When I first moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and got my new truck, I would do a lot of just driving around to get the lay of the land. These were the days before GPS and I drove around L.A. with a Thomas Guide on my lap. Forget the hazards of texting and driving. It's a wonder I never rear-ended somebody when I was navigating from the Thomas Guide while driving. One day I randomly got the notion that I wanted to see the place where Jim Rockford's trailer on the show was . That was probably because The Rockford Files just seemed "so L.A." to me when I was growing up in NYC. Just like I used to think Ponch and Jon on CHiPs lived the typical L.A. lifestyle. Funny, I never thought that way about Sanford & Son. I guess I fancied what Ponch & Jon were getting into off-duty in Marina del Rey (chicks, boats, beaches & jet skis) more than what Fred & Lamont were doing in Watts (struggling). Hey, sue me.
Anyway, I remembered that Jim Rockford's mobile home was in Paradise Cove and that it was right off the beach. I looked it up in the index of my Thomas Guide and I was on my way. I soon found myself cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway with the sun roof open and 'A Decade of Steely Dan' & 'Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits' in the CD changer, heading towards Malibu. After taking in the scenic coastline drive on a perfect southern California day and making a couple of U-turns, I found Paradise Cove. It was just another cove along the beautiful Pacific Ocean shoreline but it was cool being there anyway. I got out and walked around for a few minutes and checked out the beach view. I was only there for about 10 minutes.
After taking a last look, I got back in my truck and like Jim Rockford roaming around L.A. in his Pontiac Firebird, I was onto my next driving adventure in the City of Angels.
Rest In Peace, James Garner.
And by the way... The Rockford Files theme (the best TV theme song ever!) was released as a single and went to No.10 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the chart for 16 weeks. It won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for 1975. Mike Post and Pete Carpenter were like the Lennon/McCartney of TV theme songs!
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