Day 4: Death Valley Daze & Hollywood Knights

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After an interesting evening dining with the scorpion, Mike, Hadrian, and Bone left the fine accommodations of Furnace Creek for further exploration of Death Valley. They drove through the park viewing the different geological formations, all the while wondering, "where do they keep the party stores?

Death Valley Daze

Driving into the Panamint Mountain Range, the Boys were able to check out how Death Valley sits between the Great Basin and the Mohave Desert, with some awesome views !!!

Baking Boneheads !!

Hadrian and Bone, looking for a cold beer in a Desert Oasis !!!

By noon the boys had decided that they had had enough fresh air and decided to head to the summit of stupidity .... the City of Lost Angels!

Last Stop for Beer in Death Valley !!!

Moving at 100 mph in the Mohave !!!

Now the road from Death Valley to Los Angeles cuts through the Mojave Desert, it is very long and very straight, and without much traffic, therefore when it was suggested that the boys should try for the all-time rental Cadillac with three boneheads land-speed record they took it on. The Caddy went a very comfortable 120 miles per hour, while the Boneheads took turns hanging out the car windows trying to catch flies with their mouths !!!

Baking in Bakersfield

As the Boys replenished their gas and brews in Bakersfield, as they sweated in the incredible heat they discovered that Bakersfield is often the hottest city in the US.

Finally the Boys hit La-La Land and immediately checked out the scene at the Hard Rock Cafe with several rounds of beers, however they decided the beers were way too expensive for their midwest palettes (or wallets) and moved on to other places. Next, Mike, Bone, and Hadrian checked out the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Park Observatory before deciding to descend on to Hollywood Blvd for dinner!

Descending in the Epicenter of Hollywood which is Hollywood Blvd and Vine, the Boys checked out the iconic Grauman's Chinese Theatre!Built by a partnership headed by Sid Grauman over 18 months beginning in January 1926, the theater opened May 18, 1927, with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings. It has since been home to many premieres, including the 1977 debut of Star Wars as well as many private events and three Academy Award ceremonies. Among the theater's features are the concrete blocks set in the forecourt, which bear the signatures, footprints, and handprints of popular motion picture personalities from the 1920s to the present day. Mike, Bone, and Hadrian checked it out, but was more interested in finding dinner, they were hungry!

What would most people expect to find for their culinary taste in Los Angeles? California cuisine of course! The boys however, had other ideas they found the only English pub in Hollywood (and we all know how famous the English are with their cuisine!), and proceed to stuff themselves with Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding.

After the massive dinner and a few more beers, Bone and Hadrian thought they would show Mike the iconic view of L.A. from the Griffith Park Observatory! Located on the south slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, the Observatory is literally in the center of metropolitan Los Angeles, and offers an amazing view of the city, especially at night. The story of the park starts on December 16, 1896, when 3,015 acres of land surrounding the observatory was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Griffith J. Griffith. In his will he donated funds to build an observatory, exhibit hall, and planetarium on the donated land. Griffith's objective was to make astronomy accessible to the public, as opposed to the prevailing idea that observatories should be located on remote mountaintops and restricted to scientists.

Griffith drafted detailed specifications for the observatory. In drafting the plans, he consulted with Walter Sydney Adams, the future director of Mount Wilson Observatory, and George Ellery Hale, who founded (with Andrew Carnegie) the first astrophysical telescope in Los Angeles.

Construction began on June 20, 1933, using a design developed by architects John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley, based on preliminary sketches by Russell W. Porter. The observatory and accompanying exhibits were opened to the public on May 14, 1935, as the country's third planetarium. It was an awesome place to check out, but the evening was still young and there were more bars to hit!

Driving back to Hollywood from the Observatory, the boys decided to start serious bar hopping in Hollywood. After a few bars they unwittingly drifted to the gay district in West Hollywood! Unfortunately for Mike, he decided to pass out in the back seat. Taking advantage of the situation, Bone and Hadrian gave serious thought of bartering Mike for free beers with the non-heterosexuals in the bar. After finding out that they couldn't get enough beer to fill a thimble, they decided to turn in for the night and proceed to check in a sleazy Motel 8 in lovely Englewood (a really bad part of Los Angeles.)