Heading North Slowly

After three very comfortable months in San Diego, we finally decided it was warm enough to start moving north. So we loaded up the bus and we moved to Beverly. Hills, that is. Swimming pools... movie stars! Well, Anaheim actually.

We can see Disneyland from here and the fireworks every night are fantastic. OK, they are fantastic if you are me. If you are Vicki, the fireworks are noisey and can be annoying, kind of like humming birds... I like humming birds. We both like Disney though, and seeing the original park is very exciting. Every time we have been to Disneyworld in Florida, the submarine ride has been closed. We finally got to ride it here. We rode the old classic Matterhorn Bobsled rollercoaster ride and several others, but we're going back tomorrow to complete our Disney craving. One particularly interesting thing I've seen at Disneyland is the ASIMO Robot demonstration. We've all seen ASIMO on TV commercials for Honda, but to see this robot in person is amazing. The future possibilities of this machine as an aid to the handicapped population are incredible.

Then there was Hollywood... A mere 35 miles from where we are sitting, lies Hollywood. We had to remove the roof rack from the Jeep before we drove to Hollywood Boulevard because the parking garages seem to feel that six foot six inches is enough... We are six foot nine inches with the rack on. Vicki helped remove the rack, it's heavier than we thought. Anyway, the rack is back on and Hollywood was very interesting. The old town part of Hollywood is almost gone, but the tourist trap Hollywood Boulevard section is alive and well. So many charactor actors and impersonators line the streets that it is hard to walk. Try walking past Michael Jackson on a 9 foot wide sidewalk while people take pictures. There is a nice mall there where you can see the Hollywood sign from the outdoor eating area. The mall is connected to the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are awarded. I've never understood an award named after a green puppet who lives in a trashcan, but all the really good actors seem to win them and Vicki assures me that there is no connection. Of course we walked down Hollywood Boulevard on all the stars, some that you recognize, some that you hardly even heard of... The Chinese Theater with the hand and foot imprints from the stars imbedded in the concrete was crowded, yet interesting. I think Hollywood was probably way more interesting in the 1930's through the 1950's.

The traffic between Anaheim and Hollywood was a whole new experience. I-5, six lanes wide, bumper to bumper traffic. Average speed about 9mph... Then 75mph until they catch up to the next group of vehicles and slam on the brakes. The drivers in the LA area are some of the most rude and unaware that I have ever seen. The slinky effect that all truckers are aware of is beyond the grasp of the average LA driver. Hurry up and stop rather than slower and smooth seems to be the standard. I can't wait to get out of overpopulated areas.

By the way, we were awakened at 4:04 am by a violent shaking caused by a magnitude 4.4 earthquake with the epicenter only about 8 miles away. This is our third earthquake in just over three months in southern California. Our first one was more fun, we were in San Diego with our daughter Kacy and the ground just rocked back and forth for a minute or so. This one was different, with a couple of sharp jolts. The news said it was a garden variety earthquake for this area but we beg to differ... No place could be safer than a parked RV.