On Thursday 2/5, we left San Diego and started our journey North toward Los Angeles. We made a quick stop near Torrey Pines golf course to see more of the Pacific coastline, drove past Mission San Juan Capistrano, and arrived at our hotel in Redondo Beach which is just a bit south of Los Angeles.

Fortunately, we were able to check in early; we had just enough time to unload the car and then continue driving North into Hollywood because we had tickets to be in the studio audience at Jimmy Kimmel Live! The show tapes at around 5pm, but we had to be there by 3:30 to get in line and ensure that we’d get seats (having a ticket doesn’t guarantee entry because they give out more tickets than seats to ensure it’s a full house). We got our first taste of LA traffic, but overall it wasn’t too bad of a drive.

Kimmel’s studio is at the El Capitan Theatre which is on Hollywood Boulevard, across from the famous Chinese Theatre and where the Hollywood Walk of Fame is, so we got a chance to check those out before & after the taping.

We had to lock up our phones so I couldn’t get any pictures inside the studio. Overall, it was a fun experience. The employees were all very friendly and helpful, and the process was well-organized and smooth…it just takes a while! It’s a small studio, seating fewer than 200 people (I can’t imagine how long security would have taken it if was any larger!). We were seated next to the band, The Cletones, and just in front of the announcer, Lou. Jimmy’s guests were actors Milo Ventimiglia and Odessa a’Zion. I don’t think anyone would ever know it was us in the audience, but we had fun! We grabbed dinner nearby afterwards, and made the journey back to our hotel.

On Friday, we started our day at Hollyhock, the first home Frank Lloyd Wright designed in California. It’s very different from his usual homes, made of stucco that looks like concrete instead of brick, and offering much higher, more elaborate ceilings and some really large spaces. The building is adorned with stylized hollyhock flowers and sits in a city park. Wright was originally supposed to design about 17 buildings for this park, but only a few were actually done and Hollyhock is the only one available to tour at this time. Hollyhock is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Los Angeles.

From there, we went to nearby Griffith Park. It’s over 4,200 acres and sits in the Santa Monica mountains. We drove to the top and visited Griffith Observatory. It offers an incredible view of the city, the mountains, and of course, the Hollywood sign! The architecture and details on the observatory building are impressive, too!

Our final stop for the day was the Academy Museum which is full of exhibits related to the Academy Awards and films that have been honored over the years. We walked through several of the exhibits and saw some cool artifacts from a variety of movies.

On Saturday, we made a 50-mile drive North to Simi Valley to visit the Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. The museum does a wonderful job telling the story of our 40^th President, from his childhood in Illinois to his time as an actor, and then his political career as Governor of California and two terms in the White House. We’ve been to many Presidential Libraries, and this was one of the best we’ve seen – it was very concise and focused on the most important accomplishments, rather than trying to present all the details of his eight years in DC. And, the setting is by far the most beautiful of any we’ve been to – surrounded by the beautiful Southern California mountains. Really interesting and enjoyable visit!

We decided to take a different route back to our hotel, along the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu. Several miles of the route took us past one of the areas that was hit hardest by the wildfires last January – about 600 homes were destroyed in Malibu, and we saw so many lots surrounded by fences that were either empty or showing just a few remnants of the houses that used to be there. So incredibly sad, and also so unbelievable to see the houses that miraculously survived while neighboring houses did not.

On our way, we made a small detour to see the Venice Canal Historic District; a developer built these canals in 1905 as part of his “Venice of America” effort. They are so cute, with little arched bridges over each of them, and lined with small boats. I’m sure it’s a very desirable neighborhood to live in!

We decided to check out downtown LA on Sunday. Our first stop was Union Station – as evidenced by this blog, I enjoy seeing train stations in the cities we visit, and this was another fantastic building. The exterior is pretty standard Spanish Colonial, but the interior is full of amazing details and lots of Art Deco components. It was built in 1939 and is considered the last of our country’s great train stations.

Across from the station is Plaza Olvera and LA’s oldest town. There are several historic buildings, a firehouse, and El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.

