our last day we spent in LA. I really love the movie La La Land I wanted to do a tour of the filming sites. we had done one in AZ a few years ago for Jason's birthday for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and also one for my birthday for 500 Days of Summer. I was hoping it would be more like that but it wasn't as easy finding the locations for La La land.
the first spot was for the scene where they sing "A Lovely Night" and dance on the road with an amazing view of the city in the background. we found somewhere online saying where it was and the address for it in Griffith Park. the address took us to a cemetery instead. we followed some directions on another site and it lead us to a private road. we spent way too long looking for it but at least we were able to see Griffith Park. we realized that we probably couldn't even drive to it but would have to hike to it but we running out of time so we decided to skip it. I was disappointed but maybe next time we're in the city we can look if we have more time.
the next spot was Griffith Observatory which wasn't too far since we were in Griffith park. we both had never been there before but had wanted to go. the parking was insane especially since it was a Saturday in the summer. the view from up there was incredible and it would've been worth it for that alone. you have a great view of the Hollywood sign.
rebel without a cause... I really need to re watch that movie!
we left and drove to Hollywood Boulevard where there is a mural that Emma Stone walks by in the movie. we just parked and got our picture and left because that area is too crazy and trashy for us.
we ate dinner in downtown LA and walked around a bit. they have Salt and Straw ice cream shops in LA now so we had to stop there of course. we had it in Portland and it still some of the best ice cream we've eaten.
after that we headed home! I wish that we were able to see more of the movie sites in LA but we will definitely be back again. what I love about doing movie tours is along with paying homage to great movies, we are able to see cool places that we might not have known about or have gone to other wise. it was a great end to an incredible road trip!
the next morning we packed up our camp and prepared to drive back down Cali.
we passed the Trees of Mystery which has the giant Paul Bunyan in the front. we decided to actually see what it was all about this time.
the first part of Trees of Mystery you walk through a grove of unique Redwoods and many have names like "Elephant Tree".
we then got in a lift that took us to the top of the Redwoods. it was pretty at the top but honestly too foggy to see much.
we continued driving stopping at a beach and then drove through the Avenue of the Giants.
we ate lunch at "Hole in the Wall sandwiches" in Arcata which we had eaten at last time we were in the Redwoods. they are pretty tasty sandwiches.
we spent the rest of the day driving to San Francisco! we would have driven down the coast but there were a lot of road closures from a bridge collapse. we drove through Napa Valley instead which we had never seen before and is beautiful. that night we actually stayed outside San Fran because we could get a cheaper hotel and drove in the morning. we went to Point Reyes first which is just on the other side of the bridge. we had planned on going to the lighthouse but it was closed that day :(
we crossed the bridge then went to Crissy field. we had never been there before and it was a great spot to view the Golden Gate bridge.
we walked to the Palace of Fine arts which was nearby.
we went to the Mission district and ate some delicious burritos at La Taqueria, ate ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery and went to a few shops. we then walked to Dolores Park where we hung out until it was time to go. we loved that park last time we visited and it didn't disappoint this time either. I feel like we get a glimpse of local life when we are there and I like how there are so many different types of people just hanging out.
we left in the evening and drove to our hotel in Bakersfield. it was a short time in San Fran but I am glad we were able to visit it again.
