venice Boulevard, Venice
If you are like me and are huge fans of the movie "Grease", you might recognize this school. Yes, fellow "Grease" fans, this is Rydell High! School of Danny Zuko, Sandy Olssen, Rizzo, Kennikie and the rest of the gang from Rydell! I spent the better part of an hour roaming around the campus trying to see if I could recognize some of the areas. I passed by the cafeteria where Sandy and the Pink Ladies hung out & sang "Summer nights". I visited the field where the T-birds tormented the jocks. And I chilled out under the awning where Rizzo sang "There are worse things I could do". If you're a "Grease" fan and you find yourself in the LA area, make sure you drop by West LA and visit Venice High School. "Grease" is the word!


GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY
Griffith Park, Hollywood
I know you've seen this before, but the Griffith Observatory is just too good a photo op to pass by. This famous building has been the backdrop for scenes from some of the most famous movies of all time such as "Rebel without a cause", "The Rocketeer", and "The Terminator". The area around the observatory is also a nice place to hang around and chill at and maybe have a brown bag lunch and some coffee with a friend. This photo was taken from the roof of the observatory where one commands a breathtaking view of the surrounding areas. On a clear, smog-free day you can point out landmarks and places in Hollywood, Century city, and Downtown LA.


MOUNT HOLLYWOOD
Griffith Park, Hollywood
Scene from the latest Bruckheimer action movie blockbuster? Nah, it's just me having some photo fun around Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. The areas surrounding the Griffith Observatory are pockmarked with great hiking trails and observation points, so the next time you're in the greater LA area and are looking for a convenient place to take your family hiking or picnicking, take them to Griffith Park.


PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Melrose Avenue
This is the famous Melrose gate to the legendary Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood. Paramount Studios has given us some of the most famous movies of all time including contemporary classics like "Grease", "Saturday night fever", and the "Star Trek" series. For a small fee there is also a tour available every half hour or so. I took this tour and in the short time we walked around the lot I spotted stars like Levar Burton and Terry Farrell. The tour is not like the grand Universal Studios tour where trams take you all over the place in a short amount of time. Too cold and detached. The Paramount tour is a walking tour, more intimate, and you get to really feel the history of the different lots within the studio grounds. To complete the experience, you must stop by the Paramount store near the Bronson gate and purchase some studio merchandise.


FOX PLAZA
Century City
Those of you who are fans of the Bruce Willis shoot 'em up action movie "Diehard" might recognize this building. This structure was called "Nakatome Plaza" in the movie and it was where most of the movie was set. In the movie, Euro-terrorists take over this building and hold it's occupants hostage in exchange for the freedom of some imprisoned radical group terrorists. But in reality, the terrorist freedom thing was just a ruse to mask their true intentions which was of simple theft of valuable stock certificates.


DEATH VALLEY
Hwy. 127, between Baker and Shoshone, CA
This barren and foreboding landscape was so alien to me, at times I felt as if I was on another planet as I drove through. This photo was taken on my way to Las Vegas on highway 127 about twenty or thirty miles northwest of Baker, CA, the town that proclaims itself the "Gateway to Death Valley". I was the only living soul (save for the lone rattlesnake, ferret or two) for miles around on this stretch of freeway and I remember thinking to myself how scary it would be to be stranded in this hot, unforgiving climate. I stopped only long enough to take some photos, then it was back into my air conditioned rental car which, fortunately for me, started up again and pulled on ahead without overheating.


LAS VEGAS, NV
Paris Hotel and Casino, The Strip
"Bright Lights city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire!" goes the song and indeed Las Vegas has the power to set one's soul on fire!…While also emptying your wallet of course. Little did Bugsy Siegel realize that this little oasis in the desert that he created would grow to such an immense (and tacky) attraction that I truly believe should be considered one of the seven Wonders of the Modern World!
I drove the five plus hours up freeway 15 from LA to Vegas, and when I got there, one of the first things I did after parking my car was to walk north along the strip to the brand new Bellagio Hotel which is one of the most opulent and elegant looking places I have ever had the pleasure to set foot in. It was also nice and cool inside the Bellagio, a welcome respite from the 100 plus degree weather oustide. I also visited some of the newer attractions that hadn't existed yet the last time I was here in 1997 like the Harley Davidson café and the Venetian Hotel and Casino.
After my Vegas adventure, it was all I could do to not exclaim "VIVA LAS VEGAS!"



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