On our way out to Sydney from London, the Snook and I decided to stop off for a few days in Los Angeles to rest and hopefully avoid some of the jet lag. I’ve got some friends living there, so we thought we’d spend some time sightseeing and catching up. Unfortunately I came down with a cold and we were both tired, so we had to scale back our plans a bit. But we still saw the famous bits!

Here’s Snookums at our temporary residence, the home of my friends Kelly McMahon and Brian Dylong. They were great hosts. Too bad the guests were pooped!

This is Norm’s Diner, where we met up with my friend Liz McKillop for breakfast. I think it’s in Santa Monica. It was just such a welcoming American sight for sore expatriate eyes. 🙂

After breakfast Kel and Liz took us down to see the Pacific. It was a bit chilly for beachcombing, so we settled for a quick look. Again, I think this is in Santa Monica (where Liz lives). Snookums is contemplating the fact that we’ll soon be seeing this body of water from the other side when we land in Australia.

Here’s Kel and Liz, also enjoying the view.

Then it was off to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to look at the famous footprints. The Snook and I were amused to see these of C-3PO and R2-D2. We’re geeks.

Here are Burt Reynolds’s footprints. Why the hell did I take this? I think it was for my dad. He’s a fan.

This is the front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. It looks just like the replica at the Disney MGM Studios in Florida. Pretty impressive, isn’t it?

L.A. has some fabulous architecture. I don’t even know what this is, but I liked it. You can’t tell very well in the photo, but you can see straight through to the big “HOLLYWOOD” sign on a far-off hill.

Here we are at the famous Griffith Observatory. This is where the ending of Rebel Without a Clue took place, as well as Paula Abdul’s “Rush Rush” video with Keanu Reeves. (I’m embarrassed that I know that.) We were lucky to get there when we did; it’s now closed for three years of renovation.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Rodd and I. Don’t we look cool? Really, we’re just tired.

I couldn’t resist. This is the exact spot where James Dean (or Keanu, take your pick) looks down and sees the bullies knifing his tires.

And one last shot of Liz and Kel. They’re having fun. I miss those kids.

Anyway, that’s it. We didn’t have a lot of time, but it was nice to have a short break in between all the travelling. I definitely hope to go back and have a more extended visit. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!