Hollywood!

When we travelled through California in May and June, we promised our son that we would come back to visit Los Angeles when the weather wasn't so hot! Craig was born in Santa Monica and remained in the LA area until his early teen years. He didn't have any sentimental memories of his childhood there and I (Linda) have grown to generally despise heavy traffic, crammed parking lots and shoe-horned buildings of big cities. We could have skipped a visit to the city with no regrets; however, Cory's well-made point was that if the purpose of travelling the country was to experience different aspects, we shouldn't skip the big cities along the way. So, we made a short list of 'hot spots' and made our way into the city on a Sunday, so as to avoid as much traffic as possible. First stop - Hollywood Boulevard! We found parking very easily at the Hollywood & Highland Center - a large shopping center with restaurants and a large parking garage. We called ahead and were advised to talk to the garage supervisor for an adequate space for the big dually truck. We did so and were placed in an area reserved for oversize vehicles - no problem! Once parked, we were within easy walking distance to Graumin's Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, the Walk of Fame and could see the big HOLLYWOOD hillside sign from the centrally located open courtyard of the mall.

Cory found one of his favorite actor's prints - Robert Downey, Jr. next to the entrance. Apparently the premier for 'Sherlock Holmes' had been at the theater and the prints were made then. The HOLLYWOOD sign is waaay in the background to the left of Cory's head. Here...we'll zoom in with a cropped version.... We browsed the footprints and stars for the various famous performers, took in the sights of the various downtown theaters, sidewalk performers and tourist buses, then found a nice little shop serving crepes. The weather was perfect for sitting outside and leisurely enjoying some delicious crepes. The architectural features of the multi-level courtyard were quite spectacular and a large fountain added to the ambiance of the very uncrowded setting.

The cafe validated our parking stub, so with only an investment in breakfast and $2.00, we continued our LA tour. A short drive brought us to Universal City where we took in a movie in a large (19 theater) complex within the shopping area bordering Universal Studios. We had to invest more in parking at this stop, but it was worth it. In addition to the movie, the boys spent some time in the largest Game Stop store they had ever seen. Again, the timing of this visit made for a relaxing time to simply window shop and enjoy the pleasant weather and unique features of the area.

We completed our tour with a drive over to Manhattan Beach Pier. After a few trips around the blocks near the pier, we found a metered parking spot on the street and hoofed it over to the pier and beach. We watched a few surfers and beach volleyball games, let the guys entertain themselves in the edge of the surf (icy cold water) and watched the sunset.

A much more pleasant day with few traffic snarls and truly enjoyable stops along the way, we all contentedly headed back to the RV park.

Speaking of the RV park, we must invest some space here in featuring this very amazingly pleasant resort. The Escapee's Jojoba Hills Co-op was our first experience in an official Escapee park. We arrived on Sunday afternoon when the office was closed, so we had to park in the boondock area. Without a generator, we're not well-equipped for boondocking but the moderate temperatures allowed us to stay for overnight with no problems. When the office opened the following day, we were assigned to a very lovely spot that was nicely landscaped and offered terrific views of the hills and valleys surrounding the resort.

A side benefit for our family were the ponds that dotted the development. Our oldest son happened to need pond samples for a biology experiment and this one came in very handy!

He was able to obtain some terrific samples for his experiment and was even coached by one of the neighbors, a former zoologist! Here's a glimpse of our one room 'school house' with both guys busy with their studies.

The nicest feature of the resort is the clubhouse which includes a very large meeting room, several sewing/hobby rooms, a well stocked library with tons of dvd's, an exercise room, a billiard room, a card room (with several game tables), saunas in the restrooms and this lovely pool with two large spas.

We truly enjoyed spending a little extra time in this lovely spot and felt very welcome amongst the many full-time residents. Every evening offered spectacular sunsets and we enjoyed many bike rides along the driveways amongst the park.

We'll close with one of our favorite views which will explain why the chaise lounge chairs were facing away from the pool in the photo above!