When you look out the window of a hotel room at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, you can see the Magic Castle and the Hollywood sign. You wonder if a celebrity stayed in your suite to change her outfit before the Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre, attached to the hotel.

The magic is everywhere in Hollywood, California, and the most amazing thing is that it's all made up.

The name, Hollywood, was given to a development that investors hoped to make profit on. As the film industry took root and grew in the area, Hollywood became the perfect place to live if you worked in the studios either as a producer, actor, or a lowly staff member. Thanks to some crafty marketing and a world fascination with wealth, fantasy and media, HOLLYWOOD has become much bigger than life, as evidenced by the lettering on the hillside, and the millions of tourists who come to Hollywood hoping to get a glimpse of actors they idolize.

The reality can be a little shocking at first. There's an excitement mixed with let-down as you arrive and look at the carts filled with tourist souvenirs, but don't see a star in sight. There are many look-alike contestants hanging around collecting money for impersonations they perform, or photo-ops with you. There are enough "hints" of Hollywood fame to make most tourists happy, however. They can stroll the walk of fame, see Kodak Theatre, ride a tour bus that parks outside a gated mansion of a celebrity home looking at the cars, bushes, and security cameras. On rare occasion there will be a celebrity sighting. Whatever the reasons and motivations people have for visiting Hollywood, it's undeniable that the place is magic. If you don't believe it, go visit and simply be amazed at how many people come to this HOLLYWOOD place just to fulfill a dream.