The Ambitious Odometer

Saturday, January 4, 2020

{CA, HI & MEXICO} Day Seventeen - Los Angeles

One thing that has stayed on my "list" for sometime has been to see the famous Hollywood Sign...

In fact, when Hubby and I first met, one of our first conversations was all about the different places we'd like to visit one day. He was getting ready to head off to a conference in Los Angeles, and I mentioned how I'd always wanted to see the Hollywood Sign. He went to his conference a few days later and mailed me a postcard of the sign!

That was back in late 2002, and it has only taken me 17 years since then to finally go and see it, but today I did...

I just wish that Hubby could've been here with me!

What an adventure it was to get here!

You see, the sign is located near the top of Mount Lee in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. I had done my research on how best to see the sign and the areas to avoid, etc., and based on the time of day (first thing in the morning) and amount of time we had to spend (not much), had decided to head over to Lake Hollywood Park for a distant, but good and clear, view.

Turns out that this is a really great place to go if you don't have time to spend hiking, so I plugged the address into my GPS and set off. Well, I'm not sure what happened, but it sure felt like my GPS took me up and over Mount Lee and then back down the other side. I know that it didn't, but oh. my. word... My knuckles were so white. I felt like I was back on The Road to Hana twisting and turning up and down and around hairpin turns on a one-ish lane road, BUT there were HOUSES and MAILBOXES and PARKED CARS I was trying to avoid...and CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES. Thankfully it was early enough that most everyone was still sleeping, but I kept thinking to myself... SURELY this isn't the way to a public park, and SURELY this isn't the way I'm supposed to be going... This has GOT to be the way I read about that all of the residents DON'T want tourists taking! At one point I actually got behind a trash truck, and I can honestly say that I've never been more happy to be behind one in my life... I mean, no one is going to mess with a trash truck barreling up and down those twisting and turning roads!

I finally rolled down my window and asked a lady out walking her dog who assured me that I was heading the right way...bless...

Sure enough, about 4 minutes later we came to a TWO lane road WITH a DOUBLE YELLOW LINE down the middle... I kid you not...it was like I was seeing a water fountain in the middle of a desert.

I was able to park the car, and we were able to get out and explore a bit...

From there we made like two or three turns and were back on a 4 lane road...seriously???

At first I was annoyed, but then I was thankful that I didn't have to go back the way that I came...phew!

From there, we headed out to Simi Valley to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum...

It included a huge pavilion wing that houses a retired Airforce One...

This Airforce One flew Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II from 1973-2001...

Also on display in this area is a retired Marine One helicopter...

plus several presidential vehicles...

as well as the signage and fittings from the actual Irish pub from Ballyporeen, Ireland (Reagan's ancestral home) where President Reagan visited on a diplomatic trip in 1984. It now serves as a snack shop within the pavilion...