LA...Day 5-6

Sunday 2-22

Hollywood Sign

The day started with an attempt to go the Griffith Park Observatory to get some photos of the Hollywood sign but, the park was packed. Luckily in my research, I had noted that Lake Hollywood Park also provided nice shots of the sign. We did not make it all the way to the park, but pulled off to the side of the road to get some photos. It was raining at a pretty good pace and figured it was not worth walking around in the rain for a few hours to get the best shot.

Walt Disney Concert Hall

We visited the Walt Disney Concert Hall since there were good reviews. We did the self-guided tour, which was very boring. In hind sight we probably should have just waited around for the twenty minutes or so and went on the guided tour, it probably would have been more interesting.

There were not a lot of restaurants in the area that were open but we did find a place called Redwood Bar & Grill. It was very dark and kind of dirty with a sunken pirate ship theme. Surprisingly the food was decent, despite the not to clean feeling the place gave off.   

Santa Monica Beach

After lunch, we headed to Santa Monica. Along the way, we saw a lot of celebrity cars heading to the Oscars. We even saw the check-point by the Dolby Theatre (formerly the Kodak Theatre), which is right next to the historic Chinese Theatre, as we drove by.  The famous Route 66 ends in Santa Monica, so there was a lot of souvenirs. The Santa Monica pier was nice. There are free tours available at the Santa Monica Pier, but we were not there at the correct time.

Venice Canals

Near Santa Monica is Venice Beach. We did a drive by of the Venice Beach – it did not look very nice compared to Santa Monica. The nearby Venice Canals were really cool though!

Monday 2-23

Oscars @ Dolby Theatre

A few weeks prior to the trip, I decided to try to get tickets for a tv recording, needless to say I probably should have looked sooner. I was able to get stand by tickets for The Price is Right. People with actual tickets showed up, so after waiting around for about an hour we headed back to the car. The staff did ofter to give vouchers for a future filming, or possibly get us into the afternoon filming (they shoot two eposides a day and they last like 5 hours each!).

We then headed to the Walk of the Stars, which was still dolled up from the Oscars the evening before. I was luckily able to find my favorite star, Matt Damon’s star. It was in the barricaded off area, but close enough to the edge to get a photo. We checked out the footprints and handprints in front of the Chinese Theatre – again I was able to locate Matt Damon!

Chinese Theatre

Staying in the shopping center/parking deck we had lunch at Dave and Busters – it was good. We got our parking validated at Dave and Busters so parking was slightly cheaper, amazingly it was not too much. We have been at other places were parking was a lot more. From the third level of the complex, there was a decent view of the Hollywood sign.

Matt Damon Hollywood Star

We then drove to Pasadena. We stoped by the Norton Simon muesum – it was just okay. It was $12/adult, but free parking. Unfortunally, the gardens were closed due to rain. Next, we drove by the Rose Bowl Stadium, but we couldn’t get too close since there was an event being torn down “Air + Style”. We stopped by Dots cupcakes – yum! Pasadena has a very nice downtown area, but it seemed that you had to pay for parking everwhere!

Since it was rainy we just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon and packed up to head home.

Before heading to the airport, we had some pizza at Maria’s Italian Kitchen - it was tasty. The free bread and dipping sauce were good also.

To end the evening, we dropped the car off and made it to the airport. It was a good thing we had the address of the car place – we didn’t see any signs staying were to return cars were located like most airports have. 

LA...Day 4

Saturday 2-21

Warner Brothers Studios VIP tour

The day started with a trip to the Warner Brother Studios for the VIP tour ($54/adult). The tour lasted around 2 hours and 15 minutes. We got to see sounds stages for Big Bang Theory, Ellen, and some Netflix show. The guide told us that the wait list to get tickets for Ellen is about 2 years and about a year and a half for the Big Bang Theory. There was tons of Batman stuff on display due to the 75th year anniversary. One of the buildings had a Harry Potter exhibit which showed artifacts from the films. There was a stool that you sat on and the staff put the “sorting hat” on your head and a recording would come on and tell you what house you belonged to – I got Hufflepuff.

