On my way to LA I took a detour to see General Sherman in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. It’s the largest tree by volume on Earth so I had to see it. Boy let me tell you it was worth the detour. I had camped out and hiked among the Redwoods and these sequoias absolutely dwarfed them. These trees were completely indescribable. They were unbelievably huge. Not only that, but the drive into the park was something else. The hairpin turns and the steep drops only feet away from the side of the road were white knuckle inducing. It was breathtaking regardless though. To be able to stand in front of General Sherman and have pictures taken was a once in a lifetime experience. I looked at the pictures afterwards and I looked like an ant next to this behemoth. I headed out of the park and made my way to LA.
Talk about going from one extreme to the other. The juxtaposition of some of the nights I’ve spent in places is a part of this trip that I have really enjoyed so far. One night I am camping out with no cell service in a national park and the next night I’m amongst the hustle and bustle of a city like LA.
I got settled in the Motel 6 and headed straight for the Hollywood Boulevard. I had been told by one of my friends before this trip that she was disappointed by LA because it wasn’t as glitzy or glamoury as she hoped it would be. Walking down Hollywood Boulevard I could absolutely see what she meant. There were knock off shops everywhere, people constantly coming up to you trying to sell you stuff, homeless people all over. It was a side of LA that no one is going to advertise. However, when I got to the Walk of Fame and walked up and down reading name after name and when I got to Robin Williams’ star it was still surreal. Despite everything going on around me I was focused on this history beneath my feet and I had trouble believing I was really here. Especially seeing Robin Williams’ star because he is one of my biggest idols. It didn’t matter who was trying to sell me stuff or that there was a knockoff Spiderman walking around in a crappy costume trying to scam people for pictures. I was on the Hollywood Walk of Fame reading the names of legends like Robin Williams, Don Rickles, Al Pacino and the lest just goes on and on. It was dreamlike. I continued on to the Chinese Theater and the surrealism hit again. I looked down at the hundreds of hand prints and foot prints in front of the theater. Shirley Temple, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep. Superstars of the entertainment industry and here I was walking around the marks that they had left. I snapped myself out of my amazement and decided it was time to go grab some food.
I walked over to Pink’s, an LA mainstay, for a chili dog. As I stood in line with all of the other people two guys got in line behind me. The older one asked if I knew whether or not if the hot dogs had pork. I said I had no idea as I was just visiting and hadn’t been here before. They asked where I was visiting from and I said Boston. They were from Philly, Elijah and Andrew. I explained the entire trip to them and they were amazed. They were so excited to hear about all the places I’ve bee and all the places I still had to get to. They thought it was so cool I was doing something like this and wanted to hear all about it. We talked and talked the entire way through the line. I ordered my chili dogs and moved through the line. As the gentleman in front of me paid for himself and his family he told the cashier he’d like to pay for my meal as well. He had heard me telling Elijah and Andrew about the trip and thought it was awesome. I was stunned. I thanked him 2 or 3 times and told him I really appreciated it. I grabbed a table for myself and Elijah and Andrew. We sat and ate and I told them more about the places I’d seen so far. Elijah was so excited about it. He told me he wanted to follow the rest of the trip. I gave him my Instagram and Snahpchat info and he told me to make sure I hit him up when I was in Philly. I told him to count on it. I thanked them for having dinner with me and told them I had to be heading out though because I had a comedy show to get to at The Comedy Store.
I grabbed my car and headed toward The Comedy Store. I walked in and got seated. I looked around the room at the stage and all the signs hanging up. Again the surrealism set in. I was sitting in a place where greats like Richard Pryor and Robin Williams honed their craft. The show was pretty good. I didn’t know any of the performers until we were told there was a special guest dropping in. Onto the stage walked Andrew Dice Clay. He performed for about a half hour and it was fantastic. He was raunchy as can be and chain-smoked like a chimney. It was the perfect ending to my first day in Hollywood. I had seen the Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theater, and now I was seeing a giant of the comedy world perform. I headed back to my room after the show and could not have been happier.
I got up the next day and headed out to get some pictures of the Hollywood sign. I walked past the Dolby Theater and was able to get a few good shots of the sign. I walked around Hollywood Boulevard a bit more then checked out both the Hollywood Wax Museum and Madame Tussauds. Both of them were amazing. Madame Tussauds was far better than the Hollywood Wax Museum but still they were both so much fun. I posed in different scenes with Hugh Hefner and Ryan Gosling and Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. I took pictures with George Lopez and Robin Williams. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I worked my way through each museum and took what must have been hundreds of pictures. Charlie Chaplin, Taylor Swift, Bruce Willis. You name them and I’m sure I got a picture with or of them. It was an absolute blast.
After the museums I walked over to get a haircut that I was in desperate need of. Feeling much better I went back to my room to get cleaned up as I had plans to go to dinner with my uncle and aunt. We went to the Pig ‘N Whistle, another LA landmark that was established in 1827. The theme of trying new things continued as I got my first taste of fried calamari. It was pretty good, definitely something I’d try again. I followed it up with a house specialty entree of Rustic Shepherd’s Pie. It was delicious, as has everything been so far on this trip. I ate and caught up with my aunt and uncle and then we left and walked around the boulevard a bit longer. The time came for us to part and I told them it was great to see them. I walked back to my motel room satisfied. I was satisfied with dinner, with the day, with the entire stay in LA. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I thought back to what my friend had told me about being disappointed. I was surely not disappointed. I understood what she meant but I was too engrossed in the history of where I was that nothing else mattered to me.
I went to bed hoping this high of good times would continue on into Vegas.
Joey's Great American Adventure 
Leave a comment