USA Trip: I Made it to the Oscars and Hollywood!

Los Angeles, California

Academy Awards

The time was sprung forward by an hour, from 2am to 3am during my last day in Vegas for daylight saving. I lost one hour of sleep for my early bus to Los Angeles and  I am still living one hour short at the time of this posting. Even my Lyft driver wasn’t aware the time has been adjusted as she drove me to the bus pick up point and it wasn't a proper bus station. The instruction in the email was only mentioning about little green signage. Apparently I wasn’t the only who was unable to locate it as there was another couple looking for it, only to be told by another e-hailing driver that dropped off another passenger that it was on the other side of the road, slightly different than what being described. The bus departed almost on time as it started to head its way around half past eight and slowly Las Vegas was behind me. Quick stop at Barstow for lunch break after 3 hours, I safely arrived at Union Station shyly before 2.30pm.

Waiting for my bus. Booked my ticket via flixbus.com. It was a clear day, with Strat Tower in the distance.

Passing by this building as we left for LA. The venue for my first night show in Vegas.

It was Oscar’s Day when I arrived at Los Angeles, 12th of March. After settling down at my AirBnB, I started to walk towards Walk of Fame, whereby Dolby Theatre was located. It was 30 minutes walk from my place. Compared to the place I stayed in Las Vegas, the streets here I felt relatively safer, even at night as it was surrounded by busy neighbourhood, somewhere along North Vista Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. As I was approaching the venue, I could see there were police officers controlled the traffic, which was expected as evidently shown when I Google mapped earlier showing road blocks surrounding the building. The roads were fenced up and I found myself walking from one end to another just trying to get the good view of the red carpet. How silly of me thought that I could catch celebrities because apparently the show started at 5pm, the time I arrived at Hollywood Boulevard, which would mean the event would have been earlier. I guess I misread the 8pm time as the local time (Pacific Time) when it was actually Eastern Time. I could see a number of people was doing live, dressed up in tux as though they were hosting the show, outside the theatre. More like reporters. As the sky started to turn dark, I decided to leave and to have dinner at El Compadre. I believe this was about the same time when Michelle Yeoh was announced as the winner for Best Actress. Was so close yet so far but still feeling excited I was breathing the same air as hers as the historic moment happened.

My AirBnb In LA. Cozy. Would return to this place again should I am visiting LA.

Mural outside Hollywood Wax Museum. One of the alleys I used in getting to another street/avenue since Hollywood Boulevard was blocked.

Zoomed up to at least 9 times on my phone to capture this entrance. Was still naively waiting this time.

Next thing I know, people started to roll this carpet. Bummer.

Since I was already here, might just as well. Congrats, Dato' Michelle Yeoh!

Flaming Margarita: Saw this on Google Reviews so was very tempted to try.

This portion of Burrito was so huge and I couldn't finish it.

Side note: As I was walking towards Hollywood Boulevard earlier, there was a group of people speaking Spanish right in front of me. They were pretty dressed up.  It was all normal until suddenly there was a guy in his car shouting "If you can't speak English, go back to your country!". That was the first and only racism that I encountered in the States.

Hollywood Sign Hike

Started my official first day in LA rather late to compensate the loss time I had the day before. The weather forecast indicated it would be partially cloudy and sunny so I decided to do Hollywood Sign hike on this very day.

Getting ready for the hike. Couldn't resist this standing mirror in my room.

Had my morning brunch at Blackwood Coffee Bar to fill up my energy bar, just enough to last till lunch hour. There were numerous trails getting to the sign and I made my way to Fern Dell Nature Trail as the starting point of my hike. It was a chilling stroll with lushes of green with tiny river flew through the park.  It was around 30 minutes of tracking before I reached to the top of hill, where Griffith Observatory is via East Observatory Trail. The intensity of the track I would say is doable for the beginners, just needed to keep yourself hydrated to walk in the hot day.

Seemed to be a ritual for me to have coffee in the States and I just couldn't miss it.

Passed by this record label building which was at Yucca Street.

My final destination seemed so far ahead. Was wondering whether I made the right decision just to walk all the way there.

One with Fern Dell Nature Trail.

East Observatory Trail, heading towards Griffith Observatory.

Can you see what am I trying to capture in this photo?

