Hot in CLEVE*LA*ND - Part 1
 

Moderators, this (and part 2) contain photos of quite a few places, please don't move it - thanks :)

So I finally made my way to California - specifically Southern California, and more specifically L.A. to celebrate my 40th birthday and see a taping of 'Hot In Cleveland'. For those who don't know, here's the premise of the trip (in addition to visiting in-laws who live in California); I hope this puts things into context:

I've been taking photos of Cleveland since the mid-1990s; one of the main reasons I joined SSP in 1997ish, and why I'm still a member is to take photos - mostly of Cleveland and share them with whoever might be interested. In 2006, I was working in downtown Cleveland and like I do, I had my camera with me - it was a nice spring day in April. On a lunch break, I decided to take a walk over to Cleveland State University where there's an ugly brutalist highrise but I figured that it would have a nice view of downtown Cleveland. Sure enough, it had a great view and so I took my camera, pointed it out the window and clicked away. One of the shots came out pretty well and I uploaded it to my site, clevelandskyscrapers.com.
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/...desskyline.jpg

Three years later in 2009, I got an email from someone who said that they were producing a sitcom and they were interested in using that photo for their opening graphic - mind you, they sent it from an AOL email address, so I was a little skeptical. Even so, I politely replied that they were welcome to send me whatever contract/licensing requirements they had, figuring that I might never hear from them again. A week later, I received a contract from Hudson Street Productions, a division of Viacom - my partner is an attorney and I was doing double and triple-takes and asking him "IS THIS LEGIT?!?" and sure enough, it was the real deal. Mind you, they didn't use the photo for any ads or previews so at one point I thought that maybe they decided to use a different photo, which would be understandable. But then the series premiered, and I saw the first episode and there it was - and I didn't know it at the time, but almost 5 million people were watching that episode, setting a record for the TV Land channel's viewership. Since then, the show has gone on to be nominated for Emmys, SAG Awards, etc. and has (if memory serves me right) nearly 50 million viewers in over 170 different countries. :stunned: So fast forward to 2012, I get to the studios and the first thing I see are the dozens of monitors throughout the whole set and in the audience viewing area - and every single one of them has my photo (and the opening title graphic) on them. To someone from a very humble upbringing in Appalachian eastern Ohio, the whole experience couldn't be more amazing and humbling. Sorry if I'm blathering, but this whole trip was surreal.

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/mehicset.jpg


Landing in LAX, downtown L.A. in the distance:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_1.jpg

Yes folks, this is the 'Theme' Building (apparently most people don't know this has an actual name?)
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_2.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_3.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_4.jpg

For those who might be hoping for a thorough photo exploration of L.A.'s inner city... this is as close I got this time around:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_5.jpg

Heading toward the Inland Empire (where we were staying with family):
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_6.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_7.jpg

Yeah, that's ONE house on the right - the pinkish stuff is floral groundcover:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_8.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/la2012/la2012_9.jpg

Glad we didn't have to go through whatever the hell that smog cloud of doom was!
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_10.jpg

We made a quick stop near Lake Elsinore and were en route to San Diego for dinner in Old Town:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_11.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_12.jpg

Palomar Medical Center in Escondido:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_13.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_14.jpg

I *believe* that's San Diego in the distance:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_15.jpg

Suburbia of San Diego:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_16.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_17.jpg

Unfortunately, the only shot of downtown San Diego I was able to catch - bad weather and a hectic schedule were at fault:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_18.jpg

Had a great Mexican dinner in Old Town - this place has the tortillas prepared in the storefront:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_19.jpg

Immaculate Conception Church:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_20.jpg

Two night shots of Old Town:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_21.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_22.jpg

And unfortunately, a downpour prevented any photos of downtown San Diego. The next day, we headed over the mountains via the Ortega Highway:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_23.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_24.jpg

I should have packed some Dramamine!
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_25.jpg

Great views, as long as you don't sh!t your pants around the sharp curves!
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_26.jpg

Fortunately there's a rest stop near the peak:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_27.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_28.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_29.jpg

Heading down the other side, we pass through a little bit of home - well, the Cleveland National Forest:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_30.jpg

More curves, more of me holding on to the car's 'oh sh!t' handles!
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_31.jpg

Fortunately, things evened out:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_32.jpg

Close to the coast:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_33.jpg

We had some friends who took us to some new construction along the water:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_34.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_35.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_36.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_37.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_38.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_39.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_40.jpg

Yep, that's a dolphin!
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_41.jpg

It amazes me that people can actually grow these gorgeous Bird of Paradise plants outdoors (being from Cleveland and all):
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_42.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_43.jpg

Time to head over toward Laguna Beach - the coast was pretty much filled with these houses stacked on top of each other:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_44.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_45.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_46.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_47.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_48.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_49.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_50.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_51.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_52.jpg

Lunch at Greeter's - apparently the 'Greeter' was a well known local back in the day:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_53.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_54.jpg

Views of and from the Boardwalk:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_55.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_56.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_57.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_58.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_59.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_60.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_61.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_62.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_63.jpg

Off we go to South Coast Plaza (helLO, gotta get some shopping in!)
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_64.jpg

The mall itself isn't much to look at, and of course it's surrounded by suburban office parks:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_65.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_66.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_67.jpg

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_68.jpg

Although if you have to have an office tower in the 'burbs, this is a little more appealing than the rest:
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/.../la2012_69.jpg

Next up - L.A., Studio City, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.

Thanks for the tour and shots, MayDay!

Beautiful flowers, houses and beaches... Southern California is really pretty. I love the way of living there.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain!:tup:

Looks like a legit trip. Thanks for the photos.

nice tour! its good to see new areas of so cal represented here.

fyi, thats not smog, thats the marine layer which usually burns off around 3

I may not be the biggest fan of the Inland Empire, but I do like West Ho and Beverly Hills. Can't wait for the next thread! And in either case, great pictures.

Nice pics, Laguna is by far one of the nicest coastal towns in California.

Nice shots of SoCal. Was it different than you expected?

Hey, that's my old stomping grounds near Costa Mesa :tup: ;)

i get the cleve*la, but am wondering what the *nd will be? north dakota? south bend? paris? maybe we shall see in ptII?!

"fyi, thats not smog, thats the marine layer which usually burns off around 3"

Good to know - we saw quite a few pockets like that; some were white/gray, others were brown; I'm guessing the brown was the infamous smog.

"Was it different than you expected?"

Honestly, aside from basic impressions from TV, I didn't have any expectations. It was a great trip and a lot of fun and I love it as a place to visit, but I definitely don't have any desire to live in California - that's not a slam, just an observation and my personal tastes.

"i get the cleve*la, but am wondering what the *nd will be?"

Just focus on the L.A. :)