Day 1
July 10, 2019
Unlike many Americans, I never really had an urging desire to visit Los Angeles. From what I could tell from news, movies, social media, and research, it seemed too hot, too congested, and too expensive. Also, I am not a celebrity hunter. To me, celebrities are human beings and are no better than anyone else. So why did I decide to stay a week in Los Angeles if I did not yearn to visit? Simply because the flights were cheapest flying out of LAX.
I was hoping that I would have a similar experience in LA to when I visited Portland. Low expectations, but high reward. It wasn’t that I hated LA when I visited because I did have some great experiences while there, but it is not somewhere I would purposely visit again. So for my posts about LA, I will highlight and focus on my favorite experiences.
How to get to LA
I also debated on how I would get to LA when planning my trip. I originally wanted to take the Amtrak train from Portland down to Los Angeles, with a few stops along the way. Then after some research, I determined it would be too expensive and too time-consuming. So I decided to book a cheap flight from Portland to Los Angeles instead.
On our descent into LAX, I was able to see the Los Angeles area sprawled out below. I have always heard that LA is spread out, but seeing it from above, I was able to take in how massive the city is! And once I landed, I finally experienced how much of a zoo LAX is!
I ended up taking the FlyAway Shuttle from the airport to Hollywood. There are multiple Fly Away shuttles that drop you off in different areas of Los Angeles for only $8. The transportation was cheap and dropped me off close to where my hostel was located, but the drive was painful. Seriously, physically painful. The suspension on those shuttles needs to be checked out. Every single minuscule bump we went over shook the seats and the constant bouncing made me want to be sick.
Hollywood
The hostel I stayed at, USA Hostels, was located on a side street off of Hollywood Boulevard. Close to all the main tourist points in the area. After checking in to my overcrowded, claustrophobic dorm room, I set out for a nice walk of Hollywood Boulevard to get a lay of the land.
I walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard looking at all the Hollywood stars on the ground. The stars are awarded to those in the entertainment industry, including actors, directors, producers, writers, fictional characters, and musicians. A majority of them I have not heard of, but every so often I would spot a name I recognized.
When walking the Hollywood Walk of Fame, you have to be very mindful of where you are walking. Many tourists are walking with their heads down looking at the names. Some stop right in the middle of the sidewalk to take a picture, and you also have to be careful not to step in human excrement. Seriously. And some people kiss their favorite actor’s star! Please don’t, yuck!
I read before coming to LA that Hollywood is grimy and not the best area in LA. I will agree that it was a grimy area and had a funky smell, but I never felt unsafe while there. Although there are a lot of homeless people in the area, they usually kept to themselves and there were also a lot of tourists around. I never ventured out alone at night, so I can’t say how it is after nightfall.
The Stars
My favorite sites around Hollywood that I saw were the stars for Lucille Ball, Mark Wahlberg, Walt Disney (I swear he had multiples), Robin Williams, and Betty White.
(GOAT = Greatest Of All Time)
I also enjoyed seeing the iconic Capitol Records Building and the Beatles stars’ in front of it. Something that surprised me at first about the Hollywood Walk of Fame was that the stars were facing different directions. At first, I was irritated because it was hard to read all the names upside down, but then quickly realized they do it so people walking both ways on the sidewalk can look at the names.
The last stop of the night was the Chinese Theater. There was an event going on inside. I didn’t catch what it was for, but I was able to see the outside at least!
