Hollywood Today!
We rise fairly early and get ready for our train commute to LA. Turns out that the train station is in the same huge parking lot as the Angels stadium in Anaheim, so we take a few pics for Pop. The train station is clean and organized, and we arrive just in the nick of time to board Amtrak to LA. We purchase round trip tickets for 72.00 (a bargain compared to driving in and listening to Ben) and we have two minutes to board. The Amtrak conductor is friendly and helpful and finds a four seater for us on the second floor of the train. The boys love a train ride (and so do I) and as we chug into LA, I remember the many train rides we took with Bennie when he was gaga for trains and Thomas. I cannot tell you how much he adored anything having to do with trains. As we pleasantly fly along the rails, I also marvel at the many train systems my kids have been on. They have ridden the NYC subway, the Washington, DC metro, the Southern Florida TriRail, the Miami El, and now the trains to LA. Lucky Kiddos.
I can tell we are getting closer to the city because our view is filled with graffiti and gang symbols. In so many places, it has been painted over only to be re-graffitied again. The conductor checks on the kids and reminds them to keep an eye on their parents and our bad behavior. Ethan is squealing with delight and decides that he wants many kisses from me as we move along.
Finally, Union Station, which is a gorgeous retro-station that is painted with beautiful murals and occupied by newsstands and hotdog vendors. The boys grab a hotdog and Ben and I read the metro maps so we know where we are going. Turns out that Hollywood/Highland, our destination, is 8 stops which will take a bit of time. I am growing excited and the boys love the subway. As far as underground trains go, the LA Metro is cleaner than NYC but not nearly as nice as D.C.’s metro, which is the Cadillac of subways in my opinion. We are immediately surrounded by diversity and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that my boys are exposed to diverse peoples when we travel. I truly hope that it will cutdown on some of the narrowmindedness that they hear at home. The woman across from me is reading a book about the controversy over Muslims wearing headscarves in France and the Hispanic couple in front of me, she is pregnant, hug and kiss until a Middle-Eastern looking gentleman offers his seat to her. Two loud, spirited, and energetic young African-American girls board, and a Japanese-
American man who is elderly sports a World War II Veteran Hat. Ethan does not even notice the cultural diversity around him…he is too busy hanging on to the silver bar because there are no seats available. Bennie continually counts the stops that are left, and watches a group of teenagers try to pry the subway car open to scare each other. He looks at me as if to say, “They are going to get hurt.”
Our stop, Hollywood/Highland, is announced, and we disembark the train and head for the stairs. We climb and climb and climb and climb, and one of the girls in front of us complains that we must have been riding one inch above hell. I laugh out loud and she turns and smiles at me. I can finally see blue sky as we ascend the final staircase, and we are up and out onto the famed Hollywood Boulevard and we are immediately bombarded by out of work actors who are dressed as famous movie characters. They will take pics with you or your kids and then they ask for money. The dark street and crowded sidewalks are so different from the rest of our journey so far, but I do love the city so much, and I immediately smile. Where is the Chinese theater? Just a few paces away, I begin to see the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame and Bennie poses by George Lopez’s star! We walk and check out some shops until we are immediately in front of Grauman’s Chinse Theater, and I begin to take in all of the handprints and names. Shirley Temple, the cast from Star Trek, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Jack Nicholson, Will Smith, Michael and Kirk Douglas, Paul Newman and Joanna Woodward, Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Walter Mattheau, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, and many more. Most are addressed to Sid Grauman, thanking him. Bennie puts his feet and hands in Will Smith’s, whom he loves, and marvels at how big Will Smith’s feet are (they really, really are). I am enjoying myself, looking across the street at the famous El Capitan theater and the Roosevelt. Where is that Hollywood sign? I read that the best view is from Beachwood Street, so I am determined to find that but Ben finds a great view on a bridge between two levels of a shopping mall connected to the Chinese Theater. We walk through the court of the outdoor mall and the boys eye up souvenirs. I can see the Hollywood sign off in the hills and it is a completely surreal experience. I feel like I am looking at it on television and not in person and Ben takes pics for me and of me in front of the sign. “Are you happy?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say.
Down in the center court of the mall is a fountain of sorts, with water that shoots up out of holes in the ground. Ethan begins running through the water shots but I know it is only a matter of time until he is drenched. I buy some Hollywood souvenirs and when I return to Ben and the boys, Ethan is completely waterlogged. That will be comfortable on the ride home in the trains. He is wet and happy. I don’t even get upset.
We board the subway and head back to Union Station. We plan that when we return to Anaheim, I will stay at the campground and swim with Ethan while Ben and Bennie tour the Queen Mary in Long Beach. I call over to the Queen and find out that the tour at night is free and anyone can board and walk around the floating hotel, so Ben is thrilled about the freebie.
When we get to Union Station, we realize we have read the train schedule incorrectly so we are an hour early! Oh brother, what to do now? We find a cafeteria in the Transportation authority and I get the boys some pizza and drinks and we wait for our train. Finally the time arrives but we cannot find our track because someone has played a practical joke by writing Hi Bob on the message board instead of our destination. After some confusion, we realize we are track 9, board, and we lazily make our way back to Anaheim and the pool.
As I sit poolside with Ethan and Ben and Bennie tour the Queen Mary, I am so happy to chill and just relax and Ethan is at his happiest when he is in the water. I do some laundry, think about our plans for the next day, and sit in the wonderful hot tub.
