Rockin' in Hollywood & Touring UCLA

After another fun day of ceramics, Karen, Michelle, Winona, and I packed up the car and made the long drive to the Getty Center - Museum and Gardens. Everything went well until we arrived, only to discover that there was no available parking in either of the two Getty lots - thus, no way to visit. A quick reference to the map showed we were just a couple miles from UCLA, one of the schools Karen is interested in. Imagine my delight when I found we had chosen a parking structure adjacent to the sculpture garden and museums. The weather was cool and breezy - perfect for exploring one section of the enormous UCLA campus.

Karen & Michelle inside Richard Serra's "T.E. UCLA"

Can you see someone spying on us from behind the sculpture?

Karen felt right at home on the UCLA campus - I could tell that she was imagining herself there in a few years. We all appreciated the architecture of the buildings near the sculpture garden and school of business.

Since UCLA is only a few miles from Hollywood, I decided we should try and use our tickets for the Rockin' Hollywood Tour. Little did I know we were on Hollywood Blvd on the same night as Pixar's premier for the movie Planes. It was a ZOO down there - tons of people - looky-loos trying to get a glimpse of a movie star or two. What better way to kill 30 minutes before our tour than with some frozen yogurt alongside some of Hollywood's most famous stars.

See the star on the sidewalk???

Thankfully, the tour spends very little to no time on the actual street of Hollywood. Instead, it takes its guests through some of the more noteworthy and notorious neighborhoods, like Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills, with a slow cruise down Rodeo Drive. Of course, since our tour was "Rockin'" we enjoyed LOUD music off and on throughout the ride. One of the stops was off of the famous Mulholland Drive, for a misty view of the iconic Hollywood sign.

The Hollywood sign really is behind them, I promise :)

The LA skyline behind these two beautiful girls.

Our tour lasted nearly two hours, and we arrived back at the Rockin' beginning around 8 p.m. It took another 45 minutes to get from the parking garage to the 101 South, which was 5 miles away. We made it home just before 10 p.m., and had a good dinner of soup and fruit before turning in for the night. It was a full day - not exactly what we had originally planned - but a wonderful time all the same.