Warner Brothers Studios VIP tour - Sorting Hat

There was some filming going on in one area, but the guide had no idea what it was for. We got to learn about some tricks of the trade.  There is a pretty large area that has buildings that replicated a neighborhood, school, businesses, etc. During our visit a lot of the buildings were set up for filming of Pretty Little Liars.

Warner Brothers Studios VIP tour - "Friends" 

Another really cool thing we got to see during our visit was the prop building. They had all sorts of really neat things. Also in that building was the “Friends” TV show set. The guide allowed everyone to sit on the “Friends” couch for a photo. Interesting fact – the “Friends” couch was replaced three times throughout the filming for the show.

During the tour the guide mentioned that when George Clooney was filming a lot, he had a favorite nearby restaurant that he often frequented. We checked it out and it was a really cool place! The place is called The SmokeHouse Restaurant. The place was established in 1946 and to this day it maintains a classic Hollywood feel. Clooney liked the place so much that he named his film production company Smoke House Pictures. Oh, the food was reasonably priced, had large portions and was very good. We were told we must try the cheesy garlic bread – we tried it and it was good – a bit different than what you would expect.

Long Beach

One of the people, we were staying with had to fly out-of-town for work so after dropping her off at the airport, we headed to Long Beach. We went to the Shoreline Aquatic Park which was nice – there was a lighthouse (lame), a large park area, and many restaurants in the marina area.  Heading back to where we were staying we drove by “Skidrow” – very interesting is pretty much all you can say – tents/boxes all over the place.


 Dinner was had at DuPar’s Restaurant. The menu had a nice selection of items. I tried the chicken pot pie and it was tasty. The desserts looked very temping, had they had carrot cake or red velvet cake I would have tried it!

LA...Day 3

Friday 2-20

Santa Barbara County Courthouse

We started the day by heading to Santa Barbara. There was lots of free parking all around town, just keep an eye on the time, we were warned that the parking ticket rates are very high. After parking, we visited the Santa Barbara County Courthouse for a free one hour tour. The courthouse is Spanish Colonial Revival style and was completed in 1929. The previous courthouse was destroyed by an earthquake. The Spanish-Moorish “palace”, as it is known, has a clock tower that you can climb up, or take the elevator, which provides 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape. Lucky us, we got there pretty close to when the tour starred at 10:30am. The tour was really good and informative.
 

After walking around the downtown shopping area, we headed to the water front for lunch at the “Lucky Penny”. The building is covered in pennies and looks really neat. For lunch, we had the wood-fired brick oven three cheese pizza and homemade chips – very tasty!  After lunch, we went to Sterns Wharf and walked around the waterfront area. We visited the Channel Islands National Park Outdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center site, which was great. There were couches to sit for you to spend time looking out at the marina. Other than the views, there was not much of anything else at the visitor center.  The building that housed the NP site also houses the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, which we did not visit.

Channel Islands National Park Outdoors Santa Barbara 

Heading back towards LA, we made a pit stop at the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park in Ventura. The visitor center had a bookstore, a 25 minute park movie and some displays.  Inside, there was a display of marine aquatic life and a really neat five story (stairwell) exhibit of what could be seen at each level of the sea floor which was rather interesting. Once to the roof, you were rewarded with a pleasant view of the ocean. The visitor center also had a small outdoor garden that was available to learn about plant variety in the area. We had hoped to get to spend a day at one of the Channel Islands, but the day of the tours did not align with our visit very well. I am guessing that there are more tours offered in warmer months.

Paramount Ranch - Santa Monica Mountain National Rec.

