Hollywood Boulevard

Several years ago we sat in McDonald's when suddenly Batman came through the door. He was all decked out with mask and cape and looked exactly as he had ten minutes earlier when we saw him posing for money on the street. He stayed in character as he walked to the counter and ordered his food. He sat down at a table, unwrapped the burger and ate like the rest of us (proving that even superheroes must have to put on their pants one leg at a time). It made us chuckle. A bizarre moment like this could only happen in a few places around the world, one of them being Hollywood Boulevard. 

That was our first time there and we enjoyed every minute of it. We felt as if we had landed on another planet. We strolled up and down the famous street along the Walk of Fame where all the celebrities had their stars. Brittany found the star of Amy Grant, who was her all-time favorite singer. Later we saw David Hasselhoff across the street as he stepped into a car (and no, it wasn't the Knight Rider car). And then, of course, we had to get our picture taken with the Hollywood sign in the background. 

That was a dozen years ago and now we decided to return for the sake of nostalgia. We paid $25 to park our car in a lot just off Hollywood Boulevard. That amount was just shy of what we paid to park at Disneyland. I'm not sure which of the two was more of a circus. 

As soon as we arrived we were met by the din of the street and what appeared to be a homeless guy singing for money. A lady grilled thick hotdogs for seven bucks a pop. Tourists flocked the sidewalks while hot rods and tour buses crowded the street. Neon signs flashed. Fumes of marijuana lifted to the sky. Among those in the streets were shabbily-dressed beggars and high-class snobs. This was Hollywood. 

The streets were lined with souvenir shops, over-priced eateries, Hollywood theaters and museums. I watched my wife and daughters closely as they walked among men I didn't trust. 

This was a place to show off extremes. People dressed bizarrely and got away with showing as much skin as possible. The amount of people with either mental or drug abuse issues was staggering. 

Hollywood Boulevard was sensory overload: flashing neon signs, the smell of food and smoke, all sorts of crazy people, traffic, exhaust, trash on the ground, filth in the stores and glamor in the shops. At the same time it was fascinating to imagine that this was the center of the movie world. This was where it all began. Famous people and wanna-be-famous people all hang out here. We soaked all this in as the sun disappeared and the night lights came on. 

One of the highlights was a man walking his pitbull. This was no ordinary dog, but the stoutest canine I had ever seen. It had been groomed to have a mane like that of a lion. When I first saw the dog I thought it was a cub on a leash. Needless to say, the owner had a lot of people gawking his way. 

We decided to top the night off with a trip to McDonald's. Secretly I hoped Batman would show up again and also, secretly, I knew it was the only place we could afford. There was no Batman this time, but a lot of crazy people in and out. 

One lady, who looked like she lived on the streets, prayed out loud so everyone in the room could hear. Most of it sounded like a wailing rant, but one detail I was able to pick out: she repeatedly forgave Satan. 

In the end, we were happy to return to our hotel. (I was happy that our car hadn't been broken into or stolen!) We all agreed that Hollywood Boulevard was a good place to experience, but we were also happy to leave. The glamor, the lights will linger in our minds, but I'm not sure that we'll ever return. ♠