It was quite a crowd with tourists wanted to catch the cityscape of Los Angeles as I was at the obsevatory. It was rather foggy despite of the blue sky. Nevertheless, I could still feel the heat sipping into my skin as the day went on. The observatory was closed when I was there and I lingered around for quite good half an hour before continuing on.

Hello, City of Angels. Now, where is Lucifer? Could see the trail where I was coming from on the right.

The sky did clear a bit for a while while overviewing the cityscape.

One with the observatory before my next agenda.

To be honest, at that point, I had not thought it through which routes to take before starting my walk on that day. I was basically just winging it based on what came to my way, following the sign that would get me to closer to my destination, one way or another. Walking along W Observatory Road, I turned to Mount Hollywood Drive which appeared to have closed for any vehicle to enter. Along the way, I saw a group of people doing horseback riding, a package that I saw from my search. It was around half an hour before I arrived at another junction before turning into Mulholland Trail; from tar (or bitumen) paved to dirt road. I reckon this was the common path for the Sunset Hollywood Ranch as I could see and smell drops of horses. As the observatory started to be out of my sight (most of the time at least), I could still see the outline of LA city with Hollywood sign got closer and closer as I tracked along.

Saw this sign upon leaving Griffith Observatory and decided the path to Hollywood sign from here.

Griffith Observatory started to diminish from my view..

with the sign started to get closer. Well, still long way to go from here.

Saw these horse riders as I was making my way to the iconic sign.

One of the pitstop photo ops, just to keep track of my trail. Turned left to the sign.

It was getting hotter and hotter despite of the cloudy weather.

Almost at the end of this trail.

After a mile-walk, there was a T-junction as I was at Mt Lee Drive, in which going left got you to view point of the sign and on the right is to get behind it. I made left turn first and less than 10 minutes, there I was the closest possible to the front view of the iconic sign of Hollywood. To think it was first put up to promote local real estate development i.e. Hollywood Land and now became synonymous to the entertainment industry that I dare say that has taken over almost every big screen there is in the world. Did a quick photo op before returning back to the same junction as I decided to get behind the sign. Seeing where the locations where the signs were being erected, you would think the trail would be quite steep. You were right on that, though thankfully it was just a short while. Perhaps it was due to the fact I have been walking the whole morning and the energy that I had from morning brunch has been completely digested, I took a much slower pace going up the peak of Mt Lee. I could see the other cities of California on my right e.g. Burbank and at one point, I could see Universal Studio Theme Park as I recognised the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Persevered, I made it to the top. I believe I have recorded at least 20k of steps to get up there. I refilled my energy bar with snacks (or more like bunch of chocolates) and finished my last drop of water. Dead.

Halo, it's me...

LA city was always with me.

Hey you. I'm getting behind you soon.

I believe that was Burbank behind me. Hi Ellen! Oh wait...

Made it!

That proud face that I can finally cross this off my list.

I hang around for about half an hour before searching how to get down. Another 'smart' decision. Thought of giving another trail a try without going back to where I came from, I went on ahead to Aileen Getty Ridge Trail whereby the trail was rockier than the previous, with little climbing needed. With LA view still on the left, I found myself unintentionally arrived at Wisdom Tree, saw it on the map before but wasn't part of the plan. The best part was there an American flag at the edge as I have been wanted to take with one but most of them weren't waving. It was windy. Seemed like a perfect closure for my Hollywood sign hike, which was no longer in sight, for now, I started my descent which got me to Wonder View Drive.

As you might notice, you couldn't actually get to the sign as it was fenced up and you are not allowed to cross it. From time to time, there was PA actually reminding people not to. I guess some visitors were just stubborn as there was police officer came by and called out some trespassers as I was leaving.

Rocky trail indeed it was. Hollywood Sign was where the telco tower was.

Needed to climb this but thankfully there wasn't much of it.

One with the flag.

One with Wisdom Tree. Hopefully I'm getting wiser now.

Half mile down. I was grateful I was getting down from here instead of going up.

Safely descended.

Can see what was I pointing at?

