With attractions being closed left and right, we had to improvise today. We were also bundled up, since it’s practically nippy here.
First off was the Santa Monica Pier.
The famous amusement park is much smaller than it looks on TV and in films (and of course it was closed).
Last May, during the #BayouWeddingTour, we reached the start of Route 66. Now, we’ve made it to the end (or the beginning, depending on your direction).
We went out to the pier to go on a bus tour of Malibu’s celebrity homes. Despite some confusion up front (we were told to come back a bit later, then a bit later again, before they would check us in), the tour itself was a lot of fun. Due to either the weather or the virus, we were the only ones on the tour.
The homes on the coast are small but VERY expensive—starting at $10M, with a 50 year wait to get one. Stars buy them and then visit once in a while. Names like Barbra, Leo, J Lo, Cher, Ellen, and the Friends cast were mentioned. Bill Murray rents his out for $100K a month. Here’s just a few, shot thru rainy windows.
Here’s the gate to Ellen’s new house.
A view from up the hill.
This house has AN OBSERVATORY.
After that, we headed over to an LA institution—Pink’s Hot Dogs.
Chili cheese dogs, onion rings, and guac.
Next stop - the La Brea Tar Pits.
I expected this to be more touristy, but it’s actually a research site and a museum.
This is one of actual “tar pits” - it’s actually asphalt.
These are crates of fossil material that were filled back in 2008. The researchers have been carefully working through the crates since then.
The next stop was a piece of comedy history—a long set of stairs between two streets. A Laurel and Hardy comedy called “The Music Box” had the boys trying to deliver a piano to a home at the top of the steps (of course, it turned out they could have just driven it up the other way).
Well, this is ANOTHER fine mess you’ve gotten us into!
Then it was off to the Echo Park Time Travel Mart—a storefront/art installation that seems unstuck in time. Proceeds from actual products go to a local art collective.
Right down the street is a site used by a certain TV show involving a 3 hour tour…
SKIPPERRRR!!!!
Finally, we returned to the hotel with a small snack from a Farmer’s Market..
THat’ll do it for tonight. Tomorrow, we go to several miscellaneous sites for our final full day.
#beautifuldowntownburbank