The Valley

Sunday was LA Day for Cristy and me. After having breakfast with my Grandpa, we headed to the glitz and glamor of Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, CA.

Unfortunately, there was little glitz and no glamor to the oppressively touristy sight we saw. We parked the car and walked down Hollywood Blvd along the Walk of Fame. Some of the stars were a little curious -- like Billy Graham's -- but it was still interesting. We then went down to the Kodak Theatre which is where the Oscar's are held each year. The Kodak was nice -- real open architecture and the names of every Best Picture displayed on the columns. One thing I never appreciated is that it's actually a theaa mall -- a big mall. So we walked around the mall, got a sense for it, and then went to the 'viewing deck' to see the Hollywood sign up in the hills. It was smoggy, but the sign is buried back there...

We then went down the block to Grauman's Chinese Theater to see all the footprints and handprints in the cement. They were all there -- from the Lone Ranger's horse to C3P0 -- but the place was dripping with turistas. The worst were these guys dressed up as celebrities and posing for pictures with people. Like, guys in cheap Spidermen costumes -- it was creepy.

After Hollywood-ing we went up into the Woodland Hills of the San Fernando Valley for a little Halling family BBQ. It was fun -- it was Cristy's first time meeting everybody and her opportunity to answer the same questions a half dozen times. But it was good to catch up with all the cousins and say hello.

After that, we cruised down the 405 to the campus of U-C! L-A! where we met my friend Andy. We did a little tour around main campus (which was terrific) and finished with a stellar meal at one of the dining halls. This place was twice as large and twice as good as Rand, and it was one of four dining halls on campus. And we saw the Victory Bell! In stunning blue and gold. For you non-Californians, the Victory Bell goes to the winner of the UCLA-USC game who then paints it in their school colors.

After UCLA, we cruised down the coast to San Diego where we'll be spending Monday.

~~~

However, while we were at UCLA I received some saddening news. My Grandad Jim Stockley (my mom's father in West Memphis, Arkansas) passed away on Sunday. He was an incredible man -- a true man after God's heart -- but had been sick with ALS for the past few months. Cristy and I are putting the trip on hold to fly out for the funeral -- we'll leave LAX on Tuesday morning and then return on Thursday.