You may follow along in our journey by visiting Julie's Journal page. It will include photographs, suggestions, mishap adventures and our experiences on the road and back-country trails.

If you would like to know more about the history of our adventure click here for the history page. How we planned, saved money, chose our equipment and prepared for ten months on the road.

These are some other web sites we found useful and/or have recpical links with.

Los Angeles, California
May 1, 1999 to May 6, 1999

written by Julie Hackler & Dave Fink

Boy, did we get warmer weather, 75 degrees and sunny! We drove right to LA. We hit the Pacific Coastal Highway (Route 1) and stayed about 30 minutes outside of LA at the Leo Carillo State Beach. A short walk to the beach and $17 a night we couldn't of been happier. We wanted to see everything so we purchased a neat little map of all the interesting things to see and since LA's roads were not the city-like blocks we are used to it came in handy to find our way around. We first hit Hollywood Blvd. We walked along the stars up and down the street, took my photo with Marilyn Monroe and Dave's with Bruce Lee. We hit the Mann's Chinese Theater and saw all the famous hand and foot prints. They even had R2D2 and C3PO of Star Wars. From there we walked on Rodeo Drive. A nice walk where at every meter a BMW, Rolls Royce or Lexus was parked - a few limos too. We even saw a star! We didn't know her name, but when our faces lit up because we recognized her she politely smiled. She was in "Twister", the fiancée of the guy that co-starred with Helen Hunt, I think she played a psychiatrist. Anyhow it was neat.

We later found out she is Jami Gertz. Her films include Sixteen Candles, 1984; The Lost Boys. 1987; Renegades, 1989; and Twister, 1996. One source says, "Actress Jami Gertz landed a role on the short-lived TV comedy series Square Pegs by winning a national talent contest. Prior to that she had studied at New York University's Drama School...She scored her first hit in The Lost Boys in 1987 as a young, gypsy temptress...Gertz continues to find steady work and has gained a dedicated fan following...". But more importantly she seems to be a dedicated wife and mother (like when we saw her) and has not let her success in Hollywood go to her head.

Then on to Beverly Hills. Boy you want to talk about money. Half the houses you can't see because of the fancy high walled gates. But you knew something big was back there if the front gate was any type of reflection. We decided not to purchase a map of the stars because most of them lived in gated private communities where you can't even drive down the streets. Not to mention the large front gates again. So you wouldn't be able to see much anyway. But if you're just interested in knowing you could get one off the streets or buy them in anyone of the souvenir shops on Hollywood Blvd.

The next day we laid on the beach all morning and decided to try to see a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The tickets are free and are given out on a first come first served basis. I believe most of the television show tapings are free. They even have people giving tickets away one the streets in Hollywood, but they are mostly to the smaller shows. Hollywood Squares and the Dennis Miller Show were two we were offered. When we arrived at NBC it was about 2 p.m. and they were out of show tickets, but they offered us stand-by tickets. This meant if anyone didn't show up we would get their seat. The stand-by tickets were numbered, so basically the lower the number the better chance you had of getting in. We were number 15. It actually worked out better for us, because we didn't have to wait in line to get a good seat and were sat in front of the people who waited in line all day. Since the VIP's didn't show we got their seats. Plus if you didn't get in to that night's show they gave you priority seating for the next night. Jay's guests were Tom Selleck and the Hog-Calling Champions. It was a lot of fun. Jay came out and talked to the audience before the show and made everyone laugh. It was both mine and Dave's first time to a live taping of a television show and we really enjoyed it. It was fun and free!

We also checked out Venice Beach which is home to the famed Muscle Beach. Not what I thought it was going to be. It was basically a gym outside. I thought it was actually on the sand and really big powerlifters competing with dead weights. Dave said it might have been back in the day when Arnold Shwartznagger used to frequent the place. We also didn't get a chance to see the girls in their thongs and the boys in their Speedo, it was later in the afternoon and to cool for too many beach go-ers.

The Pacific Coast Highway Route 1 was an excellent way to see the coast. The view was nice when the smog lifted. I thought Philly was bad, but they do have quite a smog problem out here. If you're heading out his way I definitely recommend Route 1 for travel. On some parts it intersects with Route 101 and moves away from the coast but it heads back for all the great views. We still have plans to travel Route 1 all the way up the California coast, so I plan to give full details in an article on Route 1 specifically. We didn't have much difficulty with the truck and trailer heading north, but we were warned previously about traveling southbound. We past several tractor trailer trucks, so if they can make it I basically feel anyone can. Just as long as you are careful and cautious. So check out the page on Route 1 if you'd like. Up to San Francisco we go!