Hollywood Boulevard: Third Time’s a Charm

Jill's Journal: After twice heading to Hollywood Boulevard only to find it shut down for a movie premiere, we finally made it on a “normal” day. (I use that term loosely, as there’s nothing normal about Hollywood Blvd. or Tinseltown!)

By the way, this is what the very famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre looks like with a red carpet laid out for a premiere. The movie set to premiere on that particular day was “This Means War.” If we’d wanted to stake out a spot, we could have waited and seen Reese Witherspoon and her co-stars walk down that red carpet just a little after we were there. Nah. That might be fun for us adults to do once, but we’re not going to put our little kids through that madness.

Here’s Grauman’s on a regular day. Right on Hollywood Blvd., this iconic landmark has been here since 1927. Built by Sid Grauman, the man who is credited with “inventing” movie premieres, this theatre was the home of the Academy Awards a few times in the 1940s. In addition to premieres and other big events, it’s still a regular theatre.

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is built to look like a giant Chinese pagoda. Looking up, it’s easy to be taken by the unique exterior. But it’s in looking down that one sees the theatre’s enduring legacy: the 200+ celebrities whose handprints and footprints are immortalized in concrete in the forecourt.

It didn’t take long for the girls to find one of the three horse hoofprints also in the concrete. This one was Roy Rogers’ Trigger.

George Burns along with his cigar.

Marilyn Monroe, with Jane Russell immediately to the left. Monroe wanted to add her famous derriere and Russell wanted to add her equally famous bosom, but both were deemed a little too risqué for the time.

His and Hers: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Star Wars (the premiere was one of the many held at Grauman’s over the years).

Tom Hanks. I’m not sure if he has really small feet or if Erika has really big feet!

Will Smith (with Matt Damon just below). “Parents just don’t understand.” (Does that age me?)

George Clooney. Swoon.

Jack Nicholson. “You can’t handle the truth!”

Robin Williams. Carpe diem.

Harrison Ford. Indy!

The only thing on Hollywood Blvd. more famous than Grauman’s might be the Walk of Fame. There’s over 2,400 stars emblazoned in the sidewalk on both sides of the street. They cover 15 blocks, plus a few side streets. This sculpture, featuring starlets of the past (that’s Mae West in the front), marks the head of the Walk of Fame, which began in 1960.

These may not have been the first stars laid in the sidewalk, but they’re the very first two stars one sees from the westernmost start of the Walk of Fame: Elvis Presley and The Beatles, side by side.

The girls love Elvis. :)

And I love this picture of little Victoria, with her strong personality and little 4-year-old baby tummy, telling her sisters off about something. And they’re taking it! She is going to rule the world someday. Aren’t third children supposed to be easy going? She blows all birth order theories out of the water. Happily, when she’s not mad, she is the sweetest, most loving little thing in the world. But, boy oh boy, does she have a temper (and a stubborn streak).

Mickey Mouse! Oh my, how the girls are looking forward to Disneyland. Soon.

But we have raised these girls right. They were more excited about running across Jerry Moss’ star than Mickey Mouse’s! How many little kids even know who Moss is? (For that matter, how many adults outside of the music or Thoroughbred industry do?) Moss is the “M” in A&M Records, who helped launch the recording careers of acts like Sting and The Police. He also happens to own one of the greatest fillies of all time, the 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta (who was, incidentally, named after a The Police album). The magnificent Zenyatta…that’s why the girls were so excited. :)

Speaking of Sting…!

Also on Hollywood, just steps from Grauman’s, is the Kodak Theatre. This is where the Academy Awards are held these days.

Here’s the view from Hollywood and Highland and our last glimpse of the Hollywood sign. It’s a fitting farewell to our time in Los Angeles.

Santa Anita: The Great Race Place

Jill's Journal: Santa Anita Park in Arcadia may not have the glory of Churchill Downs in Kentucky or the grandeur of Belmont Park in New York (the only other two tracks in the country with a similar breadth and scope), but it has a special vibrancy and California casualness that still makes it one of my favorite racetracks. And it’s beautiful. On a clear day, the San Gabriel Mountains make an exquisite backdrop for the poetry that is gorgeous Thoroughbreds doing what they love to do.

Santa Anita also isn’t quite as old and historic as Churchill or Belmont – Churchill’s got about 60 years and Belmont’s got about 30 years on “The Great Race Place” – but I suppose Kentucky and New York also have a good number of years on California regarding statehood.

Santa Anita opened in 1934. Original stockholders included Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, and Harry Warner (one of the founders of Warner Bros.). It’s pretty safe to say that every major California-based racehorse to hit the national scene came through Santa Anita (Seabiscuit, Silky Sullivan, John Henry, Sunday Silence, Silver Charm, Zenyatta, and many more). During World War II, racing at Santa Anita was shut down and the facility was used as a Japanese internment camp. Later, in 1984, the equestrian events for the 1984 Summer Olympics were held here.

These days, Santa Anita is still the flagship track of California. The important races here carry as much prestige in the racing industry as important races at other tracks do. Plus, whether you're a hard-core handicapper or a family looking to enjoy a day at the races, it’s a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

Superfecta of super Cal jocks: Longden, Shoemaker, Pincay, and McCarron.

Between the races: a carriage horse and the scale where the jocks weigh in…and out.

Madelyn was only too willing to practice her jockey skills at the nice playground in the infield. (They do pony rides on the big racing days too!)

This was a personal thrill: in the far reaches of the parking lot, we spotted a gate open and headed over to investigate. It turned out to be the head of the European-style, downhill turf course, a feature unique only to Santa Anita throughout American racing. The crew working on the course could not have been nicer and let us walk part of the course and check out the starting gate. I was giddy. Racing friends will understand!

Here are the girls with a memorial to the legendary George Woolf, aka “The Iceman.” He was killed in a tragic fall here at Santa Anita in 1946 when he was just 35.

Woolf was aboard California favorite Seabiscuit during the famous 1938 match race at Pimlico with Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Woolf served as a more-than-able substitute for Red Pollard while the latter was recovering from injuries. Of course, the working-class Seabiscuit beat the blue-blooded War Admiral and the rest is history.

This is the adorable John Shear, a modern-day hero. He’s worked the paddock at Santa Anita for over 50 years. Last year, when he was 90-years-young, he threw himself in front of a frightened, runaway horse to save a 6-year-old girl from being trampled. The girl was fine. The horse was fine. Shear sustained a broken pelvis, internal bleeding, and a host of other injuries. But horsemen are tough and here he is, a year later and now 91, back at work. A humble hero.

"The Bald Eagle." This is a bust of the tremendous, late trainer Charlie Whittingham and his faithful dog Toby. Among his many accolades was the distinction of being the oldest trainer to win the Kentucky Derby when he was 73. He broke his own record when he won it again three years later.

My favorite picture of the day; this one was taken by Rob. It's a perfect shot of the notoriously crotchety but amazingly tough and tenacious racehorse John Henry. With a heart as big as the sky, he is the epitome of a legend.