Summer Road Trip 2009 Part III - Los Angeles

Just now joining me? Be sure to check out Parts I - (Vegas) and II - (AZ, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon) of my super awesome trip from last summer.

After a restful nights sleep in Kingman, we were up bright and early the next morning, packing up and ready to hit the road again for leg three of our adventure. We woke up to my little cousin Raine sitting on the floor in our room holding her cat, Ziggy, waiting for us to wake up. Bless that cat. She was so excited we were there and she so wanted us to play with her. But we had to pack. So I gave her my camera because she loves taking pictures. The result, a million pictures of the three of us packing. And some random stuff too.

I had to help her with this one, but isn't she cute?

Pictures taken. Bags packed. Car loaded. We were ready to go. This time, we were going to the city that has stolen my heart; Los Angeles. We jumped in the car that my aunt and uncle so graciously let us borrow for five days and we were off. For five hours. In the desert. Seriously, the most boring drive ever. EVER.

This. For 5 hours.

But we made it. And the second we got into LA, I drilled the friends. “What kind of car are we looking for?” “A black Mini Cooper!” “What color is the top?” “Black!” And the front seat passenger had to have the camera ready at all times! Umm…yeah. That would be Kristen Stewart’s car we were looking for. How do I know what she drives? Well, how can you not with as much as she’s in the news?! Stupid paparazzi! And what would I have done had I seen her driving down the 405? I probably would have screamed. And wrecked. And not have cared that I wrecked because I just saw Kristen Stewart. But you know what? There are a shit-ton of Mini Coopers in LA!!!

Alison: "HELLO LOS ANGELES!!!"

After checking into our hotel and chilling out for a minute, we decided to go do some exploring and to grab some dinner. Not much to write home about. I'm pretty sure our first meal was In-N-Out. Positive actually. And oh was it good! And if I'm not mistaking, we ate there two more times before we left. Don't judge. If you've never had it, you don't know what you're missing. Anyway, after a long day of traveling, I'm sure we crashed pretty early that night.

Our first full day in LA brought lots of adventures. First we hit up the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

We did this my first time in LA also, but there was something being filmed outside Grauman's so we couldn't see all the hand and footprints. We also didn't really stick around to see many of the stars the first time. So this time, I made sure to do both!

R.I.P.

We went pretty early which was a good idea because it wasn't so hot yet and the crowds weren't that bad. We also walked through The Kodak Theatre this time. Looking up and seeing all the movies that lined the walls and imagining all the amazing actors and actresses that had walked through those doors, it was surreal. I was in awe.

After our visit, we headed to Burbank to have lunch with some people Alison knew via the internet and Waving at Strangers. And funny story. We were a bit early so we pulled over on the side of the road and just sat for a while. And remember how I had drilled Alison and Cassie on black Mini Coopers? Well, as we were sitting there, everyone was quiet and all of a sudden, from the back seat, Alison yells, "FOLLOW THAT CAR!!" I didn't even blink before I had the car in drive and was flying down the road. I knew exactly what she meant. You see, it was a black Mini Cooper. It was not, however, Kristen Stewart. It still makes me laugh to think about it.

Clearly this is pre-car chase!

After lunch, we decided to go do more driving around and exploring. We were driving down Sunset and were stopped at a red light and Cassie casually says, "Is that...Perez Hilton? THAT'S PEREZ HILTON!!" And sure enough, there he was...taking a Sunday afternoon spin around the block on his bike!

Fact.

Celebrity sighting number 2 - check. Yeah, he's not really that big of a celebrity and yes, I hate it when he dogs KStew, because what did she ever do to him? But he is a celebrity nontheless. After the excitement of the day, we needed something sweet to eat. Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills it was!

My mouth is watering just thinking about these things!

And now that I think about it, I think we also got Del Taco and took it back to the room for dinner. Look, don't you judge us! We used to have a Del Taco when we were kids and it was the shit!! No joke. Who even knew they still existed?! But I'm sorry DT...you've let your game slip over the years. Taco Bell totally has you beat. And what's up with serving fries? But thanks anyway for allowing me to relive my childhood a la your burritos. And that pretty much ended our first full day in Los Angeles. But day two, day two was the BEST day. And this is where the real Kristen Stewart excitement begins!

I was going to save this story for opening weekend of The Runaways, but since the southeast was so graciously gypped on the March 19th limited release date and since I'm not as cool as CC and am not jetting off to Los Angeles next week, I’m going run with this now.

I love Kristen Stewart. Fact.

