Beautiful Downtown Burbank - Day 6 and Wrapup

Due to all the various closures as society broke down, we moved up our departure date. Since we flew out of Long Beach, we first checked out the Queen Mary, a huge ocean liner from the golden days of cruising—long before they became petri dishes.

One of the many current ships out of service right now.

During WW2, the Queen Mary became a troop carrier, so they needed defenses.

The next several shots are from the engine room, which is MASSIVE.

This is a propellor…

…and this is the wrench used to tighten it.

Well, all good things must come to an end, so we hurried over to Long Beach Airport.

If an airport could be considered tranquil, this would be the one.

We were pretty lucky on the way back—got our own row both times, and could even lean back without guilt on the first leg.

Well, that’s it. Not quite the vacation we were planning (we’ll see you some day, Drew Carey), but a lot of fun nonetheless. Hope you enjoyed it too.

Well, off to self-isolate! #beautifuldowndownburbank

Beautiful Downtown Burbank - Day 5

With so much already closed down, we concentrated on “weird places” from Roadside America and Atlas Obscura for our final full day in “sunny” California.

The oldest Big Boy statue.

A short hike in Griffith Park took us to Bronson Canyon and its cave. This has been used in films and TV shows for generations.

The MST’d “Robot Monster” (1953).

The Batmobile rocketing out of the Batcave (1966).

Then, it was off to Griffith Observatory, also a well-used location for TV and movies. The Observatory was closed, but the exterior and its (soggy) views were open.

Next, we went to the HQ of Funko (the oversized head character toys). It’s both a store and a major stop for photo ops. We only went there because it was open, but I’m glad we did.

“Maclunkey.”

Then, we headed into downtown.

The Angel Flight Funicular is the world’s shortest railway, running all of 100 feet up and down a hill.

This is LA’s City Hall, which appeared on screen quite a bit, including doubling for the Daily Planet in the 50’s George Reeves Adventures of Superman series.

Here’s a giant chair (we seem to collect these) in the Fashion District.

Time for lunch at Canter’s Deli!

The waitress thanked us for coming in—the place was almost empty, which is NOT normal.

I got the Turkey Club with Avocado…

…and Mindy got the Monte Cristo.

Wo were planning to go to the Museum of Neon Art—but it was closed. So, after a stop at the hotel for a food coma nap, we drove over the Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Gardens for some famous final destinations.

Bea Benadaret played momma Kate Bradley on Petticoat Junction—and the voice of Betty Rubble.

Criswell predicted the future—and did the narration for Ed Wood’s epic “Plan 9 from Outer Space” (1959).

The final comic to join the Three Stooges.

One half of the legendary Laurel and Hardy duo, and master of the “slow burn”.

Well, we’re exhausted. Back to the hotel for packing and a quick snack. Tomorrow, we visit a queen and wing our way back to Ohio.

Beautiful Downtown Burbank - Day 4

With attractions being closed left and right, we had to improvise today. We were also bundled up, since it’s practically nippy here.

First off was the Santa Monica Pier.

The famous amusement park is much smaller than it looks on TV and in films (and of course it was closed).

Last May, during the #BayouWeddingTour, we reached the start of Route 66. Now, we’ve made it to the end (or the beginning, depending on your direction).

We went out to the pier to go on a bus tour of Malibu’s celebrity homes. Despite some confusion up front (we were told to come back a bit later, then a bit later again, before they would check us in), the tour itself was a lot of fun. Due to either the weather or the virus, we were the only ones on the tour.

The homes on the coast are small but VERY expensive—starting at $10M, with a 50 year wait to get one. Stars buy them and then visit once in a while. Names like Barbra, Leo, J Lo, Cher, Ellen, and the Friends cast were mentioned. Bill Murray rents his out for $100K a month. Here’s just a few, shot thru rainy windows.

Here’s the gate to Ellen’s new house.

A view from up the hill.

This house has AN OBSERVATORY.

After that, we headed over to an LA institution—Pink’s Hot Dogs.

