As we drove around the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles area, I told my husband to be on the lookout for the Hollywood Sign. I imagined it to be a North star in a city of stars. Sure enough, when we turned onto one road, there, straight ahead, it was. We had seen many a natural wonder on our California adventure – redwoods, Yosemite, Morro Rock, the Pacific Ocean, the rocky coast of Monterey and Big Sur – but an argument can be made that there is nothing more California than these nine steel letters.
In an episode of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, two of the women take a walk in Lake Hollywood Park. (Travel Tip: Never discount where you might source a new place to visit.) Here you have a fantastic view of the Hollywood Sign.
Weaving our way through a residential area of very nice homes, winding higher and higher, at every third turn we would catch a closer look at the 350-foot wide legendary sign. Finding a parking spot with a perfect photo opportunity, HOLLYWOOD seemed close enough to touch. We never did find the lake but with this being the last day of vacation driving Mister Rain would do after 8 days and 1,300 miles, it didn’t seem that important.
Our next stop was the Griffith Observatory. I have known about this place for years, long before I watched Adele’s concert there on TV in November 2021. It is an actual observatory located on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood.
In December 1896, Griffith J. Griffith donated 3,000 acres of land surrounding the observatory to the City of Los Angeles. In his will he also bequeathed funds to build an observatory, planetarium and exhibit hall. Griffith wanted to make astronomy accessible to everyone, not just scientists. With that in mind, admission has been free since the observatory opened in 1935, in accordance with Griffith’s will.
Griffith Observatory is probably more known, however, for its magnificent, breathtaking views of Los Angeles, Hollywood and the Pacific Ocean.
The next day we would fly home. Using binoculars, I looked at the LA skyline one last time. I had not found fame and fortune in a place where so many do, that has never been my dream. A young Sister Rain could not have imagined that one day she would be in this city where all her favorite shows – Starsky & Hutch, Emergency!, CHiPs – were filmed. Maybe this is the best kind of dream: one you didn’t even know that you had.
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