As an actress, as a human, as a female teenager (if only for another month) trying her damndest to not be one of those cookie cutter Hollywood actresses that you see flaunting their stuff all over the magazines. Kristen Stewart, that is not. Instead you’ll find her…wait, you won’t find her because, aside from press and movie events, she's NEVER seen out and about. She’s said before that she’s boring. I disagree. She’s probably the least boring person ever. I’d do anything to sit and have a conversation with her. But she said it because to her, outside of being one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood, in the world, right now, she does everything she can to remain a normal girl. To live a normal life. To keep what's hers, hers. And do you blame her? She might me awkward in front of the cameras, she might cough onstage at the Oscars, and she might mess with her hair excessively and bounce in her chair during interviews and because of that, people give her crap. And she's proud of everything she does. She really is. You can see it. You know what I think? I think she’s 19 freaking years old. I think she’s been thrown into this situation she never expected. And so quickly. Seriously, it was overnight. I’d like to see anyone else take on that level of fame like that. I think the fact that she’s managed to remain as level-headed and calm as she has is remarkable. I find her awkwardness enduring. Refreshing. She's unlike any other actress I've ever seen. And absolutely beautiful. I can't even talk about how gorgeous she is. That skin, it is too much.

And her movies. I could go on and on about her movies. Most know her from Twilight. You know what I know her from? In The Land of Women; this happens to be my all time favorite movie. Hints the title of my blog. Seriously, there was a time when I was watching this movie once a week. No joke. And Into the Wild. Yeah, she’s in it for maybe ten minutes, but during those ten minutes, she’s brilliant. And when you have directors like Sean Penn rooting for you and dropping your name around other Hollywood producers, umm…damn. The Cake Eaters. This movie will change you. This broken, sick character she plays will change you. She will have you believing in her. Rooting for her. You’ll be wishing she gets everything she ever dreamed of. It’s a beautiful piece produced and directed by Mary Stuart Masterson. Love her too. Benny & Joon, anyone? Adventureland is another. I could watch that movie every single day and it wouldn’t get old. And it would always be funny. And the two I’m most looking forward to are Welcome to the Rileys and The Runaways; which brings me to my story. As if it isn't long enough already ;)

I happened to know that The Runaways was filming in Los Angles while we were visiting. Before we went to bed our second night there, I was browsing around the internet and stumbled upon the address for the filming location the next day ----->insert me screaming here<----- That's when I freaked out. We could go. We could find the set. We could hang around. We could meet Kristen effing Stewart! And oh my gosh, Joan Jett!!! What would I do? What would I say? Well, obviously I needed to rehearse. Cassie agreed to be KS while Alison decided to document with the camera. And in return, we got some of the funniest pictures of the trip. And yes, I even tried on my outfit I had planned for the next day...you know, just to make sure I looked worthy.

Here I am meeting "Kristen Stewart."

Check out that hair sweep!!

And here is "Kristen Stewart" autographing a magazine. A magazine that I safely got from Atlanta to Vegas to Los Angeles and back to Atlanta again. I had a Sharpie too. What?? I had to be prepared!!!

And then there was lots of laughing. Lots.

I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it a million times over, but I seriously have the most amazing friends ever. The next morning, we got up bright and early and got ready to head to the set. Yeah, I just said, "to head to the set!" We were so in Hollywood, people!

This was the first sign we saw...headed in the right direction! Although, it is Los Angeles...that could've been a production sign for ANYTHING!!!

And this is me being CRAZY nervous!!! Seriously. I'm freaking out on the inside here. I don't even think that's a real smile!

And then we saw this. Do you see what it says in that arrow? Run.

As in The Runaways. So we have arrived. Now what to do but wait. And wait. And wait. We ended up grabbing some breakfast at this little coffee shop down the block from the set. They had tables set up outside so we just hung out. For quite a while. And watched. After about an hour without much action, we decided to leave. Don't worry. The story doesn't end here! Although you probably wish it did at this point because it's so effing long!

Anyway, we left. and we went to the Hollywood sign!! We had found this spot when I was in LA two years before and was determined to find it again. We came in from a different way, but found it nonetheless!

I'm pretty sure it's the closest you can get...without breaking any laws anyway!

And look at that view of LA!! The smog kind of hinders you from seeing the actual city in the picture, but we could see it IRL.

