When I got there, I found a parking garage that was $10 and decided that was my best bet (it was also underneath Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds so that was convenient).
There were a ton of people in costume, and I snagged a couple photos without being harassed for money. Most of the people were just having a good time, but there was one middle-aged guy dressed as Superman in front of a costume and wig store who was pretty pushy. A mother was taking a picture of her kid who was sitting near a particular star on the sidewalk, and Superman went and knelt down behind the kid. When they went to walk away Superman got in her face and said he usually gets donations for his pictures. She was like, "I didn't ask you to be in the photo!" His reply, "Come on Lois Lane! Don't be such a downer. You got Superman in your kid's picture!" Even the kid looked at him like he was crazy and his mother ushered him out of there pretty quickly. Not cool, Superman. Not cool.
There were so many stores and bars and restaurants, some of which I wanted to get a picture of (like the Rusty Mullet) but with the neon lights my phone wasn't getting a lot of great shots. It reminded me of being on the Vegas strip. I did get a picture of this statue of Robert Wadlow, who is registered as the tallest man in the Guinness Book of World Records at 8'11". This stands outside the Guinness building.
There were also a lot of smoke shops and tattoo parlors nestled among the numerous souvenir places. I don't know how anyone chooses one particular place over another because they all looked pretty similar! Although this one had an Elvis statue so I almost went in there.
I couldn't even decide where I wanted to eat, so I just went to McDonald's (I know, totally lame). But my dinner time show was watching a plus-size prostitute try to proposition this kid who couldn't have been more than 18 at the table across the aisle. He kept trying to kiss her and she kept backing up all coy, telling him they had to discuss terms first. Meanwhile his friend stood behind him with a wrinkled nose, trying to hide a disgusted look on his face. You can't put a price on that kind of entertainment.
One thing that really stood out was the variety of people I saw, all mingling together on this one street. Lots of families, sure, but also people dressed to the nines standing in front of homeless people. One guy in tattered rags and bare feet was covered in dirt, sitting on a bucket in the middle of the sidewalk. He didn't have a sign, and he seemed unaware that people were even walking by. And the people walking by had no reaction to him there. Other homeless people were more interactive- one girl told me to smile as I walked by, so I did. She smiled back and thanked me. It's such a strange dynamic when you think about it. I suppose here at least the homeless people don't worry about winter, like those struggling back east.
I ended my night watching a break-dancing group of three street performers, a white guy, a black guy and a Puerto Rican guy who stood five feet tall (according to the black guy). They all did their moves and they ended the show by lining up four people from the audience for the Puerto Rican guy to jump over. It was pretty good! They mentioned how they made a living as street performers but didn't live on the streets, so I gave a $5 donation. It was funny too, because anyone who gave $5 the person taking the donation would announce it to the crowd. The guy asked me where I was from and I replied, "Orange." So when he announced he got a $5 donation one of the guys asked, "From who?" My guy answered, "She says she's orange." That got a good laugh, and I said loudly, "From Orange! From Orange!" He patted me on the shoulder and thanked me for the money and for being a good sport. It was a fun way to end my interesting evening on the boulevard.
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