Mulholland Drive bridge over the 405 in LA

Carmageddon in Los Angeles because of the tearing down of Mulholland Drive bridge over the 405 in West Los Angeles or as the locals say "West LA" reminds me of growing up in Glendale nearby from  1956 until 1969. Since I got my full driver's license at 16 I spent a lot of time on weekends parked with girlfriends on pull outs watching the lights of the city from 1966 until 1969 in the fall when I moved finally to San Diego. I didn't live in Los Angeles County ever again except for a few months working in the Computer Department of Glendale Community Hospital around 1977. I always had a love hate relationship with Los Angeles. I loved all the excitement of the area but always hated the traffic and what that many (14 million people) living that close together does to people. It sort of makes them nuts both on the freeway and off. However, I suppose New Yorkers might be crazier still in their own way.

One of the things I most loved about Los Angeles was parking with my girlfriends (sometimes until 4 or 5 am in the morning) over looking the city lights in pull outs off of Mulholland Drive  from the Hollywood Freeway to the 405 (San Diego Freeway). Mulholland Drive  mostly runs along the crest of the hills which gives an incredible viewshed of many of the cities of the Los Angeles area as well as the San Fernando Valley. I don't know if people are allowed to park up there like they still were in the late 1960s and early 1970s then because of all the valuable houses and real estate there today because those same properties that would be under 100,000 dollars at most then would be in the millions today because of their amazing views of the area. And views really raise the value of houses and property especially in the Los Angeles Basin. A view of the city or the ocean can be worth a mint there.  And all I have left is parking in my 1956 Ford Stationwagon at 16 and 17, and parking in my 1965 VW bug in college in 1966 and 1967 and parking in my brand new 1968 Camaro in 1968 and 1969 when I was 20 and 21. Amazing memories of a completely different era than now. I haven't lived in Los Angeles since 1977 although I still visit my cousin in Orange county and one of my best friends taught in East LA and lived in the San Fernando Valley until he passed away a few years ago. Time passes but some of those early memories from ages 16 to 21 are much clearer than any of my memories of the past few years. Time is funny that way. Many of your younger memories that you had when you were still relatively young and innocent and sometimes other parts of your life sort of become a blur in comparison. Time speeds up a lot when as you age. If you are young take the time to enjoy it. I know I did.