Across The USA by Dodge
Chapter 5
An L.A. [everyone calls Los Angeles "L.A." -- on the other hand no one calls San Francisco "Frisco" which was interesting] city tour was top stuff -- the tour guide (a Mexican lady named Monica) was really clued up on all the attractions and it was very enjoyable. I got to see heaps of things that have been in movies * plus drove through Beverly Hills (90210 wow!), along Rodeo Drive and Sunset Strip etc.
* Just off the top of my head I saw the railway station where the end of "Rain Man" was filmed; "Elm Street" from the Freddy movies; the railway carriage diner used in "Superman II" and a couple of other movies; the high school in "Grease", the hotel used in "Blade Runner" for the Deckard/Batty confrontation, the storm drain in "Terminator 2" plus heaps of others.
Sunset Strip was interesting -- such places as Whisky Au Go Go and other locations made famous by movie or rock stars like Jim Morrison.
We stopped at Mann's Chinese Theatre which had "Batman" playing at the time and walked all over the hand and palm prints, put my hands into Humphrey Bogart's and checked out the Stars on the sidewalk (James Garner).
Hollywood is certainly not all that glamorous however -- I'd describe it as rather sleazy. There's heaps of people hanging out on the street corners begging or doing whatever (planning a crime most likely) and it's not a place I'd recommend for a pleasant afternoon stroll -- and after dark, forget it!
I went to Universal Studios which was also good. A lot of people say it's over-rated but two attractions alone are worth the price of admission. "Backdraft" is hot (10,000 degrees) in both senses of the word and the Earthquake set was absolutely brilliant. It's just amazing what sorts of things can be done in movies. They were filming an episode of "Beverly Hills 90210" the day I was there so I got to see Shannen Doherty who's a real stunner. She was in the movie "Heathers" which is one of my favourites.
I also went to Long Beach and saw the Spruce Goose and the Queen Mary. The Spruce Goose is a damn big plane (built by Howard Hughes) -- Antony would probably know all about it -- while the Queen Mary is equally immense. It was being used as a hotel.
They reckon the cost of keeping the Queen Mary is so much that it's sending the city of Long Beach broke and they're going to sell it off. There was a story in the paper while I was there that if no one buys it they'll tow it out into the harbour and sink it and use it as an artificial reef for fishing and diving.
The Spruce Goose was sold while I was in America and removed from Long Beach not long after I visited it.
Chapter 6
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