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Sunday, December 29
We got up about 6 am. Let's see what Kelly has planned for the day...
It started with a leisurely breakfast here at the hotel. Decent buffet and not very crowded. Of course, that will change tomorrow when the full tour hits it early...
It was an interesting day today. After breakfast, we got a Lyft to the little cemetery where Marilyn Monroe and others were buried. Very interesting morning. We wound up spending more time than we thought we would.
The photo to the left shows the sign to the cemetery. This cemetery is a tiny place surrounded by tall office buildings and a little hard to find.
The photo on the left shows one of many tall palm trees growing on the grounds of the cemetery (and some of the tall buildings that surround the cemetery). The center photo shows a Christmas bouquet left in the flower holder for one of the vaults. The photo on the right shows one of many more permanent arrangements (succulents and ceramic mushrooms) left in someone's memory.
These three photos show the final resting places of three celebrities. The photo on the left shows the side by side vaults of Howard Hughes and Marilyn Monroe. The center photo is the vault of Dean Martin. His wife is buried several yards away... And the photo on the right shows the gravesite of Natalie Wood. I really don't know what the fascination is for leaving lip marks on vaults!!!
The photo on the left shows the gravesite of Laurence Starkman. I took it primarily because of the unusual memento left on the grave marker (a single white glove). The center photo shows the grave marker for Merv Griffin, which I thought was apropos. (If you can't quite read it, click on the photo for a larger view) The photo on the right shows a memorial fountain for Doris Roberts.
The photo on the left shows the grave marker for Ray Bradbury, a prominent science fiction writer. The center photo shows the grave marker for Jack Lemmon. And the photo on the right shows the grave marker for Peter Falk.
The photo on the left is the grave marker for Rodney Dangerfield, who has to get one final joke in....
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Then we summoned another Lyft to go to the Getty.
Everyone else in LA seems to have decided to also go to the Getty. It took almost 20 minutes to go the last quarter mile... And that was just to get to the parking garage. Luckily, once we got to the entrance to the garage, the Lyft line diverged and we were quickly on our way up the hill to the museum - about a mile walk.
The photo on the left is a large advertisement for a special Manet exhibit that was going on at the time. We didn't attend.
However, the stop was well worth it. We got a good overview of the place. It's well worth a second visit if we're ever in the area again.
We had lunch at Getty - I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fruit, which just hit the spot.
Besides the wonderful exhibits, the Getty has some really interesting architecture. The photo on the left shows part of the main entrance gallery (gift shop, information, etc). The center photo shows the nice water fixture dominating the central plaza. The photo on the left is also the central plaza, taken from the other end of the pond, looking back towards the main entrance.
In addition to the exhibits, the Getty Center has some extensive gardens. The photo on the left shows one of these gardens that was visible from the plaza where we ate lunch (foreground).
The photo on the right shows another view of this garden area from the edge of the plaza where we ate lunch. Those aren't trees, but stylized trees with vines growing in them.
We stopped to rest a bit outside of one exhibit hall at this railing that overlooks the city and another of the gardens. Carl took a few photos of us while there...
These two photos show the large cactus garden at the Getty. The photo on the left also shows a nearby freeway and the distant buildings of the city.
The photo on the right also shows the long walkway out to the cactus garden. We just viewed it from a distance.
We then headed back down the hill to the parking lot and the pickup point. While we had walked up the hill to get to the Getty, we were all a bit tired of walking, so we took the little cog railcar back down the hill. Very nice!
Then we took a third Lyft to get back to the hotel. Traffic on the access road was still very heavy, so we had a bit of a wait. However, we were soon back at the hotel.
As I was getting out of the Lyft car, I pulled a bone-headed stunt and put my hand in the wrong place. The car door slammed on my fingers.... Luckily, nothing was broken. Just hurt like all getout for the rest of the evening. Ice helped.
We went inside the hotel and found the place to get our vouchers and stuff for the Tour we're here for. The highlight of the tour is the Rose Parade on Wednesday morning. Tomorrow takes us to the Float Barns where they're assembling the floats and then a tour of the Queen Mary.
We asked the concierge for a dinner recommendation and, after a few questions, he recommended a really interesting seafood restaurant. Yum! Once again, we called on Lyft for the ride to the restaurant and back again.
No further drama for this evening... We had a couple of drinks at the bar when we returned and then headed up to our rooms. Tomorrow will start early.