Tomorrow, we will meet Michelle in Palm Springs, a resort in the desert, say goodbye, and head toward the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
We rise fairly early and get ready for our train commute to LA. Turns out that the train station is in the same huge parking lot as the Angels stadium in Anaheim, so we take a few pics for Pop. The train station is clean and organized, and we arrive just in the nick of time to board Amtrak to LA. We purchase round trip tickets for 72.00 (a bargain compared to driving in and listening to Ben) and we have two minutes to board. The Amtrak conductor is friendly and helpful and finds a four seater for us on the second floor of the train. The boys love a train ride (and so do I) and as we chug into LA, I remember the many train rides we took with Bennie when he was gaga for trains and Thomas. I cannot tell you how much he adored anything having to do with trains. As we pleasantly fly along the rails, I also marvel at the many train systems my kids have been on. They have ridden the NYC subway, the Washington, DC metro, the Southern Florida TriRail, the Miami El, and now the trains to LA. Lucky Kiddos.
I can tell we are getting closer to the city because our view is filled with graffiti and gang symbols. In so many places, it has been painted over only to be re-graffitied again. The conductor checks on the kids and reminds them to keep an eye on their parents and our bad behavior. Ethan is squealing with delight and decides that he wants many kisses from me as we move along.
Finally, Union Station, which is a gorgeous retro-station that is painted with beautiful murals and occupied by newsstands and hotdog vendors. The boys grab a hotdog and Ben and I read the metro maps so we know where we are going. Turns out that Hollywood/Highland, our destination, is 8 stops which will take a bit of time. I am growing excited and the boys love the subway. As far as underground trains go, the LA Metro is cleaner than NYC but not nearly as nice as D.C.’s metro, which is the Cadillac of subways in my opinion. We are immediately surrounded by diversity and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that my boys are exposed to diverse peoples when we travel. I truly hope that it will cutdown on some of the narrowmindedness that they hear at home. The woman across from me is reading a book about the controversy over Muslims wearing headscarves in France and the Hispanic couple in front of me, she is pregnant, hug and kiss until a Middle-Eastern looking gentleman offers his seat to her. Two loud, spirited, and energetic young African-American girls board, and a Japanese-
American man who is elderly sports a World War II Veteran Hat. Ethan does not even notice the cultural diversity around him…he is too busy hanging on to the silver bar because there are no seats available. Bennie continually counts the stops that are left, and watches a group of teenagers try to pry the subway car open to scare each other. He looks at me as if to say, “They are going to get hurt.”
Our stop, Hollywood/Highland, is announced, and we disembark the train and head for the stairs. We climb and climb and climb and climb, and one of the girls in front of us complains that we must have been riding one inch above hell. I laugh out loud and she turns and smiles at me. I can finally see blue sky as we ascend the final staircase, and we are up and out onto the famed Hollywood Boulevard and we are immediately bombarded by out of work actors who are dressed as famous movie characters. They will take pics with you or your kids and then they ask for money. The dark street and crowded sidewalks are so different from the rest of our journey so far, but I do love the city so much, and I immediately smile. Where is the Chinese theater? Just a few paces away, I begin to see the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame and Bennie poses by George Lopez’s star! We walk and check out some shops until we are immediately in front of Grauman’s Chinse Theater, and I begin to take in all of the handprints and names. Shirley Temple, the cast from Star Trek, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Jack Nicholson, Will Smith, Michael and Kirk Douglas, Paul Newman and Joanna Woodward, Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Walter Mattheau, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, and many more. Most are addressed to Sid Grauman, thanking him. Bennie puts his feet and hands in Will Smith’s, whom he loves, and marvels at how big Will Smith’s feet are (they really, really are). I am enjoying myself, looking across the street at the famous El Capitan theater and the Roosevelt. Where is that Hollywood sign? I read that the best view is from Beachwood Street, so I am determined to find that but Ben finds a great view on a bridge between two levels of a shopping mall connected to the Chinese Theater. We walk through the court of the outdoor mall and the boys eye up souvenirs. I can see the Hollywood sign off in the hills and it is a completely surreal experience. I feel like I am looking at it on television and not in person and Ben takes pics for me and of me in front of the sign. “Are you happy?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say.
Down in the center court of the mall is a fountain of sorts, with water that shoots up out of holes in the ground. Ethan begins running through the water shots but I know it is only a matter of time until he is drenched. I buy some Hollywood souvenirs and when I return to Ben and the boys, Ethan is completely waterlogged. That will be comfortable on the ride home in the trains. He is wet and happy. I don’t even get upset.
We board the subway and head back to Union Station. We plan that when we return to Anaheim, I will stay at the campground and swim with Ethan while Ben and Bennie tour the Queen Mary in Long Beach. I call over to the Queen and find out that the tour at night is free and anyone can board and walk around the floating hotel, so Ben is thrilled about the freebie.
When we get to Union Station, we realize we have read the train schedule incorrectly so we are an hour early! Oh brother, what to do now? We find a cafeteria in the Transportation authority and I get the boys some pizza and drinks and we wait for our train. Finally the time arrives but we cannot find our track because someone has played a practical joke by writing Hi Bob on the message board instead of our destination. After some confusion, we realize we are track 9, board, and we lazily make our way back to Anaheim and the pool.
As I sit poolside with Ethan and Ben and Bennie tour the Queen Mary, I am so happy to chill and just relax and Ethan is at his happiest when he is in the water. I do some laundry, think about our plans for the next day, and sit in the wonderful hot tub.
Tomorrow, we will meet Michelle in Palm Springs, a resort in the desert, say goodbye, and head toward the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
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