Continuing towards LA, we decided to drop off and visit Paramount Ranch, which is a part of the Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area. In 1927, Paramount Pictures purchased 2,700 acres of a ranch for use as a “movie ranch.” Paramount Pictures sold the ranch when changes to the studio system took place. A man by the name of William Hertz bought the southeastern part of the ranch in 1953 and built a permanent western town using Paramount Pictures old prop storage sheds. After the permanent town was built television companies began producing westerns at the ranch (The Cisco Kid, etc.). William Hertz sold the property in 1955 and the Paramount Racetrack opened a year later. It was considered one of the most challenging tracks in the US, but it closed 18 months later, after three fatal accidents. After the track closed ownership changed several times, which filmmaking continuing.  The National Park Service purchased a portion of the original Paramount property in 1980 and restored it. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was shot at the site from 1992 to 1997. Enough with the history, now more about our visit! The ranch was just okay. There were quite a few of trails there, but if was very obvious that most are used by horses. There was a horse trailer with a sign saying you could rent a horse to take out on the trails. There were a couple of people there taking what appeared to be engagement photos and some girls taking photos of each other. There were a lot of signs stating that you need a permit to take professional photos at the site. It should be notes that most of the track still winds through the grasslands of the park.

For dinner, again with friends, we headed to “The Stand”.  I had the apple slaw turkey burger with onion rings – very tasty! The guys really like the “fire fries”, I am not a huge fan of things hot so I did not try them.

LA...Days 1-2

Wednesday 2-18

We had a late night flight out to LA. Our plane left the airport a little late due to a late arrival and the plane had to de-ice. The pilot was able to take “shortcuts” and we are able to land at our scheduled time. After waiting a while for the rental car bus, we had the fastest car pickup ever. We rented with Alamo and there were a lot of check-in kiosks. There were not a lot of choices of vehicles, but we ended up with a Chevy Cruz. The car was decent in all matters. We stayed at a friends’ place in northern LA for the entire trip.

Thursday 2-19

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana

The goal for the day was to check out two national park sites. Along the way, we visited the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. There was a $5/person fee to enter the grounds. Bob Hope was buried at the Mission. There were a lot of displays to view. We spent probably about 45 minutes at the site. The Mission was founded in 1797, but many problems (1812 earthquakes and gold prospectors) caused the grounds to fall in to disrepair before being restored.
  

Cesar E. Chavez NM

César E. Chávez National Monument was the first NP site that we got to visit. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere. The site is relatively new to the NP system and is still being developed. Currently, the site has a lot of photo displays, a short but very informative video, and garden where Chavez is buried.

For a little variety, we headed to Bakersfield for lunch and a different roadway to drive back towards LA. Lunch at La Costa Mariscos was very good and the décor was really nice, too. I had the chicken fajita burrito and they let me substitute the rice and beans with a salad and fresh vegetables (carrots and broccoli). Mike had the port burrito. We splurged on Fried Ice Cream dessert – yum!

The last visit for the day was King Gillette Ranch at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The NP visitor center is located at this site. The land was once owned by King C. Gillette – the razor magnate. The Spanish Colonial Revival style mansion built in the 1920’s and other structures still remain on the site. There was a short trail that provided a 360-degree views of the surrounding area. The “Biggest Loser” is filmed at this site. 

King Gillette Ranch - Santa Monica Mountains

We had dinner with friends at Jerry’s Famous Deli. I had a salad and it was good – large portions on everything.

Hawaii Trip 2014 - Big Island Day 9

September 6, 2014 (Saturday)

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau NHP

The last day of our trip was spent at Pu’uhonua O Honaunau NHP. Back in the day if you had broken a law the penalty was death. This site served as a place or refuge, or as it is known in Hawaii a puuhonua.  If law breakers could get to a Pu’uhonua and receive absolution for the kahuna pule (priest) they were given a second chance at life. Pu’uhonua O Honaunau serves as royal grounds and a sactuary. Ki’I (carved wooden images) surround the Hale o Keawe, which house the bones of chiefs that infuse the area with their power or mana. The site is still considered a sacred site and many restrictions are in place.