Chili cheese dogs, onion rings, and guac.

Next stop - the La Brea Tar Pits.
I expected this to be more touristy, but it’s actually a research site and a museum.

This is one of actual “tar pits” - it’s actually asphalt.

These are crates of fossil material that were filled back in 2008. The researchers have been carefully working through the crates since then.

The next stop was a piece of comedy history—a long set of stairs between two streets. A Laurel and Hardy comedy called “The Music Box” had the boys trying to deliver a piano to a home at the top of the steps (of course, it turned out they could have just driven it up the other way).

Well, this is ANOTHER fine mess you’ve gotten us into!

Then it was off to the Echo Park Time Travel Mart—a storefront/art installation that seems unstuck in time. Proceeds from actual products go to a local art collective.

Right down the street is a site used by a certain TV show involving a 3 hour tour…

SKIPPERRRR!!!!

Finally, we returned to the hotel with a small snack from a Farmer’s Market..

THat’ll do it for tonight. Tomorrow, we go to several miscellaneous sites for our final full day.

#beautifuldowntownburbank

Beautiful Downtown Burbank - Day 3

Before we get into today, I did have a few more comments on Disneyland—

• After a rainy arrival the day before, and matching weather today, our Disney day was practically perfect. It was as if Walt was defrosted and willed it into being.

• The Disney app was surprisingly impressive. We could see line waits in real time throughput the park, avoiding a large hike to find out otherwise. Using mobile ordering, we walked up to restaurants, did a quick pickup, and sat down to enjoy.

• I didn’t mention the Smuggler’s Run ride in Galaxy’s Edge. Very cool simulator where you control the Millennium Falcon! We were both pilots, and I put us into hyperspace.

So, onto Day 3.

After a later start, we made it out to the Paramount Studios tour.

Sunny California!

Of course, we concentrated a lot on Star Trek.

This is one of the Star Trek stages, heavily used in the 80’s and 90’s for TV and films. Shatner supposedly has an office across the street.

We rode a golf cart around the studio, with the guide getting in and out to give quick speeches (who got very wet).

Each stage lists the famous TV shows and movies made there. (You couldn’t take photos of the interiors).

If this parking lot seems sunken, it is. They can fill it with water to simulate oceans, ponds, etc. Note the large wall to the left, painted like the sky.

Can you guess one of Paramount’s recent franchises?

These are some of Paramount’s Best Picture Oscars—all but one are duplicates made for the studios, with the other (for The Godfather) the real McCoy.

We went across the street to Lucy’s El Adobe Cafe for some great Mexican food. This has been a hangout for musicians and celebrities for decades (no, we didn’t see one).

Then we sloshed over to the TCL Theater (you know, the one with the famous handprints in cement) for a tour.

The ornate wall murals were painted by Keye Luke (who went onto play the old master on the TV series Kung Fu in the 70’s).

I knew Ladies’ Rooms were fancy! Celebrities like Jane Russell and Marilyn Munroe primped and preened there.

Yep, it’s a BIG screen.

This is the grand staircase you see when the stars go into the Dolby Theater (next the the TCL) for the Oscars. It’s also in a mall.

Back to the hotel for fine dining.

Well, that does it for tonight. Tomorrow, we’re going to Warner Bros stu—hold on, we’re getting an update.
Due to the Coronavirus, society is shutting down. That includes Warner Bros AND that game show where the pricing needs to be correct. As a result, we’re cutting things short on this trip.
Tomorrow, virus permitting, we’re going to the Sony Studio Tour and/or LaBrea Tarpits and/or The Hollywood Museum. Stay tuned!

Beautiful Downtown Burbank - Day 2

Well, this was a LOOOONG but very enjoyable day.

In order to get to Disneyland before the gates opened (more on that in a moment), we left the hotel at 6:30a for a one hour trip. It actually worked out okay, since it was too early for most of the traffic (Mindy was nice enough to drive).

