It is always a thrill to be able to see how fast one can get around town on the freeways in Los Angeles. I love freeway hopping especially when the traffic is light.
The mission of this latest trip to town was to find my great great grandfather’s grave in Forest Lawn. In that regard, I failed miserably. Ran out of time to search the hundreds of graves in the section that I had previously pinpointed. Will be back. For those who have never been here before (located in Glendale) – this is the cemetery of all cemetery’s. Its one massive sprawling lawn over hills with thousands of graves and impressive mausoleums – it is like its own oasis within Los Angeles. Many famous celebrities are buried or entombed here – Walt Disney, Michael Jackson – the list goes on. But at least I did discover my great grandfather’s home nearby.
Always fun to hit up “new” museums in town – somewhat touristy but I had never been to the fairly new Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Hollywood. Star struck tourists apparently see this as an affordable alternative to meeting the real celebs. Step out of the glittering elevator on the 3rd floor and you take a second glance at the person seated in front of you. It’s “George Clooney” – after a few passes by you notice that one person holding a camera here does not move like the rest of the camera toting young tourists. Its a wax statue like all the others.
I parked nearby and became frightened when I saw 3 cops out of the corner of my eye and heard an exchange of really nasty language and aggressive tones near where I was parking. But its Hollywood, and as I stepped out of my vehicle I saw the cameras. Or maybe LAPD has started filming incidents with their personal camera person, but I doubt it.
LACOT was holding a meet-up in the evening at the gorgeous Xbar at the Hyatt in Century on the Avenue of Stars off of Santa Monica Blvd.
It was great to meetup with the following:
Lisa of www.wesaidgotravel.com – @wesaidgotravel (send off for their next RTW trip!)
Jennifer @JenniferMiner
Melanie of www.travelswithtwo.com
Vy of www.contiki.com – @thatsvy
and new acquaintances:
Allison of – @allytravels
Michael of – @BTEMichael
Caitlin of www.ogilvypr.com
Kay of www.facebook.com/kay.raetong
Elyse of www.elyseglickman.com
-
- Forest Lawn, Glendale
-
- Robert Redford & Paul Newman
-
- The dungeon in Silence of the Lambs
-
- The Man, Will Smith
-
- The “new” Dolby Theatre
-
- The beautiful Ingrid Bergman
You’re right, Forest Lawn is huge. My grandfather is buried there, and it would take me days to find him I’m sure, especially since I don’t know which section he’s buried in. It doesn’t surprise me that the cemetery isn’t even in LA but Glendale instead; there would never be enough space to have it in LA proper.
Did you enjoy going to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum? I’m from LA and I’ve still never been because I always thought it was cheesy and a little creepy, but I could be wrong.
Hi Katie – yea, I had the section number of the cemetery and basic plot info and then had to ask the lady in the main office to help. Even then, it was overwhelming to find – but I’ll take more time when I revisit.
Yea, I’m visiting all the major museums and many of the smaller ones in town – the wax museum was never high on my list but since I was in Hollywood I decided to stop by. It was better than expected – sure, its touristy – but part of the fun is watching the out of town tourists ooh and ahh over the statues, just like they were the real thing!
Maybe you can drop by one of our upcoming LACOT events if you have time. Thanks for stopping by 🙂