mrbrianking

It isn’t every day that you meet with a real champion. No sir. But in LA, everything is possible. Well, maybe not everything and no, I did not meet with a champion every day. Just the once. There we are, walking along, minding our own business, when I spot Mike Tyson, large as life, standing in a doorway.  It’s the entrance to a gym and boxing club. There he is, in full fighting gear, guard up, ready to swing. Ok, ok, so it’s a life size model of Mike in full living colour. Anyway, I say that I have to get a photo of him and Vicki stands in beside him as I prepare for my photo-du-jour. As I’m about to take it, the door opens and this huge guy steps out and joins in. He is big. I pull myself up to my full 6ft1, and stare at his chest. He has hands the size of buckets.  I take my shot and say,

Me:  I just wanted to get a picture with the champ.
Him: Well you did get the champ.
Me:  Right.  Mike Tyson.
Him: Me!  I’m the champ. Olympic gold medal.
Me:  Really?  What for?  (Well it could have been anything, how was I to know).
Him: Boxing. (OK, it was obvious).
Me:  Great.  What’s your name?
Him: Audley Harrison.
Me:  Well Audley, it’s great to meet you.
Him: You too. Have a good day now.

So you just never know, do you.  Yes, of course I googled him when I got home. Certainly looks like him!

I told you we couldn’t get in to the observatory the other day, so today we hiked up to it. We walked through quite a variety of neighbourhoods. The closer we got to the observatory, the richer they looked. Once into the foothills, the whole area looked very opulent indeed. The first couple of miles was relatively flat but with a slight steady upward incline. Then a bit steeper for a little while. Once we hit the hills, there were steps and steps and steps and steps. When the steps ended, the dust track began. It wound through bush and rock and finally came out right onto the observatory car park.

We spent a very interesting hour there, saw a Foucault’s Pendulum, an exhibition of moon rocks, mars stone, meteorites and a wonderful solar system model. Beep, beep.  Our pick-up arrived. We have a lift home. Gotta go.

It’s a good day to go playing golf. Yes well, any day is a good day to go playing golf, wouldn’t you think?  Especially as it’s a Tuesday. Don’t go on weekends because that’s when the courses are crowded. Better go on a Tuesday. But then we’d forgotten, (well actually I never knew), that today was “Veterans Day”. The US has a lot more public holidays than you’d think, Labour Day, Columbus Day, Independence Day, etc., etc., and Veterans Day, 11th November.

So when we get to the golf course at 10.45, they can give us a slot at 1.15. Hmm.  Maybe not. Isn’t there a Par 3 course around here. Yes, down the road, turn left, left again, can’t miss it.  Can’t miss it?  Oh yeah?  Wanna bet?  We missed it twice but 3rd time lucky.   It was really a Pitch and Putt course.  Very nice. Tricky, which lots of trees. As we stood on the 1st tee box, a coyote strolled across the fairway and disappeared into some bushes to the right.  We quickly ruled those bushes out of play.  No extraordinary events.  No hole-in-ones.  But a pleasant morning and a good game.

This is the home of television, so we head for CBS studios and go to the recording of a TV programme, “Let’s make a Deal”. When we register to go in, we have to show photo ID. Of course I have not brought any.  They allow me in bit I am not eligible to compete. Never mind, I came to have fun and see how it’s all done and good fun it is. You have to be prepared for things like this. It’s a mental battle. Most of the time you are waiting for things to happen. But it gives a chance to talk to people and meet a lot of varied and, let’s be honest, very strange folk. On the whole, it’s great fun. Still, once is enough. There is a guy beside me who has been here 23 times. Really?  Hmmmm. Not so sure about that.  Anyway, if you watch CBS television in about six months time, you might see me, I’m in the back row, I’m sitting beside someone wearing a Viking helmet, with one horn pointing up and the other pointing down. No! She didn’t get picked either.

