Downtown LA Skyline
We arrived in LA on Saturday the 14th of June, one of our most anticipated destinations. It felt so good to fly into the beginning of Summer from chilly Auckland and we had an amazing time. California has a population of around 36 million people which is only a few million people shy of doubling the entire population of Australia.
There is a suprising number of Mexican migrants (both legal and illegal) and LA itself is a network of never-ending freeways. It was a full-on week of activity in California for us and so we've summarised our trip in stages below:
There is a suprising number of Mexican migrants (both legal and illegal) and LA itself is a network of never-ending freeways. It was a full-on week of activity in California for us and so we've summarised our trip in stages below:
Los Angeles and Orange County
We stayed in Orange County, just south of LA County with our friend Chelsea Davis and her lovely family (including her dog Baxter, which Nat is deeply missing). Chelsea and her boyfriend Steve picked us up from the airport.
We stayed in Orange County, just south of LA County with our friend Chelsea Davis and her lovely family (including her dog Baxter, which Nat is deeply missing). Chelsea and her boyfriend Steve picked us up from the airport.
Chelsea and Steve
So LA X International Airport while really, really big, was a bit of a let-down. Being LA, we expected something swish like Singapore or Melbourne but the closest airport we could compare it to was Bali, Indonesia. It was quite run-down and had no toilets until after immigration (Nat was literally dying in line). The Australian dollar is worth about the same as the US dollar at the moment but we made the mistake of changing some money at the airport and got ripped off about 10 cents in the dollar. We lost about $60.
The arrival area for Air New Zealand at LAX
Although we arrived around about 12.30pm, we managed to get a heck of a lot of sight seeing in on our first day. Chelsea and Steve took us to Hollywood where we drove down Sunset Boulevard and did the obligatory walk down Hollywood Drive which is where we got our first glimpse of the famous Hollywood sign. We went to the Wax Museum, the Guinness Book of Rocords Museum, Beverly Hills and Kodak Theatre (where they host the Grammy Awards every year).
Candice seeing what it's like to have the world's widest waist at the Guinness Museum of Records
Chelsea and Steve have been so amazingly helpful and have really gone out of their way to show us around. Los Angeles is a sprawling city. Downtown LA is probably smaller than the Melbourne CBD but the suburbs go on and on and spread into other counties and cities. Everybody drives because public transport is so bad so without Chelsea and Steve, we would have had no chance!
Food, CDs and clothing are all SO CHEAP IN AMERICA!! Nat is in fast-food heaven. Apart from pricey restaurants, there don't seem to be many restaurants apart from fast-food restaurants. Our new favourite is "In n Out", they make amazing burgers. Unfortunately the number of fast-food outlets directly correllates to the number of fat people. We've never seen so many of those, either! American television is is full of ads for ads for weight loss pills, diabetes, and medical help for all kinds of problems. It's crazy! We never knew that there were so many pills a person could take to try and lose weight.
Us on Huntington beach.
The beach
Random people playing drums on the beach
Nat devouring a double quarter pounder at Hollywood McDonalds. Just as good as Australia.
On Thursday night we went to our first US gig at Detroit Bar where our friend Stacy Clark was playing with some rad bands. Awesome show. Here are some pics:
Stacy in action with her band at the Detroit Bar in Orange County
Universal Studios and Disneyland
If there's one thing LA is famous for, it's entertainment. Thousands of wannabe actors and musicians move to Southern California to pursue the dream, including many Aussies. Nat randomly bumped into his old friend Ben Estler at the airport, an Aussie actor who is now living in LA and who recently finished filming the new US series, The Pacific.
So naturally, we had to experience Universal Studios and Disneyland. Universal Studios in Hollywood is very similar to Warner Brothers Movieworld back in Australia on the Gold Coast but has some very cool rides (the new Simpsons Ride and the Mummy) and a tour you won't get anywhere else. Recently, several outdoor sets burnt down including the original Back To The Future set but we still managed to see some pretty cool stuff.
If there's one thing LA is famous for, it's entertainment. Thousands of wannabe actors and musicians move to Southern California to pursue the dream, including many Aussies. Nat randomly bumped into his old friend Ben Estler at the airport, an Aussie actor who is now living in LA and who recently finished filming the new US series, The Pacific.
So naturally, we had to experience Universal Studios and Disneyland. Universal Studios in Hollywood is very similar to Warner Brothers Movieworld back in Australia on the Gold Coast but has some very cool rides (the new Simpsons Ride and the Mummy) and a tour you won't get anywhere else. Recently, several outdoor sets burnt down including the original Back To The Future set but we still managed to see some pretty cool stuff.
We pose with Dracula after the Haunted House
A recent fire destroyed the "Back To The Future" set and "New York" set at Universal. The Clock Tower is still visible though (minus the clock and pillars)
Candice, Steve and Chelsea outside the new Simpsons Ride (it's awesome).
