Almost every evening in the year 1989 I was watching  sunsets and dreamed of visiting someday California. On one evening I promised myself, to make this wish come true. The next day I went to the library in my city and took all the books they had about California.
After reading those books and looking at the beautiful pictures of this country, I was even more obsessed to travel there. So I informed me, how much money I would need to fly over there and to take a rental car for my visit. Since then I spared my money and promised myself to make this travel on my 30th birthday in 1991. In the meantime I dreamed every day of my trip to California and planed, what I wanted to visit there.

Two years later, in March 1991 I booked me a flight to L.A. with Continental Airlines for the 22. August.
I had to fly from Frankfurt to New York and then to Los Angeles. 

Sunset in the clouds over L.A.

The night before the flight I was so excited, that I couldn’t sleep.
At 7:00 a.m. I drove to the airport in Frankfurt and checked in. Within 8 hours I was in New York. The flight went over Great Britain, Ireland, Groenland and Canada and it was so beautiful to watch all these countries from above. At New York I had to stay for 2 hours at the airport then it went further with a flight to Los Angeles. I had a good seat at the window of the airplane and was almost the whole flight watching this big and beautiful country. A nice fact was, that I had the impression to fly the whole time with the sun. From Germany to California there is a difference of 9 hours and I thought that the sun wouldn’t go down on this day. Even though I had not slept the night before and was so tired, I couldn’t sleep in the plane, always thinking I will miss something. As we flew over L.A. before the landing, I looked out of the window and saw the sun going down. I remembered me seeing so much sunsets in the last two year, always wishing, to be in California, that tears ran down my cheek. To see this wish come true, moved me emotionally so much. As I saw this big city from above I thought, GOD.... if I go lost in this town, nobody will find me.
The arrival at the L.A. International Airport was a great experience, everything went so quick and easy. As I got my bags, I went out of the airport and waited for the bus, who brought me to the rental station to get my car. In the meantime it was 8:30 p.m. and dark. The bus came within 10 minutes and at the rental station I needed another 15 minutes to become my car. I asked for the way to Thousand Oaks (I had reserved a room at the Motel 6 for the first night) and they told me, I had to take the Highway 5 and then the Highway 101 North.

I drove off and found quickly the Highway  5. At the point, where I had to change the Highway 5 to the 101 I made a big mistake and took a false exit. Suddenly I didn’t knew, where I was. I drove along and thought maybe I will find the 101 but got lost in this part of town. As driving maybe 45 minutes around and around suddenly I saw a sign “Hayvenhurst”! Thank Michael, now I knew where I was. In Encino! I drove to an Mc Donalds Drive-In, and asked for the way to the Highway 101. The nice lady there saw me sweat, tired and a little confused in my car, so she handed me a coke and a  Big Mac and painted me the way to the Highway 101 on a napkin. As I wanted to pay for the coke and the burger she said: “No, that’s a gift, welcome to California”!
I thanked her and thought, God, what a nice gesture! :)

With the painting in my hand I found the Highway 101 and Thousand Oaks. As I checked into my room at the Motel 6 it was almost 00:30 a.m. and I was more than 24 hours on my way and awake. I was so tired but I couldn’t sleep. I turned on the TV and watched the news. As I saw all the criminal reports from downtown L.A. I was afraid to go out there in the next morning. Needless to say, that I also couldn’t sleep that night. At 8:00 a.m. I drove to a near restaurant to have breakfast and I have to say, I never ate such things so early in the morning. Soup, Potatoes with bacon, cheese, a lot of coffee and all this stuff a real American breakfast had to offer.
I knew, that I would be the whole day on the road, sightseeing, so I wanted to be in
a good shape. 

I took the Highway 101 South and then the exit to Sunset Boulevard. I bought me a “Starmap” and I watched some of the beautiful homes of the Stars. Later I drove to the Hollywood Boulevard. I visited the shops there, a Waxcabinet and the Man’s Chinese Theater. A great experience  was, as I took my hands into the handprints Elisabeth Taylor had left there. It fit like they would be mine.
A Japanese tourist who was standing next to me, couldn’t believe it. “They are exactly the same” he said. :) I was very proud of it, because I’m a great admirer of Elisabeth Taylor, since my father showed me the film “Lassie” with her, when I was a little child.        

