An American Icon

Friday March 30th, 2012

So what's the first thing you're going to do when you get to California? This is the first question everyone asked me when I was about to leave home and move to LA. My response was always the same....go and see the Hollywood sign! When I think of Hollywood, the thing that always stands out in my mind, besides the fame and fortune, is the sign. It's an American icon, and in a way symbolizes ambition, success, glitz and glamour. You absolutely cannot come here without seeing it. Although it can be seen from many places in LA (I see it everyday driving to work), it's not the same as seeing it up close.  While it ended up not being the first thing I toured, it was still awesome!

The Friday I went to see it started out as just a random day of doing errands and a little driving around. I hadn't planned on going to see the sign, but I was bored and decided that day was as good as any other day to go. I really didn't have anything fun planned for the day anyway and I had been researching Yelp and google for tips on viewing the sign the night before. Most people think the best place to view the sign is from the Griffith Park Observatory (another post, another time). Wrong! In my research I kept coming across the address 3000 Canyon Lake Drive. So I decided to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. 

The trip got off to a rough start when I got lost in the Hollywood Hills. After pulling out the GPS on my phone, I thought I could just drive through the hills and come out on the other side of Canyon Lake Dr. instead of going all the way back to the main road. Boy was I wrong! The hills are pretty awesome, but driving in them is another story. They consist of very narrow, twisty and confusing roads. I basically had to drive 2 miles per hour just to make sure I didn't hit an oncoming car coming around a 180 degree bend in the road. It was terrifying! 

After about an hour of mindless driving I decided to turn around and head back to the 101 freeway before I got completely lost and couldn't find my way out of the hills. Following the directions of a random stranger online I finally arrived at the sign!  I wish I had just gone that way earlier since it was soooo much easier and the roads were super wide! There were about 6 cars full of people viewing the sign and taking pictures so I fit right in!

This is how close I actually was without zooming in my camera.

A random sign on the drive that I thought looked cool

Found someone to take my picture, but I don't like how I'm almost cutting off the sign

HOLLYWOOD!!!!

On the other side of the road from the sign was a great view of the Hollywood reservoir. You can actually see how bad the smog is in this picture. At first glance you might think it's just fog...but this haze is hanging in and around LA most days. It's really kind of gross if you think about it...which I try not to....

Hollywood Reservior

I ended up running into some Australian ladies and their children who kept taking turns getting pictures of each other pretending to hold the sign. They were hilarious and obviously having a blast! Well, I really wanted another picture of me since I didn't like the first one someone took. So I asked the Aussie's to take my picture and they asked if I wanted to take a picture the way they were taking it. It looked like fun...so I said why not?!

I'm so strong!

I still can't completely cross this off my bucket list though because I still want to make the hike up to the sign and get some really really close pictures! It's just so hard to believe that the letters are actually 45 feet tall and 350 feet long!

So if any of you reading this ever come out to LA to visit me (hint hint) ...I have found the best place in LA to view the iconic sign! Hollywood....a place where magic is possible, and where dreams can come true!