After the flight and the early afternoon at the ocean, we drove into LA to visit the La Brea Tar Pits. Absolutely fascinating that such a vast contribution to natural science happens to be in the middle of modern day LA. Highly recommend visiting the pits and the associated museum!

Hollywood was next on our must-see list. A good friend (thanks, Annie!) recommended Loteria Mexican Grill for dinner so off we went! The food was very different than the Mexican I’m used to, but the guac was the best I’ve ever had. The black beans that come with the entrees made me a believer in beans.

So good! And a cold michelada to wash it down? Perfect summer evening with my family.

As the sun was setting, we walked Hollywood Blvd. to check out the scenery. Despite the stars along the walk, this place also felt sad to me! Like the land of broken dreams and forgotten hope. Not sure what my deal is with noticing how sad Venice Beach and Hollywood Blvd. is, but the energy was intense at both places! Maybe Colorado’s perfection made me forget about the real world? Either way – we walked the street and had a great time!

I stopped with some of my favorite heroes to grab a picture in true tourist form. My brother who lives in LA was a great tour guide and showed us around. Last place before calling it a day was the Chinese Theater – home of numerous red carpet events, movie premieres and awards shows.

The place made me want to get all glammed up like a movie star and walk the red carpet! Or just hang out with superstars like Shrek!

After a long day, we headed back to our hotel and were asleep in two shakes of wanna-be actresses fake assets (numerous on Hollywood Blvd.)

Have you traveled somewhere only to find it to be the exact opposite of what you expected? I want to hear your stories!