After watching the stars on the walk of fame, I drove back to the Sunset Boulevard. Because of the hot weather, I decided to get an haircut to feel more comfortable. I parked my car near an hairdresser and made a date for cutting my hair. He said I have to wait for an half an hour and I went to an frozen yoghourt shop to take a refresh- ment. I took an strawberry frozen yoghourt and as the lady was handing it over to me, I couldn’t move anymore. I stood there in the middle of this shop and was so tired, that I thought I would immediately break down and fall asleep. As the lady saw this, she came over to me, snapped me and sat me down on a chair. She gave me to drink and asked if she should call a doctor. I told her, that I’m a German tourist and that I hadn’t slept the last two nights. She said, I should take some sleeping pills and go to bed. After the drink I felt
a little better and got the haircut. I found the idea with the sleeping pills was a good one. I drove to Beverly Hills, walked a while on Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard and went into a pharmacy to buy some pills. I choose some natural sleeping pills and drove back to Thousand Oaks to my Motel 6 room. I swam some rounds in the swimming pool and maybe at 5:00 p.m. I took 2 of that sleeping pills and went to bed. After an half an hour a I felt asleep.

Hand- and footprints
of Elisabeth Taylor

The Walk of Fame
 on Hollywood Boulevard

The next morning I awoke at ca. 9:00 a.m. and I felt really fine and ready for everything.

I took breakfast at Wendy’s near the Motel 6 and this time I asked only for toast and coffee. I had made plans to visit Malibu and drove off. I don’t know why, but I missed the exit to Malibu and after a while I saw the sign “Universal City”. I said to me ok, Malibu can wait, today it’s “Universal time”. I had a great time there! :)
First I took the bus to make the studio tour which was very impressive. As I came out of the bus after the tour I saw a man and it came to my mind, that I knew him. He walked away and I went after him, but he went to the toilette. I thought about it, from where I knew this man until it came to me, that it was “Rett Buttler” from the movie “Gone with the wind”. Unfortunately I didn’t waited until he came out of the toilette, for making a photo with him. This I regret until today. After the studio tour
I went to the “E.T. Adventure” and that really blowed me away. Before you come into the adventure they ask for your name which they type into a computer and give you a card. Before you hop aboard the bike to ride through the adventure you have to give the card to an employer. Now you fly with this bike through the adventure and before you leave, a big E.T. appears, waves to you and say: “Good bye Claudia”, or how your name is. I was so surprised, that I waved back and said: “Good bye E.T.”. It was amazing! Tears ran down my cheek, because I had never experienced something like this before. Here in Germany we don’t have such things. After getting off that bicycle I was a little confused and I don’t know how it happened, but I was immediately back to start. The only thing I know is, that I walked after a man in a wheelchair and maybe I missed the exit and went with him again into the entrance.
I found me back at the lady who type the name into the computer and so I could ride this wonderful adventure for a second time, without waiting 1 hour in the line.
Whow...........! Great Deal! :)   

I was the whole day at the Universal Studios and rode all the adventures and watched the shows there. It was a very happy day for me. A nice fact is, that “Universal City”
is located right behind the hill on which the HOLLYWOOD sign is. For now, when I see a movie on wich they show the HOLLYWOOD sign, I always think of the day I was in the Universal Studios.

Later in the evening I drove again along the Sunset Boulevard and Beverly Hills and watched (searching with my “Starmap”) the homes of the celebrities. From the most of those homes you almost see nothing, because they have a big hatch around the estate and you can’t look in their entrance or backyard etc.. The most impressive estates and houses, which look like palazzos or castles, are along Sunset Boulevard until you arrive the “Beverly Hills Hotel”.
I really got lost into driving around and searching homes and watching them.

I also was in Beverly Hills at Nimesroad, where Elisabeth Taylor live. She has a very beautiful white villa and a very impressive view from her terrace down to L.A.. Around her estate are standing big old trees, through them one can take a glimpse at the house.

At maybe 9:00 p.m. I drove back to Thousand Oaks and went at Wendy’s for dinner.
I ate a big steak, a backed potato and salad and with cans of coke I washed it down. At 11:30 p.m. I went to my room and watched TV for a while. The next day I wanted to get up early in the morning because I had planed to drive to Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley, to search Michaels home Neverland. The Motel 6 Manager had me reserved a room at the Motel 6 in Buellton. I wanted to stay there for one night and than go back on the road, speeding on the highway to discover the Highway No. 1 and all the beauty of nature there.

More about how I found Neverland, how I enjoyed the nature along the Highway No. 1 and what I experienced back to L.A., you can read in the other stories I wrote about my visit to California.

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© Claudia Wildner