Hello LA - Happy Thanksgiving

Had an uneventful but unusual flight to LA on Thanksgiving Day.  The flight attendant played games with the passengers to see if they were paying attention when she spoke.  Lucky me - I won a bottle of wine because I remembered she said her name was Vickie.  At one point, she told the passengers how many miles we would be traveling and at another point, she told the passengers how many hours it would take to get to LA.  An 11 year old correctly guessed the MPH, but she couldn't give him a bottle of wine so he got to pick items off the "Food for Purchase" menu.  A Bloody Mary and a nap later we arrived in LA.

Boy did I have the wrong impression of LA.  I always thought it was smoggy, crowded and dirty but boy was I wrong.  I certainly would make a return trip to LA.  The Downtown area is nice and is also the home of the U.S. Bank Tower (first pic above).  It's 73 stories tall towering above the rest of LA and it's also the tallest building West of the Mississippi.  It can also withstand an 8.3 earthquake (but I sure wouldn't want to be on the 73rd floor during one). On Friday morning I took an all day tour of LA and the tour guide said the U.S. Bank Tower has been used in movies, Independence Day for instance.  . The first stop on the tour was Venice Beach (pic above) also once known as Muscle Beach - that's where Arnold, the governor of CA competed in body building contests.  No contests going on while we were there but check out the gorgeous blue sky in the picture above!  There are also lots of vendors selling their wares.  I thought the "Botox on the Beach" sign was funny. 

Next stop was Rodeo Drive for some sightseeing....definitely no shopping.  Lots of people window shopping; not many were carrying bags.  The Miss Teen USA pagent was being held in Anaheim and the contestants were taking a tour of LA.  I couldn't find Miss Ohio so Miss Minnesota  and Miss Wisconsin were more than happy to pose for pictures.  

Off to Beverly Hills where we saw the homes of many stars both in BelAir and Beverly Hills.  It looked like Elizabeth Taylor was having a party - lots of cars and guests but no star sightings.  Above are the homes of George Clooney (first pic above) and Mohammad Ali  (second pic above).  We drove past the home of  Nancy Reagan but there's not much to take pictures of as the home is hidden behind fences and hedges....and a Secret Service outpost. After driving through the areas, I do feel for the celebrities living there -  so many cars and lots of traffic on narrow winding roads.  The homes are nice but we have areas in Cincinnati that are just as nice or nicer but without the Beverly Hills address. 

Next was lunch at Farmer's Market then off to Hollywood. to see the sights -  The Hollywood Sign (from a distance), the Walk of Fame, The Kodak Theater (where the Oscars are held), and Grauman's Chinese Theatre with the handprints and footprints of the stars on the sidewalk.  You know, for a mere $12,000, you can have a star on the Walk of Fame!

Well, that about does it for Day 1 in LA.  Tomorrow, I think I hear Universal Studios calling my name.