When Kara and I first started thinking about our trip, we
started with big ideas. We tossed around ideas like Europe and Canada as well
as other destinations like North Carolina and Washington. We circled around
ideas, desires, schedules and people we may know in each of the destinations
until we landed upon the one, the only, California.
When I was about four or five years old I established two
loves. One of my loves is one that most of my peers and family already know
about: my love of basketball. My other love is compatible with basketball, but
slightly different: my love of performance. I began dance lessons when I was
three years old. This began the era of me stealing the spot light every time my
grandparents would come over by hopping on my parents’ wooden coffee table
(that I would eventually ruin with my tap shoes) and dancing and singing away.
But before I could fall in love with Christina Aguilera or Britney’s latest
single, I fell in love with the singing, dancing child of the 1930s, Shirley
Temple. She was my inspiration, my first role model. So naturally, when I found
out she spent her life performing in Hollywood, my dreams were set, I would go
to Hollywood as soon as I was able; I would become the next Shirley Temple.
Twenty years later, I never made it into film or acting
professionally, but I did pursue my basketball dreams, which is how I met Kara.
Kara and I met when I was going into my first year of undergrad. We both played
basketball and became friends immediately. If you asked us back then I think we
would both chuckle thinking about us going on a big road trip five years later,
yet, here we are. We made it to California with smiles all around, ready for
the trip that is months in the making, celebrating five years of friendship.
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| We enjoyed staying atop a friend's garage in her casita! Super comfy. |
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| We listened to tunes as we travelled from Santa Monica Beach to Venice Beach. |
When we arrived around 3:45 PM we were feeling cool and
confident. We knew that people stroll up and down to see the sign daily so
there were only feelings of excitement as we ascended to the Hollywood Sign.
“Oh nice only 1.8 miles!” The signage by the trailhead reassured us of the ease
of our hike. We departed just after 4:00 o’clock. Up and up we climbed until we
gazed upon the site that’s been tucked away in my childhood dream compartment
for two decades. We took picture after picture, capturing every angle of the
sign and every angle of our sweaty, sun kissed bods. By this time it was 4:45
and we knew we should probably head out if we were going to see the Walk of
Fame before dinner.
We started our descent when we ran into about 20 horses that
were part of a guided tour. Dust sprayed up in our faces as we pushed ahead of
the line step by step. We wanted to move past them as quickly as we could since
the dust was in the air and making it hard to see. When we finally made it to
the front of the line we triumphantly high fived and looked around, “Does this
look familiar to you?” we asked one another…no it did not. We had been so
caught up in walking by these horses we had missed our turn and went a mile out
of the way. WE WERE LOST. At this point Kara had taken off her shirt and shoes
to alleviate foot pain from her shoes and cover her shoulders from the sun. It
ended up taking us an extra hour to get down, which clocked us at 6:45 PM,
having walked 5+ miles when we finally returned. I was devastated, we wouldn’t
make it to the Walk of Fame before having to head on the road the next morning.
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| Kara had a blast |
Kara and I were comforted and nourished when we returned from
our three-hour hike by Kara’s Aunt and Uncle. (And by the way, it took us longer
to hike to the Hollywood Sign than it did the Grand Canyon, HAHA!) We ate good
food and laughed about our Sunday triumphs and struggles, reminded that our day
was well spent regardless of us missing the Walk of Fame. Aunt Clare and Uncle
Cody also said some things that made me realize that my dreams of coming to
Hollywood could never be actualized in one and a half days. “There’s just so
much to see here, you’ll just have to come back!” they said in delight. “Yeah,”
I thought, “I’ll put a pin in it.” I’ll come back and explore the vastness of
the city I’ve been craving since I knew it existed. And even though I didn’t
see every tourist spot, museum, or area of town (we did see Beverly Hills
though!), and even if I didn’t magically transform into the next Shirley
Temple, I can at least say that I did it; I made it to Hollywood with my best
friend Kara.
So as Kara and I head off into the sunrise, excited about
our next destination, I’ll put a pin in it, and instead of saying “I’ll make it
to California one day,” I can happily say (cue Schwarzenegger voice) “I’ll be
back.”
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| We road our bikes all the way to Venice Beach where we swam in the Pacific for the first time! |
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| Another view of LA from the Venice Pier |
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| We had a chance to swing by the Ferris Wheel on Santa Monica Pier to get a look at the evening sky |
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