Stepping out from the depths of the subway I noticed two things right off the bat. One was the throngs of people, both tourists and hucksters. This was not like I-Drive, it was more like the Las Vegas Strip. Wide-eyed tourists were ambling about taking pictures of everything including stopping foot traffic in mid-stride in order to take a photo of their favorite star's, well, star. It is the Walk of Fame, of course. And the endless barrage of barking street vendors, costumed characters, avant-garde artists, tour promoters and the would-be "50-Cent" wannabes thrusting their demo CDs at you. Sensory overload! The second thing I noticed was that the temperature seemed ten degrees hotter in Hollywood than downtown. Now I'm sure that's hyperbole but it felt like it. Could also be the fact that considering my wrong-way start, I'd been underground, more or less, for almost an hour during the late morning when it was getting hotter.
Heat not withstanding, since it was a "dry heat" I felt I could, as a Floridian used to things like hot weather, stand for a nice little open-air bus tour for a couple of hours...with no hat or sunscreen. Boy, was that stupid. I was red as a lobster by 2pm and already feeling the side-effects of sun sickness and dehydration which would come to plague me for the rest of the week! Temps were in the upper 90's all week and let me tell you, it's worse, IMHO, than Floridian heat. In Florida, on most days, you have a cloud or two, often many more, that provides a little relief from the blazing sun. Not in LA. No clouds all day, every day. Just the roasting rays of the unrelenting sun. Plus, in Florida, everything is SUPER air-conditioned. Buses, stores, restaurants...everything. In LA, it's a maybe. Many places pre-date air-conditioning so what's installed is either inadequate or of poor quality. Other's heed to the current energy conservation trend due to the energy crisis which has always seemed to plague California so they lower AC down to only 78 degrees.
But while I was on the bus tour, I did have a good time. The seats were tight (Are planes and buses getting smaller or am I getting?...No, shudder the thought.) but it wasn't crowded and though it was a pre-recorded tour guide pointing out sights along the way, the voice actor did a good job and the information was interesting enough. Now, after all is said and done, was it worth $44? Hmmm. Chalk it up to whatever the market will bear. Plus, I didn't plan wisely enough. Since it was a hop-on, hop-off transit stopping in numerous locales throughout greater LA and was good for 24-hours, I could have used it as transportation to various sights sans public transit. I only rode it for the two hour tour around Hollywood. Ah well, in any event here's what I saw as we made our way along:
Heat not withstanding, since it was a "dry heat" I felt I could, as a Floridian used to things like hot weather, stand for a nice little open-air bus tour for a couple of hours...with no hat or sunscreen. Boy, was that stupid. I was red as a lobster by 2pm and already feeling the side-effects of sun sickness and dehydration which would come to plague me for the rest of the week! Temps were in the upper 90's all week and let me tell you, it's worse, IMHO, than Floridian heat. In Florida, on most days, you have a cloud or two, often many more, that provides a little relief from the blazing sun. Not in LA. No clouds all day, every day. Just the roasting rays of the unrelenting sun. Plus, in Florida, everything is SUPER air-conditioned. Buses, stores, restaurants...everything. In LA, it's a maybe. Many places pre-date air-conditioning so what's installed is either inadequate or of poor quality. Other's heed to the current energy conservation trend due to the energy crisis which has always seemed to plague California so they lower AC down to only 78 degrees.
But while I was on the bus tour, I did have a good time. The seats were tight (Are planes and buses getting smaller or am I getting?...No, shudder the thought.) but it wasn't crowded and though it was a pre-recorded tour guide pointing out sights along the way, the voice actor did a good job and the information was interesting enough. Now, after all is said and done, was it worth $44? Hmmm. Chalk it up to whatever the market will bear. Plus, I didn't plan wisely enough. Since it was a hop-on, hop-off transit stopping in numerous locales throughout greater LA and was good for 24-hours, I could have used it as transportation to various sights sans public transit. I only rode it for the two hour tour around Hollywood. Ah well, in any event here's what I saw as we made our way along:
