drupal_http_request times out on Google Maps geocoding URL
You cannot directly include url queries in the url when using drupal_http_request(). Use url().

$url = url('http://maps.google.com/maps/api/geocode/json', ['query' =&gt; ['address'=&gt;'1200 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA', 'sensor'=&gt; FALSE]]);
drupal_http_request($url);