We left off yesterday with me in a rental car leaving San Diego behind and heading towards the city of Angels.  The plan was to stop at Dodger Stadium on the way to my hotel and take in an afternoon matchup between the Dodgers and the Giants.  I’d given myself 3 hours to make the 2 hour drive so I would have time to get to the stadium and acclimate myself before the game started.  Trip Issue #3!  Things were smooth sailing until I got closer to LA, when traffic started to swell.  All told, the 2 hour drive ended up taking closer to 4, and I arrived in my seat during the 4th inning, by which time the Dodgers had fallen far behind.  One Dodger Dog later and many Giant home runs later, the game was over and I found my way to Glendale and the local Hilton, which would be my home for the next 4 days.

Saturday night, in search of a nice dinner, I headed out for a drive and decided to just wing it.  Somehow I ended up driving through Griffith Park and seeing some of the sights, but I didn’t find anything interesting as far as food went.  Eventually I ended up back at the hotel, where I caught the end of the Wisconsin loss in the NCAA tournament along with a tasty hamburger at the hotel bar.

Sunday was the only day I didn’t have anything specific planned, so, after a morning walk to the local Starbucks for a nice breakfast, I headed down to Hollywood to check out the Walk of Fame and to get a good look at the famous Hollywood sign.  To be honest, the Walk of Fame was mostly creepy, other than the block or so around Hollywood and Highland, where Jimmy Kimmel’s theater is located.  I tracked down all of the Muppet-related stars and a few others of interest, including Ricardo Montalban, Mister Rogers, and George Takei.

After leaving Hollywood, I decided to take a trip out to Pasadena to see the Rose Bowl stadium.  While I did manage to drive past it, there was some kind of race going on, so I wasn’t able to stop and see much.  Later that afternoon, I headed back to Pasadena to see Captain America: Winter Soldier at the Arclight.  After the movie, I headed back to the parking structure and found myself completely lost.  Travel Issue #4!

It seems that I 1) didn’t pay too much attention to where I parked relative to where the elevator was and 2) I had no idea what my rental car looked like.  I had planned for this at the game the day before, but managed to find my way back to the car with very little effort.  This time, however, I was lost, until I saw a sign.  A car with Illinois plates and a Purdue sticker in the window, which led me back towards the rental car.  With that, I headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

Monday started with a repeat performance at the local Starbucks.  After that, I had a tour planned at Warner Brothers studios.  The tour covered the backlot of the studio, where we saw sets used for shows such as Shameless, Pretty Little Liars, and Gilmore Girls and movies such as Spider-Man and Annie.  After that, we got to go around the different stages, home to shows like ER, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and Ellen.  After trips to the prop department and the car museum, we were able to check out two of the stages, for The Mentalist and The Big Bang Theory.  After the tour ended, we were dropped off at the WB museum, where different artifacts and costumes were stored.

After that, I took advantage of the 90 degree weather and hit the hotel pool in the late afternoon.  Monday night, I headed back out to find the NerdMelt theater in the back of Meltdown Comics to check out Beta Test, a standup show that featured new material from Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray, the Sklar Brothers, and, in a surprise appearance, David Koechner.  One member of the audience made Nerdist cupcakes, which were passed out after the show and which I enjoyed once back in the hotel.

Tuesday started with breakfast in the hotel, before another dip in the pool.  That afternoon, I was heading back to Hollywood for another dose of Chris Hardwick and a taping of @Midnight.  After the taping, I headed back to the hotel where I enjoyed a nice steak dinner before calling it a night and preparing to head home the following morning.

Wednesday, I packed up and checked out of the hotel before heading to LAX for the flight home, which was scheduled for 9:40.  After boarding the plane, we sat still for about 50 minutes before they pulled us all off the plane.  Travel Issue #5!  Mechanical issues were keeping the flight on the ground, where it would stay until 1:00, when the flight was officially cancelled.  So, the fine folks at United managed to book me on another flight to Chicago that left LA at 11:30 PM.  With no car and no place to go, I was stranded in the airport for 16 hours.  I managed to listen to at least 5 episodes of the Nerdist podcast while waiting to finally head home.  As 11:30 arrived, we managed to lift off without a hitch, bringing my vacation to an overdue end.