It was much later in the day than I had planned when I left LA and the traffic was bumper to bumper on the interstate going out. All going in the same direction as me, of course. I got off at the wrong exit and it took me 2 hours to get back on and go the way I was supposed to go. I was hungry but I wasn't about to exit again. That didn't happen until about 7 PM. I was very frustrated so there are no pictures of my leaving LA. Once we got out of traffic and back in the open land all we saw were hundreds of wind turbines. I had to get to Yuma that night to visit with my aunt and uncle and once again I was quickly running out of daylight. I had planned to stop in Palm Springs to see 2 more of Elvis' homes but darkness arrived before I did. I must do another trip!

We even went by the home of Nicole Brown Simpson. This is a pic of the infamous gate where she was murdered. There were painters there when I stopped by and I briefly thought of asking them if I could go inside but it just didn't feel right to do that. Now if it had been Elvis' house? In a heartbeat!

Elvis had 5 homes in this area and I found all of them. Well, 2 of the houses were no longer there but I found where they ONCE were. It was kind of surreal driving through the neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, Hollywood, and Brentwood. Seeing the street names that I have heard of and then seeing these incredible homes knowing that somebody famous must be living there. I just didn't know who. If I had my map BEFORE I took my spin in the neighborhood then I would have known!

This was Lucy and Desi's home and where she spent most of her years. I saw this one, too, after getting my map.

1174 Hillcrest located in Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills. What's so special? This was the home of Elvis Presley. He bought the house in 1967 and lived there with Priscilla and was home to Lisa Marie after her birth. He often came out to the gates to talk to fans.

The Beverly Hills Hotel. The hotel was featured on the cover of the Eagles album, Hotel California. It is also the home of the Polo Lounge, a favorite watering hole to the stars.

Ringo Starr's home.

More Rodeo Drive. There were shops, discrete plastic surgeon offices, and whatever else in the maze behind the other shops.

Driving down (or up) Rodeo Drive.

Rodeo Drive/Santa Monica sign.

The site where the Clampetts were filmed going into Beverly Hills in the opening of the tv show. I know all of this stuff now because I finally bought a Hollywood map just as we were leaving Hollywood.

After seeing all the famous clubs, etc. on the Sunset Strip we entered a completely different world in Beverly Hills.

I don't remember the reason for this photo. Sunset Blvd? We also drove by The Viper Room, owned by Johnny Depp and the site where River Phoenix died. Another block down is the world famous Whisky A Go-go, the birthplace of go-go dancing and where The Doors got their start as the house band. Many other big name groups got their start there too.

Capitol Records where so many great songs were recorded. Name any band, group or single artist and they most likely recorded here and the songs are still being recorded. The building is considered the first round office building in the world and was made to look like a stack of records.

The Knickerbocker Hotel was famous back in the golden days of Hollywood. Here's some more trivia: Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe honeymooned here, William Frawley (Fred Mertz from I Love Lucy) died in the lobby, Houdini's wife conducted seances from the roof, Frances Farmer was dragged out half naked to have a forced lobotomy, and Elvis stayed here while making those very first Hollywood movies such as Love Me Tender.

Elvis sightings everywhere although I did not find his star on the Walk of Fame. The stars were on both sides of the street for several blocks. We walked and saw some but again the time constraints forced us leave.

Yes, I know it's sideways but I am too lazy to fix it.

We visited the walk outside of Grauman's Chinese Theater but we didn't tour inside. Here are pics of some of the foot and hand prints.

Hollywood High and a bit of trivia: Carol Burnett, Ricky Nelson, Sharon Tate, Carol Lombard, Judy Garland, Judge Wapner, and Fay Wray are just a few of those who were educated here.

I had to mail my postcards from the famous zip code, Beverly Hills, 90210.

The next day we do a bit of sightseeing before heading east for the long drive home. A REALLY nice home on top of the hill somewhere in Hollywood/Beverly Hills.

Santa Monica Pier in the distance.

After a delicious meal at Bubba Gumps we went for a little drive to Palisade's Park and Muscle Beach. Since it was now nighttime we didn't explore much but we just wanted to say we've been there. And we were.

The Pacific Ocean at sunset.

Entrance to the pier.

Almost dark but we made it! Nathan looks thrilled. And he really is!

Happy and sad at the same time as we finally reached our destination.

Beverly Hills. Just passing through but we will return the next day.

The Formosa Cafe where the stars ate, and still do. In the background is the Warner Hollywood Studio. I wanted to stop here to eat but again time wouldn't allow it. Elvis ate here too. :)

Click on the link to read the history of the cafe. It's interesting.

http://www.seeing-stars.com/Dine2/Formosa.shtml

Pictures of road signs as proof that I was there. Yep.

"Ventura Highway, in the sunshine /Where the days are longer /The nights are stronger than moonshine /You're gonna go I know"

Home to the Academy Awards, American Idol, and many other events, the Kodak Theater.

Sunset Blvd

I have never been awestruck of the Hollywood scene but there I was acting like the typical tourist with my mouth open and saying "wow". We had to get out and walk a bit and made it to the famous Hollywood and Vine intersection. I was determined to make to the end of the road before nightfall so we went on to Santa Monica but would return to Hollywood for the night.

I'm beginning to feel jittery now.

Foothills Blvd is now Colorado Blvd home of the Rose Bowl Parade. As we enter Pasadena and I know we are close to the end the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean begin to drown out the Eagles songs in my head. (The Little Old Lady from Pasadena, Fun Fun Fun, Surf City, Good Vibrations, I Get Around, Surfin USA, Dead Man's Curve and on an on).

We passed through Rancho Cucamongo, a place I remember hearing about a long time ago by a comedian but I don't remember his name. This is the Colorado St Bridge also known as the Suicide Bridge although I don' t know why. It's very pretty with it's ornate guardrails and lamp posts.

From the 1920's

There was so much to see as we traveled west on Foothills Blvd. The original McDonald's. The McDonalds brothers started here with the Golden Arches before selling to Ray Kroc and McDonalds as we now know it. There's a dinosaur museum here, along with other Route 66 museums. Some places are returning to the Route 66 flavor. The Wigwam motel, home to infamous "do it in a teepee", has been restored back to it's reputable place along with the only other Wigwam motel in Arizona. There's plenty of neon, restaurants, and gift shops along the way. Business's are taking pride in their Route 66 heritage and include '66' their names. This station has been forgotten.

These orange juice stands used to be found practically on every corner. This is possibly the last one remaining.

After Barstow there are small towns with museums and places to stop but we only had time to pass through. Vintage motels that now have a different flavor are here and there along the way. Will see it again on another road trip maybe? The temperature drops dramatically as we enter Cajon Pass. Glimpses of old Route 66 pavement can be seen at times.

Bottle Tree Ranch, a very unique bottle collection.

The next two pictures belong with the other that is out of place. This was before the sun went down.

An Airstream. This picture is out of order, it belongs several photos back but I'm not going to fix it now but I liked it and wanted to post it.

The end of 100 miles of solitude and a couple of ghost towns as we are just about to cross the interstate and make it to Barstow for the night. Before Barstow Route 66 runs into the Marine Corps Logistics Base so we have to detour onto the interstate.

This is one of my most favorite single moments of the entire trip. Days ago when we were in Winslow, Arizona Nathan picked up an Eagles CD that he just had to have. Needless to say it was on continuous play the rest of the trip. While driving through the Mojave and listening to this particular song with the sun going down I couldn't help but get out of the car and make this very amateur video. But it was so perfect.