After driving away from the McFly house, and a stop at the gas station a few blocks away to refuel both the cars and our energy levels, we headed for the community center that was used for the Battle of the Bands Audition. Kevin had called ahead and been assured that we could drop by to look around; it was an "open gym" time. However, the sight of seven twenty-somethings with cameras apparently alarmed some. After about ten minutes of happily wandering around in the gym, we were approached by an older woman who had been sent by her supervisor to see what was "going on." Once we explained why we were there, and that we were simply fans of a film, she calmed down a lot and even started chatting about how neat Michael J. Fox was, as she had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's, too, and was glad he was bringing so much attention to the cause. It was what would be just the first time that day that our mob mentality with cameras caused some curious and concerned looks in these post-9/11 days.

The gym, incidentally, looks quite similar today as to what is seen in the film -- aside from the murals being long gone.

We were getting hungry by this point -- I think it was around noon -- and Burger King was next on the list, so we ended up eating lunch there after snapping photos of the areas outside. We took photos fast; wicked looking storm clouds were gunning it right for us. (Which you can see in the outdoor pictures quite well.) The manager of the BK saw Kevin's video camera when we went in for lunch and came over to bitch that he needed a permit to film -- never mind this was a home video! Ah, only in Hollywood... or Burbank, as the case may be.

Anyway, this is the front of the Burger King, as compared with the film. A lot can change in 17 years, no? Funny, though, that both the Toys R Us and Burger King are still there, though their logos and signs have both been updated!

The facade for Doc's 1985 house was actually built on this site. It's really simple to pick out where it was -- look for the cement "bookends" to the house, which exist with a smidgen of grass on them. (I am standing in Doc's "yard" where the trash cans are placed in one shot.) You can also see the kind of cement "drainage ditch" which cuts diagonally across the parkinglot -- then and now. The last shot is a view that Doc would have from the front of his place. Fun....

I like taking pictures of angles and the like that we never see in the films. Maybe it's the research person in me who likes that stuff, so I can always use it later in my fan fiction if it comes up. Or maybe it just makes me feel cool because, unless you've been there in person, you don't see this stuff. Whatever.

First photo -- The other part of the main road that you don't see when Marty hitches a ride on the truck. I continue to be amused by the business called "Future Glass." Heh heh.

Second photo -- The "backyard" view of Doc's place. And you thought the front yard was bad....

Third photo -- A kind of diagonal shot which would be right before Doc's garage doors, if the building was still there. That would be his closest residential neighbor on the other side of the cement wall.

Fourth photo -- What's directly across the street from the BK, if you stand next to or in the driveway.

We left Burger King just as huge, fat drops of rain were falling, and drove through a massive downpour to reach the historic Gamble House -- which, naturally, was closed on Tuesdays against tours. Fortunately, the bulk of the rainshower was done when we got to the home -- but we still had to dodge a lot of raindrops, and ended up using the porch of the house as shelter when we circled it to look at the backyard and peer in through windows.

Before leaving, we all stopped in the lab -- er, the giftshop, which is in the former garage -- to look around in there. It was cozy and cluttered with a lot of books. I bought a book about the house with all these photos and a floorplan, for future story research, and some postcards. Pretty fun.

Some pictures taken around the exterior, as part of my "checking out angles you don't see in the films, but which could be cool research for writing" series.

First photo -- The view from the front porch, if one turned around. And I don't understand how Marty didn't kill himself when he carried Doc up those stairs after he fainted in the town square. It was pouring rain that night, too, and brick is hella slippery when it's wet. My Nikes -- the ones that look almost like his -- skidded a bit as I kind of trotted up the steps, and I didn't have the added burden of a deadweight body on my back. Anyway....

Second photo -- A front view of the porch from the base of the steps.

Third photo -- Another view from the front porch, but looking towards the front door. (It was nice and covered from the elements here.) I was standing on the right hand corner of the house, if you were to look at it from the front.

Fourth photo -- Turning around, you can see the roof of the lab -- er, garage -- er, giftshop.

Fifth photo -- The actual front of the garage/giftshop.

Sixth photo -- The brief gap between the front and back porch of the home, on the side.

Some shots from the back porch of Doc's place. (Due to the rain, I don't think anyone ventured onto the grass to take a photo of the house from that particular perspective point. It's difficult using a camera while holding an umbrulla at the same time.)

First photo -- A view of the back porch after they round the corner of the house.

Second photo -- A view of the backyard.

Third photo -- Ditto as above, except from under the covered porch.

Fourth photo -- The back porch doors. The ones on the left lead to the wide main hall that runs the length of the home. (You can see the front doors if you look inside.) The ones on the right lead to the dining room, I think.