First stop of the day was was the Unity church where we had married in 1985. It's now called The Christ Chapel of the Valley. We met the vicar and after telling him that auntie Sheila had married us there twenty-five years ago, we were invited in for a look around and then had some photos taken outside the main doors before leaving.
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| The Christ Chapel of the Valley |
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| Auntie Shielas bungalow on the left |
When we got married there was no subway system at all in Los Angeles. The Red Line station in North Hollywood was opened in 2000 and is on Lankershim Boulevard just a few blocks up from where auntie Shiela lived in Hartsook Street.
We parked the car here and took the train down town to Hollywood Boulevard. The station which was featured in the 1994 film Speed, starring Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves and Dennis Hopper.
In the final scene of the film the out of control train appears on the boulevard from under the ground crashing, finally ending up on it's side opposite Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The irony of all of this is that the station and that part of the red line was still under construction at the time of filming and didn't open until 1999, That's Hollywood!
As we approached Graumans there was a large crowd gathered, watching from behind barricades as the final preparations for that evenings world premier of Horrible Bosses were taking place, including laying the red carpet down.
Horrible Bosses is a black comedy starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day as three friends who are unhappy with their bosses, so much so that they make plans to kill them all off aided by an ex con, played by Jamie Foxx. Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston star as the bosses. We watched a report on the local news later that evening and they all attended the premier!
After wandering up and down the Walk Of Fame and seeing all the lookalikes we took the subway back up to North Hollywood.
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| Grauman's Chinese Theatre |
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| Hand and foot prints in the entrance |
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| You win! |
After all of that excitement it was time to eat so we drove up Lankershim to the In-N-Out Burger. My first visit to the USA was with Sharon in 1984. We flew into LAX and then caught a bus to Van Nuys. It was late at night when auntie Shiela picked met us there, "You kids must be hungry" she said, as she ordered us Double Doubles and milk shakes. I'd never been to a drive through restaurant before that! A trip to California is never complete without a trip to In-N-Out, this one certainly lived up to all expectations!
After our "Tasty burgers" we drove back down to Hollywood and then all the way along Sunset Boulevard to Beverley Hills. The convertible really came into its own in L.A., is there a better feel good factor than cruising around the boulevards and freeways with the top down soaking up the California sun?
In the evening we took a walk from our hotel along Riverside Drive to Patys, another place introduced to us by auntie Shiela back in the day. It's a typically American diner and very popular with local celebrities, the walls are lined with signed photos of the famous actors and sports stars that have eaten there over the years, (there wasn't any that we recognised in tonight). After paying for our meal we were given a "Patys" coffee mug each as a souvenir of our visit!
The Playlist
No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley & The Wailers - The studio version was on the radio as we drove down Lankershim, but I chose the live version recorded at The Roxy.
Going To A Go Go - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - We drove by the Whisky A Go Go on Sunset Boulevard.
I Shot The Sheriff by Bob Marley & The Wailers - We drove past The Roxy on Sunset Boulevard where this live version was recorded.
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