Auckland domestic airport.
A quick coffee at Pann's on the way to the airport (can't wait for a NZ flat white!) - another classic Googie diner... We mixed shopping with some sightseeing - the empty Johnies Coffee Shop (famed example of Googie architecture and film location for many movies including Reservoir Dogs), Mulholland Drive and the Hollywood Hills (amazing views of the smog-covered sprawl of LA), and my exciting new purchase! Birthday dinner for Liam from a Mexican cantina on our last night in America. Happy 38th... Hope that was a memorable burrito! Watched the LA Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. We chanted, we yelled, we clapped, we waved a novelty foam hand, we saw a woman get proposed to on a giant TV screen in front of thousands of people. I think the Dodgers would have won, they got two home runs before we left early... Had lunch at LA institution 'Pinks' - a hot dog stand that's been around since the 1920s. Iris tried chilli cheese fries, and I had a chilli dog. They were really good... Now I see why Americans make such a fuss about hot dogs! That's local speak for West Hollywood - the area we're staying in. It's a very diverse and interesting place. We're just two blocks from Melrose Ave, and a few more from Hollywood Boulevard. The main streets have an eclectic mix of clothing shops and eateries, and are busy and pretty grimey but as soon as you're off those streets and into the residential areas it's quite gentrified, and green and lush - mostly one story, very close together, lots with a Spanish influence. That's Sadie outside our place at the top. Settled into our little LA pad (for the next two nights, anyway) and went in search of dinner. Found a great little 24-hour Jewish deli/diner called Canters... that, we found out later, was a favourite haunt of Guns and Roses (in the early 80s, when they ate). So - Liam got to see some LA rock'n'roll history after all, even if it was whilE doing something not very rock'n'roll (feeding children and hangry wife!). Hitting LA at the worst possible time! A 30min drive has taken over an hour and we're still not there yet. We took one last go at Disneyland this afternoon - feet aching, tempers fraying, sunburn stinging... We ticked off all the major rides, saw all the important characters, and we did a pretty good job of avoiding the massive queues where possible. As an adult NZer I think we don't really 'get' Disneyland, we didn't grow up having the characters rammed down our throats every 5 minutes, which is no bad thing. People here (grown adults of all ages, men and woman) are unashamedly mad for it!! Weird... We had another early start today - the same deal as yesterday with the extra hour, but we're at the original park today. All the rides it's known for are here: It's a small world; Big thunder mountain; Space mountain; The haunted house; Mad hatter's tea party etc. It was much cooler this morning, but this park is the big one so the people and queues were on a whole other level - yuk! Both parks are open well into the night. It's certainly a bit more pleasant without the heat and sun, but there are still a whole heap of people around! We had a swim and a nap at the hotel before going back for dinner at the park, where we watched a light and water show, then the fireworks. We had early access to the California Park at 7am because we're staying at the Disney Hotel. That meant one hour to get through as many rides as humanly possible before the hordes start arriving and creating those massively long queues that Disneyland is world famous for. Iris and I braved the California Screaming roller coaster - Disney's longest and scariest... Just before it crapped out and left a whole lot of people stuck 25 metres up in the air!
We arrived at the hotel, we swam, we dined with people dressed in silly suits! Tomorrow at 7am the real madness begins... Sadie and Liam took to life on the ship (acting out his Tom Cruise 'Top Gun' fantasies), while Iris and I tested out the jet plane flight simulator - she took the controls and I 'manned' the guns... But after doing two barrel rolls in quick succession, and losing sight of the horizon, Iris was relegated to the guns. Visited an aircraft carrier museum in the San Diego harbour. It was built at the end of WWII and was used during the Vietnam War, and takes a crew of 4000+. The boat was enormous, and there were great views of the city from the flight deck. Breakfasts here are pretty great if you like pancakes or omelettes... They seem to be standard breakfast fare, along with fresh pressed juices which Americans are big on. I ordered the banana bread pancakes (yum, walnuts, yum), Liam got an enormous omelette, and Iris - who has a knack for ordering some rather odd things - got a grilled chicken sandwich with a side of the biggest chips we have ever seen! Spent a bit of time walking round the Gaslamp Quarter - San Diego's old town! Found a nice little place for breakfast. I could easily spend hours looking through the supermarkets here - they are just SO interesting! A few of the things we saw today... pre-made giant burger cupcakes, an American flag cake (could you imagine ever seeing a NZ flag cake?! Exactly!), a whole selection of candles with cheesy religious images (no idea what they're for, Liam says 'praying' so I'll believe him, he is a lapsed Catholic after all and probably knows about those sorts of things), a whole half an aisle (that is NO exaggeration) dedicated entirely to corn chips - all sizes, shapes and colours, and cans of dough to make scones and cinnamon rolls! Six hours at SeaWorld (in the sun) and we are all well and truly done... It was pretty amazing, the shows in particular! Iris loved the roller coaster (but wouldn't go on it again) and Sadie turned white and started hyperventilating! We caught her expression of sheer terror on film - very funny, Liam and I will laugh at it for years to come. Our cute little house is in the Hillcrest neighbourhood of San Diego. It has some nice original features, and an intriguing internal layout. The area is close to Balboa Park, and walking distance to some good little restaurants - particularly interesting was one selling Poutine... look it up! None of us were brave enough to try it. We got to San Diego and went straight to the zoo - spent FIVE hours walking round and still didn't see it all... Exhausted!! Vultures, American eagles, red pandas, baby gazelles, hyraxes, snakes and Secretary birds were the highlights for us, while most Americans were crowding round to see the Australian animal enclosure - boring. |
What's the deal?
Two weeks exploring sunny California... Family roadtrip!! ArchivesCategories |