The Wild Wood Canyon Park is a good place to go hiking.  We park at the entrance and head sharply uphill onto the trail. The track is dusty and very dry.  It only rained one day here in the last 7 months.  That was Halloween. The trail leads along a rising ridge and as we go, views open up, right across LA to the Pacific. Once above the city, you can see the haze that seems to hang permanently over it. If it was foggy, you’d call it smog but fog there is none.

It’s very warm. Water supplies are essential. Still, we meet people running downhill. They look like people who might have run going up too. Great to be young. On the downward trek, we miss a turn and take the road less travelled.  This means 20 minutes of tricky manoeuvring on a slippy, gravelly track but we survive and rejoin the main trail. Soon down. Good hike.

Off to the zoo. I haven’t been to a zoo for years but there is a newborn (one week), hippo, so off we go. When we get to the hippo area there is lots of oooohing and aaaaahing and yes it is a gorgeous little hippo, (if such a thing is imaginable).  The gorillas are active, the lions sleepy, the snakes hiding and all are carrying on much as is normal. A few very enjoyable hours.

Then we head for the Griffith Observatory, which I am really looking forward to.  It’s closed!  Oh well. Have to go for beer instead.

I heard of Burbank when I was a child.  It featured a lot in a TV programme called “I Love Lucy”. Little did I know that one day I’d be here, staying in Burbank, and strolling around in glorious November sunshine.

We wandered through the streets passed office/studio type buildings, with familiar names like Cartoon Network and Nickleodeon.  The tourist scene may be naff but you can’t pass through this area without doing it.  So off to Hollywood, where we took the bus tour through Hollywood Hills and Beverley Hills and almost saw a lot of tree screened houses owned or once rented by Meryl Streep and Michael Jackson and Leo diCaprio and Marilyn Munroe, etc., etc., etc.

Late afternoon and we’re at the “Dark Harbour” at the Queen Mary Cruise ship.  The ship is now a hotel permanently moored in Long Beach.  They have different seasonal themes and the Halloween theme, “Dark Harbour”, is just finishing and they are preparing to dismantle it. We get a tour by torchlight, through the maze of caves and catacombs, where monsters lurk and horrors await.  We come through fairly unscathed and head for the bar of the Queen Mary.  A pint on the deck bar, looking across at the lights of Long Beach.

Evening finds us at The Magic Castle.  This is a beautiful, castle style building, with many bars and performance venues.  Old wood panelling and all very formal.  All venues are for magicians and we are here to see Jimmy H who has invited us.  His show, in an intimate 80 seater theatre, is about 45 minutes long.  Great show.  Great fun.  After the show, we have a drink with Jimmy in the bar and he does card tricks and we all ooh and aaah and it’s terrific.

Home James. I need some sleep.

LA international airport is no better or worse than most other airports.  It is, of course, very big, but you only see a small part of it coming through.  Immigration was slow but relatively simple and all was going through on the nod, until the, generally friendly officer,  asked me, “How long will you be staying in the United States?”  “About six weeks”. Shock, horror and astonishment, all in one. “Six weeks?”  “Yes”. “OK”. My case was waiting at the carousel, so I picked it up and headed for the next queue, customs.  This moved along quickly.  My turn.  I hand my form to a tall, thirtyish, fine looking, uniformed young man. He looks at it. He looks at me. He looks at the form. He looks at me.  “What part of Ireland do you live in?”  “Dublin”. “Oh yeah?  I used to live in Ballsbridge”. “Nice part of town”. “Yeah. The embassy was paying for it. Enjoy your stay”.

If there is anything unusual about LAX, (that’s the airport, by the way), it’s the Arrivals lobby.  It is tiny.  That’s where Ed picks me up and we drive to his house in Burbank. My first view of LA as we drive along.  I can see the Hollywood sign on the hills but I don’t mention this as I don’t want to appear too much the green tourist.  A couple of beers in Ed’s and it’s 8pm.  I realise that that is 4am Irish time and I have now been up almost 25 hours.  I get 3 hours sleep, then up for 2 hours, when Vicki arrives, then complete physical shutdown. I’ll wake up tomorrow sometime.