17 June 2017

With a rough night behind us, a hotel breakfast in our bellies, and the sun and excitement that is Hollywood on display, we headed out on foot.

We were here 4 years ago during our 2013 “Big Trip” across America so we took fewer pictures and did not revisit many of the same sites. There was such a feeling of déjà vu, down to the small details. From our room 4 years ago we could see a huge billboard for ‘Despicable Me 2’ and Minions, characters from the movie, where splattered all over Hollywood. This time, in the exact same location, was ‘Despicable Me 3’ and Minions were again everywhere. On Hollywood Boulevard they were promoting the opening of Cars Land at Disneyland in 2013. In 2017, they were promoting the ‘Cars 3’ movie.

In keeping with our Shake Shack obsession, we found one in West Hollywood for lunch – that makes New York City (Dec 2015), Austin Texas, London, DC, Baltimore, and now Hollywood in less than 2 years.

After our stroll around Hollywood including the stars of Hollywood Boulevard and Capital Records Building, I could not wait to visit Amoeba Music again, one of the last truly great record stores. One of these days, I hope to dedicate an entire day. If you are a music geek like me, you’d understand.

Next we drove through Beverly Hills. We spent time driving up and down narrow winding streets to see the mansions in the hills. I find them interesting but must say it is not the lifestyle I would want if we had the money to support it.

We stopped at the Farmers Market in The Grove for fresh fruit and some supplies. While waiting outside a fruit stand with my son, a woman who said she was in “child talent” approached us and wanted to know if he’d be interested. She said he had the “perfect look” and “great teeth”. It was nice to hear but I told her we were not interested. She immediately tried to go over my head to his mom, who was busy, so she finally gave up. His new nickname is “Hollywood”.

We returned to the hotel and got Subway for dinner. The kids swam in the evening while we dried and repacked our clothes in the hotel laundry room. It was a long day but we had some fun, my son got a new nickname, and our clothes are dry so it feels like we are back on track! Time will tell if I end up eating these words.