Our next stop was a building I’ve wanted to see for a long time – the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The steel building was designed by Frank Gehry, who also designed Chicago’s Pritzker Pavilion. His work is so distinctive and absolutely breathtaking. The building was completed in 2003, and funded by Walt’s wife, Lillian. Beautiful home for the LA Philharmonic!

From there, we headed to the historic district and walked along Broadway. Our first stop was the Bradbury Building from 1893. The exterior is nice…but the interior is incredible! Amazing ornate ironwork everywhere, marble stairs, and a glass ceiling to flood the atrium with light. It’s the oldest commercial building in central LA, and is a National Historic Landmark.

Across the street, we visited Grand Central Market which opened in 1917. It’s full of more than 40 different restaurants and food vendors – anything you could possibly want – and they have an effort underway to preserve the market’s neon signs.

Our next stop was the world’s shortest railway, Angels Flight. Built in 1901, it’s a funicular that travels about 300 feet. There are two cars that run in opposite directions on a shared cable. It was a short but fun ride up, and then back down, the small hill!

Then we spent some time walking along Broadway which is full of old theatres, interesting architecture, and lots of opportunities for photos!

It was a fun day exploring a different side of Los Angeles, and we made it back to our hotel in plenty of time to watch Super Bowl 60 and enjoy seeing the Patriots go down!

We had a quiet morning on Monday, but a fabulous afternoon touring the Walt Disney Studios! As soon as I found out tours were offered, I immediately joined the Disney Fan Club D23 (you have to be a member to schedule a tour) and booked the tour, and I am so glad I did! Like all things Disney, it did not disappoint. We had an incredible tour guide, and she spent almost three hours showing us around the studio and sharing tons of stories about the history of Walt Disney and the studio. We saw the animation building, the ink & paint building, the company headquarters, Legends Plaza, and some of the original buildings that were moved from their initial location to the current studio site. It was all wonderful, but the highlight was seeing Walt’s office. It’s been preserved exactly as it was when he passed away in 1966; if walls could talk…

After this highlight of our trip, we drove to Beverly Hills, had a quick dinner, and saw the famed Rodeo Drive, plus a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Oh, and I almost forgot…on our way to Disney Studios, we made one quick detour, to see the Brady Bunch house. I grew up watching the Brady kids, and couldn’t miss the opportunity to see the house they “lived” in!

Tuesday brought another fantastic & memorable experience – we got to be members of the studio audience for three episodes of Jeopardy! We watch the show every day and have for so many years, it was high on my list to do this while in LA, and fortunately their taping schedule cooperated (they only tape about 45 days a year…but they record five shows each of those days, so a full week happens in a day). They keep the same audience for the first three shows and then bring in a new group for the last two shows. It’s a long process, similar to Jimmy Kimmel Live, but absolutely worth it to enter the Alex Trebek stage and witness our favorite quiz show! No photos were allowed in the actual studio. The shows will air on March 9, 10, & 11th, so look for us in the audience!

When we left Sony Pictures Studios, we headed to The Getty, a renowned art museum funded by J. Paul Getty. The architecture alone is so impressive, and the collections inside are also pretty cool! The weather on Tuesday was not great – cloudy, damp, and windy – so you’ll notice a lack of blue skies in the photos, and we definitely didn’t want to spend extra time outside, but the gardens we saw were beautiful. It was a short visit, but really glad we had a chance to check it out!

These are a few of my favorite items from the galleries…

And that brings us to the end of our time in the city of angels. Overall, Mark and I were both pleasantly surprised – it was much nicer than expected! And during our travels through many different neighborhoods, we enjoyed seeing the wide variety of architectural styles and some absolutely gorgeous homes…and some ordinary ones that are well over $1 million. The traffic is horrendous…while probably comparable to Chicago, it seemed much worse – likely because we were in it everyday. On average, it would take us an hour to go about 20 miles. Fair division of labor…I do the planning, Mark does the driving. Next up…Disneyland!