There was a park ranger talk that we listened to that was interesting. More interesting were some of the films that were shown. 

After leaving the park, we headed out for lunch. We opted to try the Mahina Café in Captain Hook. It was a small place but the food was good. I had the kalua pork and cabbage and Mike had Wahoo fish.

Back in Kona, we wondered around a little and got some Scandinavian Shave Ice. There were so many flavors to pick from. I think I picked Pineapple, Kiwi and Pina Colada. The small size is quite large. They have some recommended flavor combinations listed on the wall if you have trouble deciding.

Sunset

We revisited the Kona Brewing Company – this time to take the brewery tour. The tour was $5/person and you get 4 samples and a glass to take home. The tour lasted about an hour. Since we were there we also had dinner. We had the KBC’illa Po’okela (kalua Park quesadilla) and Naalehu Nachos. Both were excellent – better than the pizza we had at our previous visit.

The sun was about to set so we went in search of a place to see the sunset one last time during our vacation. We decided to try Kaloko-Honokahau NHS – the marina location. Jackpot - great sunset and two green sea turtles resting on the beach! There were also a ton more turtle lurking in the water (I think waiting for us to vacate the beach so they could come ashore). It was a super great way to end the trip.

Sea Turtle at Kaloko-Honokahau NHS Marina

Gas prices on both islands that we visited were about $4.25-$4.50/gallon, which were not all that much higher than they were in Michigan before we left. We were speaking to someone about the gas prices and they said that they had been to Hawaii about 15 years prior and prices were $4/gallon (compared to $1/gallon here in Michigan). Thank goodness prices did not increase as much in Hawaii as they did in the mainland.

Our flight out of Hawaii was not until 10:45pm. We got to the airport kind of early since there really was not a lot to do once the sunset. The airport was not busy but we had to wait quite a while for the airline workers to allow us to check-in.  We had hoped to get luck like we had on the way to Hawaii, but that did not happen – the plane was pretty much full. About an hour or two into the flight a young lady started screaming and acting out. She got restrained and we were able to continue to Phoenix (we really hoped we would not have to turn around and go back to Kona). 

September 7, 2014 (Sunday)

After the smooth flight from Phoenix to Detroit we made it home late afternoon – exhausted. Until next time happy travels.

Hawaii Trip 2014 - Big Island Day 8

September 5, 2014 (Friday)

Heading to Hilo, we passed all sorts of different terrain – lave fields, desert (with cactus), tall trees and tropical areas. It was interesting to see trees having a permeant bend in them from the wind. There was a bit of maintenance along the drive – the area was hit a little harder by the hurricane, which hit a couple of weeks earlier, than other parts of the island.

Akaka Falls State Park

Akaka Falls State Park was our first stop. There was a $1/person fee to enter the trail if parking outside of the gate, or $5/car if parking at the park. There were two falls at the park, one of which was largely blocked by trees (Kahuna Falls). The Akaka Falls has a 442 foot drop and was lovely.

Back on the main road, we pulled off to the 4-mile scenic drive, which takes you past the tropical gardens. We did not visit the gardens, but there were a couple of nice overlooks that we visited.

While in the area we also visited Rainbow Falls, which had a nice viewing platform. It was not worth taking the trail, as the view was not as good. Just down the road from Rainbow Falls are were some boiling pots, which are basically a series of pools and Pe’epe’e Falls. About a mile up the road was another waterfall called Wai’ale Falls. Nice views are available at the roadside bridge, but there is a trail you can take to get closer to the falls.

Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park

Pineapples was our lunch destination. It was located in downtown Hilo. I had the pork sandwich, which was too saucy for me (and to think – I like things saucy!). Mike had fish and chips again – this time the fish was Ahi. I had the Onion soup – it was awesome (a bit spicier than most I’ve had).

