Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills,
and Malibu are names that evoke some pretty cool images and we set out in March
of 2003 to bring those images to life. In the beginning our planning for this
trip would revolve around a desire to be in Hollywood on Oscar’s big night,
otherwise known as the Academy Awards. We decided that we would apply to get
bleacher seats for the red carpet arrival of the stars, and even if we didn’t
receive the go ahead we would still be in Hollywood when the big show was being
filmed. We also wanted to visit Universal Studios and do all the normal
sight-seeing things in and around the city. We booked a room at the Universal
Sheraton and started checking out the map for excursions. After much
consideration we decided to visit the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area and
also drive up near Lancaster, California to visit the Antelope Valley California
Poppy Reserve.
Blessed by year-round sunshine and moderate
temperatures Los Angeles is a prime destination for travelers. We couldn’t wait
to feel the warmth of that California sun on our skin and we were not
disappointed when we arrived. In fact, we were totally impressed, not only with
the weather, but with the cleanliness of this sprawling metropolis and the
friendliness of its citizens. We were ready to start our exploration as soon as
we stepped off the plane even though, unfortunately, we were not chosen to sit
in the bleachers for the red carpet. This did not dampen our enthusiasm.
Actually, not being chosen turned out to be a blessing in disguise since the red
carpet was cancelled that year due to the war with Iraq…we would have been
devastated to have been chosen only to have our dreams dashed later. We checked
in to our hotel room and then headed for our first destination…Hollywood and
Highland to check out the Kodak Theater, home of the Academy Awards. We took the
little known, and less used, subway system to the Hollywood/Highland stop and
emerged from the underground to see a wonderful sight! Dusk was just settling on
the city and a film crew was set up for promo shots of the entrance to the Kodak
Theater complete with the red carpet and the huge Oscar statues out front! We
were thrilled to see such a production and it made for quite a memorable first
night out in L.A.
The next couple of days were spent driving around
Beverly Hills and Bel Air, star map in hand, checking out the magnificent homes
of celebrities. We had hoped that Ozzy Osbourne, or one of his family members, would be coming or going
from their home as we drove by, but no such luck. We did get to see a few stars
though! Carl Reiner was out walking in his neighborhood and Christina Ricci and
Skeet Ulrich were filming a movie called “Cursed” on the Santa Monica Pier. We
also were able to see an up and coming star by the name of Amy Davidson who now
appears on the TV show “8 Simple Rules”. It truly was exciting to catch a
glimpse of these film icons.
When we had our fill of the city we headed out to the
coast where we visited some beautiful state parks including: Point Dume, Leo
Carrillo, and Malibu Lagoon. At the first two parks listed we were able to do
some hiking while we watched dolphins, whales, and sea lions frolic in the surf.
You can read more about those hikes on our hiking website
Natural Born Hikers. Surprisingly
enough there are also great places to hike right within the heart of Los
Angeles, the two best being Griffith Park and Runyon Canyon. These little jewels
of wilderness are a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city.
Without a doubt, even though the city was amazing, the
highlight of our trip was an excursion to the
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
near Lancaster, California just
north of Los Angeles. For years we had dreamt about
visiting this reserve with hopes of a good bloom year. You see, the poppies
don’t always put on a great display. Many factors have to be just right in order
for the orange blooms to blanket the hillsides, and even when all those factors
do come together the peak bloom is usually in mid-April. Our trip was for the
last week of March, so we prepared ourselves for
disappointment. But to our great pleasure the poppies decided to bloom early, and to have a stellar year! As we drove towards the
poppy reserve we could hardly believe our eyes! A sea of orange flowers spread
out before us in an almost embarrassing display of beauty. The blooms were so thick
and bright that it literally hurt your eyes. We couldn’t have been more pleased
with the fantastic views. How we lucked out to such an extent is beyond us, but
we sure our thankful for such blessings! The beauty of this hike earned it a
spot in our coveted Spectacular Hikes section of our aforementioned website. A
complete write-up and tons of poppy photos are available for your enjoyment on
our Antelope Valley Poppies page.
We hated to leave the pleasant weather of California,
but the time had come to return to our homes in Ohio. On our last night in Los
Angeles we drove the Pacific Coast Highway and admired the coastline complete
with a breathtaking sunset. It was the perfect end to an exciting and fulfilling
vacation.
