Today I had company at the beginning and the end of my walk. Carol walked the first hour with me and Todd joined me for the last hour and a half. My route was mainly in North Hollywood, although I hit parts of Burbank, Sun Valley, Studio City and Toluca Lake. Today I saw extremes, from rundown areas of North Hollywood to luxury homes in Toluca Lake, from green residential neighborhoods to some intense concrete wastelands.

I've always been amazed that high tension power lines run through the middle of such a densely populated area as the San Fernando Valley. I always think of wires like these taking power across the countryside, not running through the middle of a city.




We've all seen these ornamental dogs before. I've never seen, however, one that needed to be chained up!!




In the less affluent areas of No Ho, it seems like everyone has a front yard fence. Although I can see the reason that folks have fences (security, privacy), I don't think they do much to add to the neighborhood feel. I took the bottom two pictures at essentially the same place. To me, the bottom home feels more welcoming. (I'm sure the flowers help.) Anyway, just my opinion.




This was as far north as I got.




When I was scoping out my route on Google Earth, I came across this image. I thought I knew what it was but I wasn't sure. What are the eight dark spots along the bottom? And what are the seven small circles?




It turns out, I guessed right! It is a driving range. The eight dark circles are lights for night play. (I never would have figured that out.) And the other circles are 'sand traps', or reasonable facsimiles thereof.




This could be an ad for Kryptonite Locks. Apparently the bad guys were unable to break the lock. They stripped the entire bike but the lock is still secure!




I saw the Metro Orange Line for the first time. This is a high speed bus line that crosses the valley on its own special roadway.




When I saw this sign for Metropolitan Pit Stop, I had to take a picture. It is a great sign for the business and more importantly, my mom's first car was a Metropolitan so I always think of her when I see the cars. It never occurred to me that the business is actually The Leading Authority on Metropolitan Parts and Restoration!! That's the great thing about living in such a big city, you can find just about anything!!




And finally I'll leave you with this image. I would love to know the story behind it. On a bus bench in (you guessed it) Burbank, I saw a Blues Brothers hat, tie and sunglasses. What's up with that?




Thanks for tuning in and have a great week!

Labels: North Hollywood, Training Walk