The set of "War Of The Worlds"
"Wisteria Lane" set used on "Desperate Housewives"
Pigs
Nat takes on the Hulk
Disneyland, ahhh Disneyland. Now this is an experience every Californian takes for granted. There really is magic in the air here. If you ever make it to Disneyland, be prepared for long, long lines. In summer the park is open from 9am to midnight, but even though we arrived before 1pm, we still couldn't fit in all the rides. Top rides are Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion. At 9.30pm every night, they have an amazing fireworks display above Sleeping Beauty's castle (you know the one you see at the begining of every Disney movie?). We felt like kids again!
Candice outside Sleeping Beauty's castle.
Us enjoying the Pirates of the Carribean ride
Every night the fireworks light up the sky
The Disneyland crew. Chelsea's cousin Amy and her husband Tim joined us for the fun.
San Diego
If we had to describe San Diego in reference to Australian cities, we would say it's a combination of Adelaide and Perth. California's most Southern city is a beautiful coastal town with friendly people and clean streets. We ventured down to San Diego for a couple of days - but we wish we could have spent more time here.
Downtown San Diego
We stayed at a hostel in the Gaslamp district of town which came alive at night with cute bars and restaurants. San Diego never seemed to be crowded and unlike LA has an excellent public transport system. The metropolitan train system consists of electrically-powered light rail carriages they call the "Trolley" which is not unlike our trams back in Melbourne.
The San Diego Trolley
On a bicycle taxi in San Diego.
Tijuana, Mexico
The San Diego Trolley goes all the way to the Mexican border city of Tijuana. Tijuana was a spontaneous and unplanned visit. On Wednesday the 18th of June we decided to go on a day trip to Tijuana with a group from our hostel. Officially with a population of 2 million, Tijuana is a sprawling city that appears to consist mainly of pharmacies. Evidently this is because medicine is much cheaper in Mexico than in the US. Strangely enough as we near the Mexican border more and more signs seem to be in Spanish but as we cross the border suddenly all the shop signs are in English - obviously aimed at the tourists.
Border control into Mexico is non-existent. Mexicans seemed not to care that we were walking into their country. It was only when we were leaving that we had to present our passports to the US officials. Nat was disappointed that he didn't get a stamp in his passport for Mexico though.
We had lunch at a restaurant on Revolucion Ave. which was delicious! We visited the Millennium Arch which appears to be a massive stainless steel structure with no apparent use other than to serve as a waste of money; the TV screen in the middle broke down 4 years ago and has still not been repaired. We visited many street vendors, and much like many other 3rd world countries the locals tried to rip us off. Nevertheless we had an awesome time and as usual the McDonalds tasted exactly the same as in Australia.
No one could care less if you drive in to Mexico but be prepared to wait for hours to get back into the US. This is the busiest border crossing in the world
A view of Tijuana
Pharmacies are as numerous in Tijuana as fast-food is in LA. A market for American tourists looking for cheaper medicines.
Of course you need one for the other so why not buy both?
The markets in Tijuana sold lots of interesting things.
The Cathedral in downtown Tijuana
The McDonalds in Mexico did not dissapoint.
Warped Tour
Thanks to Chelsea and Stacy, we were lucky enough to get on the guest list for the first leg of the Vans Warped Tour in Pomona, California. It was the hottest day ever but thankfully Steve was running a tent for his clothing label, Level 27 and we could retreat into the shade every now and then.
Nat has always wanted to check out Warped Tour but he was disappointed that Dillinger Escape Plan were not playing this date. Warped was pretty similar to the music festivals we have in Australia, only smaller as it is spread out as a tour across the country. We saw some really good bands but also many atrocious ones which really gave us an appreciation of how good music is in Australia.
Upside: The Agrollites, Norma Jean, The Bronx, cheap CDs, friendly people, lots of music, our shady tent
Downside: The heat, bad mixing, The Academy Is, Pennywise drunk on stage, a heap of terrible "up and coming" bands.
Us at Warped Tour in Pomona
The Aggrolites were an awesome band playing dirty reggae / two-tone ska.
Pennywise were drunk on stage like apes while Norma Jean ripped up the stage.
Boy, we're tired
Our final weekend was a pretty lazy one spent relaxing and chilling on Corona del Mar beach with Chelsea, Stacy and one of Stacy's friends, Teddy. We swum to our little hearts' content and were also lucky enough to check out the Balboa peninsula and Newport beach. Sunday was an absolute beautiful day.
It turns out we're going to be able to hang out with Stacy and her family in Buffalo in July when we do the Canadian leg of our trip. Woo hoo! Buffalo is an American city in New York State on the Canadian border.
It's been an amazing 10 days spent in the most populous state of the US. Everyone we've met has been so friendly and helpful. On Monday we spent the whole day catching flights across the county to our next stop, Tampa, Florida (which will be in our next instalment).
Thanks so much to our friends in California, especially the Davises! We miss little Baxter already!
