Royal visit: Will and Kate fans settle into Hancock Park for long wait
Fremont residents Anna and Ruben Cruz, 50, said they have never been that interested in the royal family. But there's something special about Prince William and his wife, Catherine -- something down-to-earth and likable -- that prompted them to drive down from the Bay Area and plan their vacation around the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit to Southern California.
"They look like they have a young spirit and heart," Anna Cruz said. "I thought, 'When are they going to come again?' We figured, 'Why not?' "
Photos: The Duke and Duchess in L.A.
The couple organized a camping trip around the visit. And on Friday morning, they staked out the British Consul-General's home in Hancock Park, arriving early to get the lay of the land and snap a few pictures of the home.
They returned a few hours later after the roads were closed, set up their two-seater camping chair and settled in on a corner. Security shooed them away from one corner, then another. And at their third and final spot, they had a clear, diagonal view of the house. They planned on staying put.
As the afternoon passed, more people began arriving. EVen in the heat, a small crowd of about 20 people were waiting for Will and Kate -- with their arrival in Hancock Park still a few hours away.
Vida Largaespada, 67, took a series of buses from East Los Angeles to get to Hancock Park.
"I'm looking for my prince," the Nicaragua native joked.
A longtime fan of the royal family, she arrived in Hancock Park armed with a faded and worn Spanish-language magazine devoted to Princess Diana, which included photos of Prince William as a baby.
Largaespada said she has so many pictures of the royal family around her house that "my kids are jealous."
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PHOTO: The Los Angeles home of the British Consul-General, which is to be the temporary residence of Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, during their visit to Southern California. CREDIT: Reed Saxon / Associated Press