Our last day, Pink's Hot Dogs & The Getty Centre

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One last day in the US, but we plan to make the most of it. First that familiar but forgettable breakfast, then we check out and head for the "Hollywood Forever" cemetary. This time Karina has done her research, and I've drawn a small map from the net.

The cemetary is much larger than the other one we searched a few weeks ago, but armed with our map and only looking for 3 graves, it doesn't take long. Mel Blanc, Estel Getty (Golden Girls) whose grave has no headstone atm, and Don Adams (Maxwell Smart), whose headstone has a picture of him talking on his shoe-phone!!! It's quite a picturesque and peaceful cemetary, complete with ducks & their ducklings and even a few peacocks, and we do our best not to disturb the tranquility.

Pleased with our success, we head over to Pink's Famous Hot Dogs - something we heard about on the hop-on hop-off tour. We manage to get a park in the rather small parking lot, and join the queue of perhaps 30 people. At Paul's Famous Hamburgers we'd expect to wait maybe 5-10 mins at most, but service here is _slow_. It's a 30 min wait, woth plenty of locals in line assuring the tourists it was worth the wait, and laughing at us taking pictures of the queue.

I order a 10" "stretch" chili dog with cheese - Karina has sourkraut & onions with a tub of sour cream emptied on top - and a side of fries. Not bad, but not sure it lives up to the hype. But we had to try it.

We go in search of a supermarket to buy some essential supplies to bring back - namely American chocolate. It's harder than you think to (a) find a supermarket and (b) find a large packet of peanut butter M&Ms!!! Eventually we succeed, to some degree, and now have the rest of the afternoon to visit The Getty Centre.

The traffic is horrendous - bumper to bumper on the freeway - and a wrong exit (a few hundred feet) adds another 20 mins to the trip!!! It's frustrating, and leaves us wondering just how much time we need to get to the airport from there!

After parking there's a short "tram" trip from the parking lot up to the centre itself, perched on the hillside above the city. Forget the fact that it houses some impressive art - the centre and its surroundings are worth a visit in themselves! The sandstone buildings and crisp, minimalist stairways and adornments open into wide areas with water features and a mixture of areas in the sun or in the shade for just strolling or sitting and relaxing. And all of this is framed by a beautiful garden and then there's the panaramic view of LA and the ocean (which you can _just_ make out through the fog. It's what I would imagine the perfect university campus to be like, without annoying students. Just people being relaxed and peaceful! And you couldn't ask for more perfect weather!

We probably spent at least an hour outside looking at the architecture, the gardens and the view. So running out of time before we had to get to the airport, we thought perhaps it was time to go inside and look at some art!

It's an impressive collection - Van Gough, Monet, Renoit - even I've heard of them! I even recognised some of the more famous pieces. And they let you take photos, as long as you don't use a flash.

All too soon, after we'd seen only a small sample of what was on offer, we decided it was wise to err on the side of caution and head to the airport. The traffic was still heavy, but we made it in plenty of time, which was good because it meant we weren't stressing about it. We dropped off the car, caught the shuttle to LAX, and the waiting begins.

LAX would have to be one of the _worst_ airports I have ever been to. It's obvious the airport wasn't designed to cater for the current security procedures. Thousands of people crammed into what was originally one of the food courts - all putting off the trip through security 'til the last possible moment. Inadequate space, inadequate and poor quality food (the chinese place only had a few dishes left at 7:45pm!), inadequate toilets, and rude staff.

The TSA staff are a bunch of rude ^%^#$%@. Stupid people with power, and don't they _love_ to yeild it, especially knowing you have absolutely no recourse. So you bite your tongue and put up with it. I hope they all come to Sydney one day for their holidays and ask me for directions.

That aside, it has been an absolutely fantastic trip. We've driven around 2,500 miles, seen famous cities and their landmarks, no less than 6 National Parks and their wildlife, we've had fun in Universal Studios and seen the lights of Vegas! We couldn't have asked more more perfect weather - not a single drop of rain - and blue skies on all but a very few days like SF. Our accommodation has been good, our breakfasts somewhat lacking, but we more than made up for them with almost daily burgers, fries and pizzas!

On the plane now. No upgrade to Premium Economy this time. It's going to be a _long_ flight.

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