We arrived to find a MASSIVE parking deck, which I assume you can see from space. We parked in the “Pixel Pals” deck, then took an escalator to a tram to the gates. We managed to get through security and inside the park just in time at 8a to activate our “boarding pass”.

A Panorama shot just inside the front gates, from later in the day.

What is this, you ask? Well, there’s a brand new ride called Rise of the Resistance in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and getting a boarding pass via your Disney app (which you can only do once you’re in the park) is the only way to get on that ride. You literally have a few minutes from gates opening in the park to getting that pass before they run out for the day. We and everyone else were frantically tapping on our phones, followed by screams as people got their passes. Amazingly, we got a pass too. We had to wait until 5p or so , but we got in.

Speaking of crowds—the Disneyland Crowd Calendar considered today to be “hey it’s alright”, one level from “ghost town”, but it seemed pretty busy to me. What Coronavirus?

Meanwhile, we saw Mary Poppins (who had her Julie Andrews impression down)…

Went to the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room (Mindy’s favorite)…

Went on Pirates of the Caribbean (which has now been fully Depp-ized)…

Saw Galaxy’s Edge…

Bought hats…

Went on a Submarine Voyage (now taken over by Finding Nemo, so just watch the movie at home through an aquarium for the same effect)…

Met my favorite Star Wars character…

(Timmy the Trash Can)

and a bunch of other rides, all while eating ourselves silly.

The Rise of the Resistance was by far our favorite. Without giving too much away, there are multiple sections and rides within it, and you really feel like you’re in the movie.

Well, that’s plenty—we’re exhausted, getting back to the hotel 15 hours later. Check FB and IG for videos, or you can just wait for an upcoming FTPCB episode. Tomorrow—studio tour(s?)!

#beautifuldowntownburbank

Beautiful Downtown Burbank - Day 1

Latitude 34.10, Longitude 118.23
North Hollywood, CA

We’ve made it to our hotel room after a day of flying from Columbus to Denver to Long Beach. If you’re wondering how the coronavirus has impacted air travel, it appears to be noticeable if not dramatic.

Here’s a shot from John Glenn Airport—but it was early.

We managed to get our own row on the plane, if only on the first leg of the trip. We’re re-formulating our seat picking strategy for the ride back.

Long Beach is a small airport—how small? Well, we left the plane going down outside stairs. I would have taken a shot of this, but Sunny California greeted us with a cloudburst.

The forecast shows some form of rain every day—let’s hope they are wrong.

We stopped at a Puerto Rican restaurant on the way called Mofongos for our first meal of the trip. I had a dish involving plantains, pork rinds, and pork shoulder, while Mindy had the chicken stew.

After checking in at the hotel, we had a little time left in the day, so we went over to the Television Academy—specifically the “Hall of Fame” gallery in front.

It was SO WET in Los Angeles today--HOW WET WAS IT???

The first lady of television.

My comedic idol.

The mostly-forgotten inventor of television as a technology. He was crushed by RCA and their attorneys.

A giant Emmy and a tiny Mindy.

OK, that’s plenty for one day. Tomorrow, we’re off to see the Mouse.
#beautifuldowntownburbank

Beautiful Downtown Burbank - Day 0

It’s time for another trip. Last year was not the best—we spent a lot of time helping out on family medical issues including my father-in-law’s death, and we never really took a vacation just for us.

In January, Mindy sprang the idea of a California trip, specifically the Los Angeles area.  The centerpiece of the trip is seeing my favorite game show in person (you know, the one involving correct pricing), as well as Disneyland, studio tours, and general Hollywood tourism.

Looming over all of this is the Coronavirus. After consulting with my doctor (who said don’t change your life, and enjoy the trip), we’re going forward, making sure we’re taking the precautions we’ve been hearing over the last month. At this point, it looks like attractions will not be as crowded—a big plus for us.  I’ve been doing a lot of research, and I suspect we will be very busy.

Tomorrow, we’re flying to Long Beach via Denver, then off to our hotel in #BeautifulDowntownBurbank. More to come.

Lucyyyyyy….