I can't seem to get any Lyft from where I was so I decided to make a walk along Lake Hollywood Drive and the next thing I know, I passed by Hollywood Reservoir, some fancy neighbourhood and reached Lake Hollywood Park, one of the view points of Hollywood sign that was mentioned in one YouTuber's video. It was around 4pm and there were people playing frisbee with their dogs, some guys with their footballs and a group of Asian having picnic, or making TikTok contents as I saw recording gadgets next to them. Getting myself replenished by buying myself a big cup of fruit and a bottle of drinking water while chilling at the park for about an hour. Initially plan to book a Lyft back to my AirBnB and I was happy at first that I managed to get a car but just to find out the previous passenger seemed to hold on to the booking as she was only doing a quick stop for photo and left in the same car. In other way, my booking was cancelled and I was trying to get another but to no avail. Reluctantly, I chose to walk further down to get to another pick up point which I hope I could hail another car but eventually I just decided to walk all the way back, 4.6 miles from the park, since I have done so much of walking anyway for the day so what is there to walk for another 1.5 hours. That was after I get my sugar level boosted at Station 76 at Franklin Avenue before finally getting back to cozy bed.

Seem to be rich people neighbourhood. Or the houses and streets are just good looking.

Last view point of today's journey.

The trail that I took might not entirely as what I planned but the best part was to explore the unforeseen and stumble upon the views that I didn't expect. I lost count of how many vantage points of Hollywood Sign for the day.

My trail of Hollywood Sign hike on 13th March 2023. Though I might say the trail ended at Lake Hollywood Park. Just all the best getting Lyft from there, or it wasn't my luck.

My USA Journey

San Francisco, California

Portland, Oregon

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Seattle City and Olympic National Park, Washington

First Starbucks, Washington and Las Vegas, Nevada

Canyoning in Arizona and Catching David Blaine

I Made It to the Oscars and Hollywood!

More of Los Angeles and Santa Monica Pier

USA Trip: of Space Needle and Twilight

Seattle City

We started our day 2 in Seattle by having our usual morning coffee at Starbucks Reserve Roastery which was just about 10 minutes walk from our place. Unusual to Starbucks Reserve that I have been to in Malaysia, this outlet showcased the coffee roasting process, with the pipe connecting to the counter. On top of that, there was a bar and bakery serving alcoholic drinks and Italian-inspired pastry. I got myself an Irish Cream Whiskey Barrel-Aged Cold Brew and Salmon sandwich. Currently there are six Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the world and the one closest to home is in Shanghai and Tokyo. Our AirBnB didn't allow luggage storage so we needed to check out before continuing on for our next agenda. My friend googled and found a place to store our stuff at hostel downtown via nannybag which cost 9 dollars per bag. 

Entrance of Starbucks Reserve Roastery, as of current there are only six Starbucks roasteries in the world.

This outlet was spacious with the roastery within it.

Trying the drink menu that I possibly couldn't find in Malaysia

Princi Bakery to complement your Starbucks order should you want one.

Bidding goodbye to our AirBnB.

I would never forget the drama on our first day of checking in at this place.

After leaving our luggage at Green Turtoise Hostel, we walked for 20 minutes to our next point of interest, which was the Space Needle. It cost 37 dollars to enter the space-inspired iconic tower of Seattle. It has two levels of observatory decks whereby the first level offers outdoors with inclining glass wall for those photo ops and few camera stops (photos are linked to your ticket and can download them for free, included the greenscreen backdrop photo taken prior to the elevator) meanwhile rotating bar/restaurant is located upstairs. Bought myself few souvenirs from the shop before taking a bus to Kerry Park to have a good glimpse of Seattle skyline. I believe the park meant for the neighbourhood as it was surrounded by houses and it took quite a slope to get onto the viewpoint from where the bus dropped us. Known as the city with depressing weather, we were blessed with sunny blue sky on this very day.

Thought this landmark would be easily spotted anywhere in the city, only to see more of it during later days of my time in Seattle.

One with the tower, recognised this tower from Grey's Anatomy.

Going up.

Souvenir shop at the ground level, as we walked towards the elevator. Photo stop at top left.

I was falling. I mean, almost. The blue tape kinda gave it away. Look at that mountain behind me.

View of waterfront from the top. There were minor gaps between the big pieces of glass.

Floating in the air, sorta.

You can hop the bus with one time payment, as long as the time of boarding displayed on the ticket.

Skyline of Seattle city from Kerry Park. Truly loving this view.