<3

So what did we do after that? After a quick stop at the hotel, we headed back to the set, of course! We circled the block a few times before parking the car. And actually, I wish we would've counted how many times we actually circled that block that day. As Cassie said, "We were too busy circling that block like grade A sketchballs to notice anything else!" And I would kill for a security camera tape on one of the buildings. You know, to see us driving by repeatedly. Anyway, when we parked the car, what did we see outside the fence? Paparazzi!!! Yeah, they are sleaze balls. What they do for a living is sick. They invade people's lives. And it's not cool. But I knew as soon as I saw them, that something must finally be going on! So we jumped out of the car, paid the meter, and walked around the block. (Remember the part about the meter for later. It's important.) We made our way back to the same coffee shop from earlier that morning. And in doing so, we passed the craft services truck. I literally could have reached out and grabbed a hamburger off the grill. I didn't. Although it smelled amazing, it would have burned my hand and I need my both my hands for when I met Kristen. We'd want to shank hands, of course! There were people walking around in their 70s outfits, cameras being set up, lighting equipment being rolled out, and people hustling around like busy little bees. This was good. Stuff was happening. But alas, after nearly another hour of sitting, nothing. So we decided to walk around the block one last time on our way to the car. And what did we find?

This. Wardrobe. I so hope the red jumpsuit is there. I'll pretend.

And this. The cars from the movie.

And this. I'm 99.9% sure this is K's trailer. Because it's the only one with the screen blocking the door. And this is where the paparazzi were standing when we got there. And then I kicked them off the curb. And then when we came back by this screen was here. To block them from seeing her maybe? That's my theory.

And most importantly. THIS!!!!! You know what this is right? This picture isn't zoomed in. I was that close.

Do you see how close I was? I was breathing the same air...er, smog as Kristen Stewart!!! No, I didn't see her. But I just know she saw me out of her trailer window and she said, "OMG...there's Jamie!!! She's my future BFF...I have to go say hey!!" And then her people wouldn't let her. That's my number two theory. You know it's the truth because KStew is that awesome. She knew. She tried. I don't blame her. It's totally not her fault! And then there was a present left on the car when we got back. I thought it could've been a note from K herself. I thought it might have a secret code word for me to say to the guards outside the fence. I thought, this is it. Boy was I wrong!

This is not a note from KStew. This is a ticket from the City of Los Angeles. In my excitement, I didn't pay attention to the sign that said, "No parking after 4pm" above the meter. We parked at roughly 3:45. Oops. So Los Angeles, you're welcome for the $82 I had to pay. Would I do it all over again for the chance to see Kristen Stewart's car and The Runaways set. Yes. Absolutely.

And check this out. Here is the trailer for The Runaways.

Pause it at the 18 second mark. Does anything look familiar from this picture?

Hint: Look at the sign above the door!

So we were on set. We didn't see Kristen Stewart. Turns out it was a night shoot. We weren't there at night. And I got an $82 parking violation. I didn't let it get me down. I had just experienced something really awesome. Once in a lifetime awesome. So what better way to celebrate? SANTA MONICA!!!!

Such a cool place.

Look at all the colors!!!!

Typical.

Cassie was NOT a fan of the ferris wheel. Her exact words; "Yeah, let's go up in the air in these little cups and just stop!!!"

After SM, there were two more stops to make for the day. Could we have jammed one more thing into this day? Probably :) Next up, at my request, Griffith Observatory. We had tried to go two years before, but the road up to it was closed because of all the fires and we didn't have the time to walk all the way there. Although we tried and realized we weren't getting very far. We seriously couldn't have hit the park at a more perfect time. Look at this.

Amazing.

Seriously love this picture. All three of us. In motion. And it's hilarious.

Griffith Observatory is seriously beautiful.

And so is Los Angeles at night.

And this. This is by far my favorite picture of me from the entire trip! Love it so much.

Ok, one last stop for the night. When I was in LA two years before this trip, we were driving down La Brea and saw a ridiculous line out of a building. And down the street. And around the corner. I'm not joking. This place was Pink's.

We didn't go on that trip. But we were told it was a must on this one. So we went. And we waited in the line. (And warning...it's cash only.) And we ate delicious hot dogs and onion rings. So very late at night. And when we paid the parking meter it told us, "FAIL." Alright. And it was the perfect way to end an epic day on an epic trip. This was by far the best day of the trip for me. For reasons that are obvious.

This isn't the end of the trip. There is more. But I feel like this post is long enough. If you made it through the whole thing, you're awesome. And you totally win a prize! Coming up in the next post will be the remainder of Los Angeles, San Diego, and heading back home.