HOLY HOLLYWOOD

Evening, 

Well, this morning I hopped on the 5 from Orange County and made my way towards LA.  It took me an hour to get there.  Then, it took me an hour to get to Hollywood.  Holy traffic!

First stop was Runyon Canyon State Park.  I was setting out to hike up to the top of the canyon which provides an excellent view of downtown LA, the ocean on a clear day, and the Hollywood sign!

Side note:  I don't live life with many rules.  Treat others how you would like to be treated.  OK, well that's about all I can think of at the moment.  Anyways, I have a new rule!  Any man between diapers and diapers, say 3 to 107 years old, NEEDS to hike Runyon Canyon at least once in their life.  I had heard tales that this is where striving/starving stars and starlets come to exercise.  Well, as it turns out, the scene was simply ridiculous.  I am dead serious when I say I saw 100 women that were drop dead gorgeous and I only hiked for 2 hours.  My head was spinning.  I did my best to rescue a few wandering puppies and provided a hand or two when scaling some of the tougher parts of the trail.  What good that did me!  I ate dinner in the Whole Foods parking lot, ALONE.

At the top of the canyon, there were approximately 25 20-something year old women doing yoga. I told myself that they were all drug addicts and hate babies and old people.  That was the only way I could get myself to move on and get back down to my car.

After Runyon, I made my way over to Hollywood BLVD, Sunset BLVD and Santa Monica BLVD.  I took to the streets on foot and explored all day.  The people watching was spectacular.  I am comfortable in saying that I am a pretty average looking dude.  If Hollywood was casting for average, and I was in the running, I'd be thrilled.  That said, I was the ugliest person I saw all day and it wasn't even close.  This place is simply ridiculous.  I think I developed an eating disorder and an inferiority complex in about 20 minutes.  

Highlight of my day in Hollywood was a toss up between a guy dressed as a Transformer running up and down the street and a street performer playing guitar with a sign that said all proceeds would go directly towards destroying Justin Beiber.  I gave him $1.  Good luck dude!

I spent an hour or so looking at the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.  I had no idea that there are 2,500+/- stars running up and down Hollywood BLVD.  I took a picture of a few that I liked.  Walt Disney had gum all over his.  Frank Sinatra's was under a construction cone.  I couldn't find mine.  Odd.

After Hollywood, I set out on foot to the Hollywood Bowl.  Fellow music lovers may know this as one of the venues here in the US that is almost like a right of passage to play in for the whos who of music history.  Anyone worth their salt has played here.  Essentially, it is an outdoor amphitheater in between Hollywood and Hollywood Hills.  There was no show this evening but that didn't stop me from letting myself in.  I sat in the upper deck with my iPod and listened to a few live recordings of mine that were recorded there.  It was me all alone in an 18,000 seat amphitheater listening to songs that were recorded there at some point in the past.  The experience is hard for me to describe, but suffice it to say, it was really really cool. And no, I don't do drugs.  Before I was finished, a security guard kicked me out.   Then I found $5.

Mark/Chops

CRUISIN UP THE 5 FROM ORANGE COUNTY TO LA

HOLLYWOOD HILLS

HAZY LA

TOP OF RUNYON CANYON.  HOLLYWOOD SIGN IS TO MY RIGHT

THE CANYON PART OF RUNYON CANYON

HOLLYWOOD BOWL ALL TO MYSELF! HOW COOL!  LOOK CLOSELY ON THE TOP OF THE PICTURE AND YOU CAN SEE THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN.  HAZY NIGHT :(

HOLLYWOOD BOWL STAGE: I WAITED AN HOUR TO ASK HER TO DINNER.  SHE WAS STILL REHEARSING.  I WAS HUNGRY SO I LEFT.  I BET SHE READS MY BLOG. RAIN CHECK?

"FIRST, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY"... IF I WON ONE OF THOSE TROPHIES, I'D WEAR MY CLEMSON JERSEY ON STAGE AND THANK RUNYON CANYON STATE PARK FOR EXISTING.

INSIDE JOKE WITH JENNYE FROM BOSTON AND JODIE AND LEE FROM LONDON!   I AM POINTING AT JIM CAREY, NOT... I AM POINTING AT JIM CAREY.

MY FAVORITE STAR THAT I SAW

CHUCK NORRIS IS THE REASON WALDO IS HIDING
CHUCK NORRIS CAN CUT THROUGH A HOT KNIFE WITH BUTTER
CHUCK NORRIS CAN UNDERSTAND WOMEN

"IF PEEING YOUR PANTS IS COOL, CONSIDER ME MILES DAVIS" 

WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST CROWDED STAR.

ONCE UPON A TIME, THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.


And those hollywood nights 
In those hollywood hills 
It was looking so right 
It was giving him chills 
In those big city nights 
In those high rolling hills 
Above all the lights 
With a passion that kills 
Bob Seger

The Future Is No Place To Place Your Better Days