Going West 2009 - California
Michael and I flew into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Frontier Airlines, May 16, 2009. We changed planes in Denver and flew over the Grand Canyon. We returned, May 22. I used expedia.com to purchase our plane tickets. They were $640.60.
We reserved an economy car, a Toyota, from Hertz. It was waiting at the airport. They honored my AAA membership. We got unlimited milage for $302.65.
Rented cars are expensive. At least there were two of us benefiting. While out west, we were not using our vehicles or buying gas in Nashville so, to some degree, things evened out.
We drove straight to Sequoia National Park. We headed for the trees. We drove up Interstate 5, got onto 99 and 198. We went through Bakersfield and Visalia. We called the Park at 1-559-565-3341. People out that way know how to get to the park and we got directions. It is about 220 miles from the airport to Sequoia Park.
I reserved a room at the Comfort Inn in Three Rivers outside Sequoia for the night of May 16. We were six miles from the park entrance. Three Rivers is a resort town. We toured the park twice.
Karen and I came down from Kings Canyon in 1979. Michael and I drove north from Los Angeles. There is still no road crossing Sequoia National Park from east to west. We came out the same way we went in.
It was one night at Sequoia. I recalled Michael thinking two nights at the Grand Canyon was too much.
The biggest Sequoias are in Giant Forest. This is where the General Sherman tree is, the largest living thing on earth. We walked along the trail to it, and Michael spotted a deer. We saw bears.
The top of the Sherman tree is dead. The tree called The Sentinel sits in front of the museum.
Giant Sequoias are an orange-copperish color. Looking up through their green tops into the blue sky, one experiences a healing. Their presence is reassuring. The air was still. No wind.
We climbed Moro Rock and looked down on the surrounding area, something Karen and I did not do. That topped it off. Leaving the Park, we patted trees and told them goodbye, promising to return.
We drove back from Sequoia the evening of May 17. Michael stopped along side the road, and I picked oranges from a tree. Michael said it was one of the best oranges he ever tasted.
Los Angeles has the biggest complex of freeways in the world: six lanes going, six lanes coming. We had to be careful. We met traffic with patience. Michael drove.
I reserved a room for five nights: May 17-21, at the Best Western Media Center Inn in \"Beautiful Downtown Burbank\" as Johnny Carson used to call it. The AAA rate was $866.20. Our address was 3910 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank. We were near the NBC Studios.
Michael and I were in bed when the bed and building shook for a few seconds. It was an earthquake: my first, Michael\'s second. It was on the news.
We had tickets for Jay Leno and the Tonight Show. I was stunned when they arrived in my mail box. Michael said it put the icing on the cake. There were two tapings, and we saw both. We stayed in line several hours to make sure we got in. Cameron Diaz and Terry Bradshaw were guests. Announcer John Melendez brought people on stage to warm up the audience. I went down and sang Dancing Queen by ABBA. The crowd went wild! We met Paul Crunk and his wife. Paul helped us get oriented, and we appreciated his company. The four of us ate at the Outback. These were Leno\'s 9th and 10th shows from his last on May 29, and we were fortunate to see him. The shows were taped at NBC Studios in Burbank at 3000 W. Alameda Avenue.
I had the idea to structure the 2009 trip something like the ones before it. Keep it in the same frame. We concentrated on Burbank, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Malibu. We went to the Hollywood and Highland Center at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. We got pictures of the Kodak Theatre. This is where the Academy Awards (Oscars) are given. Michael knew about it. Grauman\'s Chinese Theatre is there, and we saw the handprints and footprints of Tom Hanks in cement. It was nice to stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame with my son 31 years after I did it the first time. We got a picture of Jay Leno\'s star. We were prevented from entering the Capitol Records Building because of 9/11.
We roamed through the Hollywood Hills trying to get a picture of the Hollywood sign. After several wrong turns and some frustration, we got it. Roads were narrow and the houses in the hills were jammed together like sardines. Michael said he could not live in Hollywood but admitted that the Hollywood sign was like the Statue of Liberty to him. We drove by Hollywood High (School).
Hollywood is part of Los Angeles. Beverly Hills is separate but surrounded by the city.
Michael wanted to see Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It is where the stars shop! We went into Brooks Brothers, Michael\'s favorite. Michael said it is a different world going from trashy Hollywood to classy Beverly Hills. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and drove through the Beverly Hills Hotel. We noted the abundance of expensive cars on Rodeo Drive.
The statue we photographed in the parking garage is called Embrace.
Laguna Beach was a big deal. It reminded me of Daytona. Michael wanted to go there because of the TV show of the same name. We drove to Laguna Beach down the Pacific Coast Highway and returned to Burbank on Interstate 5. Our road. Michael saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
Our last full day, we rode up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. \"Michael B. in Malibu.\" The city of Malibu is a strip of Pacific coastline and home to many movie stars.
We took Sunset Boulevard coming back and drove through Bel Air, where Elvis had a house while making his movies. Michael rolled down the window and asked, \"Do you smell that? It smells like money!\" We passed through Hollywood, getting a picture of the billboard advertising Night at the Smithsonian.
We dropped the car off at L.A. International, settled our account and flew out. Michael had his friend meet us in Nashville.
We had the idea that one plus one equals three. There was me, and there was Michael. The third person was me and Michael together.
Reply to this 