We commuted back to the city for early dinner, or more like late lunch at Pike Fish Bar. Sorted our car at Hertz which was just nearby where we left our luggage earlier today, we bought a little grocery at Target (note: for free parking) and retrieved our bags, we started to drive towards our next destination, Port Angeles. There were few route options and we chose to board ferry from Colman Dock to Bainbridge Island. The voyage was around 30 minutes long and we exited the car to walk around the ferry. There was cafe or restaurant but it was closed. Vending machines are available to purchase food and drink. The sun has already set by the time we were onboard and I found myself mesmerised by the night view of city when the concrete jungle was illuminated against the full-moon lit night sky. Disembarked from port and there we went cruising on the road once again and reconnected to U.S. 101 Route. We were on the road for almost 2 hours before checking ourselves in at Super 8 and rested for the night.

Another round of fish and chip and clam chowder. This time with a glass of beer.

Needed that beer. I was almost half way through my excapade at that point.

In the queue for our ferry. It cost about 13 dollars per person to get onboard.

View of Seattle from our car while waiting at the terminal.

Night view of Seattle from the ferry. Pretty.

Excited to be on the ferry. And the cold.

Olympic National Park

Super 8, our motel at Port Angeles.

Saw this cat on the night as we parked our car but it ran away. Found it cozily lying on the couch before checking out.

Had our breakfast at the motel and checked out, we headed towards Olympic National Park Visitor Centre. Due to winter season, lots of section were closed to visitors due to snowy road conditions. Initially planned for three stops, we ended up with only two points of interest at Olympic National Park. The park was quite huge as from one point to another it could take up to two hours drive. It was half an hour drive before we started our tracking at Moment in Time Trail, which was by the Lake Crescent. The water was so clear which could see the perfect reflection of the mountain in the background. It was pretty serene and only bumped into a handful of visitors when we were there. There was a lodge nearby which appeared to be close, not sure whether it was temporary due to the low season or permanently not in operations. From the lake, we followed signage that led us to Marymere Falls, which was about 2 miles trail. Thought I have had of enough of snow back in Mount Rainier, despite of the slippery icy trail, the fluffy white matter continued to captivated me.

Driving a Chervolet this time, with a can of Rainier beer. I believe it was illegal to have opened alcoholic drinks in the car. Oops.

Lake Crescent. So calm and peaceful. Can see traces of snow at top of the hills, and a narrow glimpe of snowy mountain behind.

Closest attempt to mimic scene of Crash Landing On You.

Not sure what was I looking at but was such a poser here.

Hello, snow. We meet again.

Crossing this stream, Barness Creek.

One with the waterfall.

Last photo with the lake before leaving.

As we headed to Hall of Mosses which is about 90 minutes away, we passed by a little township called Forks. There was a hotel with LED signage that said "Edward Cullen didn't sleep here". Little did I know that Fork is the setting of Twilight movies, which explained there were some movie posters at the shop as we drove by. As the name speaks for itself, it was a loop trail through forest that covered in thick green mosses, with the snow too. We spent around half an hour before leaving for Seattle. 

Check point, checked.

Dabbing in the middle of mosses and snow.

Of green and white.

What did I tell you? Loving the view of snow and hence, selfies!

We did a quick stop at Walmart Supercenter to return the tire chains that we bought earlier for Mt Rainier National Park. Thankfully we managed getting for a full refund since we didn't get to use it on our car back then, albeit we did unbox to have a look at the chains. It was 2 hours drive before we arrived at the ferry terminal, the same port we got off the night before. I believe we missed the last ferry by a close margin since we were the first one in line. Grabbed our last dinner at Boca before calling it a day at Four Points by Sheraton. Almost wanted to park our car outside the hotel since underground hotel parking came with a fee until we noticed there was homeless camping nearby, the hotel receptionist was kind enough to waive it for us since we checked in quite late, it was way past 10pm.

Viewpoint of Mount Olympus from Walmart. Good enough.

Inside the ferry. Was very hungry.

Former tallest tower at the region, Smith Tower.

Was high on the red wine. The portion of steak was so huge and I couldn't finish the veges.

View from our room in Seattle for our last night. Couldn't been better than this to close this chapter.

Counting down to next leg of this trip. Till then.

My USA Journey

San Francisco, California

Portland, Oregon

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Seattle City and Olympic National Park, Washington

First Starbucks, Washington and Las Vegas, Nevada

Canyoning in Arizona and Catching David Blaine

I Made It to the Oscars and Hollywood!

More of Los Angeles and Santa Monica Pier