Heading back to Kona, we visited Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park. The park has a monument which is dedicated to those who lost their lives during the “April Fool’s Day Tsunami” back in 1946. The park was very nice and definitely worth the stop if in the area.

Waipio Valley

Waipio Valley is also not far off the path. There was not a lot of parking available at the overlook, but we were able to nab a space. To get to the valley you MUST take a tour. The grade to get to the valley is super steep (25% average grade), possibly the steepest road in the world. Hawaii Islands tallest waterfall, Hiilawe Falls (1,300 ft) is located in the valley. The valley itself is about a mile across and over five-miles deep with cliffs exceeding 2000-feet in height. Some interesting facts include the valley was the final scene of the movie Waterworld (where the main characters find dry land) and Waipio Valley was the boyhood home of King Kamehameha I.

As we headed back to the road to get to Kona we stopped in a town called Honokaa to get some ice cream at Simply Natural. I had a scoop of coconut flavor and a scoop of passion fruit sorbet (it was yellow and tart).

Back in Kona, we wondered down the pier and snapped some sun set photos and had dinner at Splashers. Mike had Wahoo fish yet again and I had a burger.

Hawaii Trip 2014 - Big Island Day 7

September 4, 2014 (Thursday)

We were on the road early again for the long drive (about 2 hours) to Volcano National Park. The drive was quite lush for a portion of the trip – banana trees, coconut trees, and coffee trees (I think since there were a ton of coffee farm tours along the way). There were not nearly as many flowers on the Big Island. Approaching the park, we spotted a Nene bird (Hawaiian goose), which happens to be Hawaii’s state bird. The Nene is the rarest goose in the world – there were tons of signs to alert drivers to watch for them.

Volcano National Park - Kilauea

Once arriving at the park, we visited the Kilauea Visitor Center where we watched the twenty minute video giving a park overview. We joined the “How it all Started” talk (approximately 20 minutes), which was interesting. During our visit, some of the park road was closed, as were some hiking trials, due to the active volcano action.  The Jagger Museum provides the best view of the Volcano.  There was a decent amount of steam coming from the volcano, but we were unable to see any lava.  The Jagger Museum had a ton of scientific instruments and data, all of which was neat to see.

Volcano National Park - Cave

There was a guided hike called Craters and Caves (1.5 hours) that we decided to join. The hike was enjoyable and we learned a lot about the plants and volcanos. The hike started with walking through the rain forest and ended with walking through the lava tube. It was a nice hike and the guide was pleasant.

A little bit of time before the next guided hike, we checked out Pu’u Pua’i and the Devastation Trail. Back at the visitor center, we joined the Explore the Summit Hike (45 minutes). A lot of what the guide spoke about was covered by the guide from the other hike – but that just made us seem really smart since we knew all the answers!

Volcano National Park - Lava

Before heading down the Chain of Craters Road, we checked out the steam vents and sulfur banks. The steam vents were neat and the sulfur banks smelled horrid as expected. The Chain of Craters Road lived up to the name with a lot of craters and lots of lava. We stopped at a few of the pull-offs, some were better than others. The sea arch at the end of the road was neat. The water sounded like thunder as it crashed in the 60’ tall sea wall. The 2003 lava flow can also be reached from the end of the road.

Volcano National Park - Sea Arch

Initially, we had intended to check out the Petroglyphs, but it had been a lot day and we had a 2+ hour drive to get back to the hotel. Overall, it was an awesome day. The rain forest lived up to its name by sprinkling most of the afternoon. The temps at the park were mid 60’s – low 70’s – a huge relief to the 90’s we experience most of the other days.

Food for the day consisted of leftover pizza for lunch (not a lot of food options at the NP) and Quinn’s Almost by the Sea for dinner. Mike tried the fish and chips – which he absolutely loved. The fish was Wahoo (or Ono as it is known in Hawaii), it is a close relative of the King Mackerel. Me, the non-fish eater tried it. The fish was very dense and did not smell or taste like fish.