| I wanted to sleep in this morning, but a couple of weeks ago I told myself that I would go to Disneyland this morning. My car needed servicing, but I figured it could wait another week, and I would go to Disneyland today. Well, in the process of scheduling the oil change the website was being uncooperative. I tried going on my phone, and finally got on the mobile site to make the appointment. Well, I made the appointment for the wrong day, and instead of next week I made it for this week. Dummy me. So, I woke up early, took a shower and flew out the door. The dealer's waiting room was nice. They fixed it up. Last time I was there they were in the middle of doing it, and now it's done. The wait wasn't long, and I was out of there quick. I wanted to get some breakfast. I looked on my phone for some place. I found one that looked good, but stupid me didn't plot out the route before jumping into the car and racing down the street. I pulled over to check where this place was. It was in the opposite direction. I didn't feel like doubling back. I went to Carl's Jr. After breakfast I wanted to go to Burbank to see some display at a local comic shop. They have an exhibit inspired by the Museum of the Weird concept that eventually became the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. I didn't want to go straight home though. What with my twenty question aunt at home. I decided to drive up to Mulholland and drive it back to my house. I drove up and just at the start of Mulholland I turned onto the Hollywood Bowl overlook. I figured it was a nice spot to just look over my city. I didn't expect that the place was packed with tourist vans filled with sightseers. I ended up having a great time just watching them.
 Hollywood Bowl overlook  The City that Dreams Built  Some of the tourists  A lonely pay telescope  People looking over the sign that describes the overlook and the road that would be named after him was the idea of Mulholland to, 'Make the mountains accessible to the people of Los Angeles.'  Another group of tourists jumping off the tour vans to see the sight of this city.  Young man looking up.  Everyone stops at this sign and reads it. A man walked up and mentioned how that movie 'Chinatown' was about Mulholland. Yes and no my good man. The real history of his city is obscured under many layers, but it's not contained in a movie.  
This is typical up in the overlook. Everyone wants a picture of the downtown Los Angeles skyline. Funny though, I doubt many of the same tourist ever visit downtown. Why would they, right? There's a saying that Los Angeles is the most beautiful city in the world, when seen from afar. I think that's why people come up to the overlook, and the Griffith Observatory. These places offer us all a look at the city without having to really see the details. I heard a woman tell her friend, 'That's Hollywood, and over there is Santa Monica, and beyond that is Malibu.' It's all so easy to take in when you're looking from above. It's like looking at a huge model. It doesn't looked lived in. It's out there, not in your face. A woman looked over the city and said, 'To think, we're seeing the population of New Zealand right there.' We who live in this city often forget how huge it is. We reside in our little corner of the city and often don't venture very far. I've decided that I need to be a tourist in my own town. To see it all. From Chatsworth to San Pedro. It's a great city. The city for the next five hundred years, I once wrote in my notes for a novel that, "That isn't actually a good thing. 'Unless you count this notion that Los Angeles is the most human of cities. 'Which again, isn't always a good thing.' End Communication. |
