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Published: September 9th 2007
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As we patted our trusty chariot on the bonnet and said our emotional farewells, we left The Beast at LAX (and what only 28 days before had been a brand new car) and embarked on our new life of relying on public transport. And what better place on Earth to do this than in Los Angeles, California (big 'Ahem!').
From the airport, we endured a couple of bus rides then a long walk with our backpacks to our home for the next few nights, the Venice Beach International Hostel. Almost all hostels in America have 'International' in their names, perhaps to provoke a cosmopolitan, grand and cultured image of the establishment. What are backpacking hostels BUT international?? Anyway, eventually, we reached this place on Pacific Drive, running parallel to the long and broad Venice Beach and Santa Monica beaches. It was a 12 person mixed dorm which was bound to be interesting and as a bonus, we had the rare luxury of free internet terminals in each of the dorms. It was great to be back to hostel living and we were happy to loose privacy and comfort in exchange for a decent social area and the chance to meet other backpackers and hobos.
Hostel life for those few days was really fun, spending most nights collecting a carry out from the local "Liquor Store", before heading back to the hostel to see what travellers were around from the tipsy night before through to what new folk had just checked in and were looking for some banter and company. Hostels really are the perfect place to meet some interesting folk, from English Liz and the Dutch lads through to a comical trio of Irish fellas, steaming drunk Arizona guy Matt and even the folk who work in these establishments who oil the perpetually revolving doors of coming and going backpackers.
We spent the majority of our time on or around Venice Beach observing the surfers bobbing in the sea waiting for the next big wave and swell and the equally patient cast out fishermen, standing like weathered statues on the long piers, staring into the big blue below and waiting for the lines to tug and reel in the catch of the day.
LA really was going well until I consolidated my now stinging neck sunburn with a leg and chest combo whipping curtesy of the relentless
Pacific sun. By the last day, I wasnt a happy camper and was complaining to Trung that all I wanted was my healthy body back! Luckily though, LA had plenty of things to take my mind off the sting and my favourite time spent in the city was when wandering the Venice Beach boardwalk which runs alongside the beach the length of Venice from Santa Monica at one end through to Hermosa Beach at the other. What a magnet the area is for America's most prized weird and wonderful people, misfits, eccentrics and downright crazy folks. I loved it there, the perfect voyeuristic territory for people watching and observing LA's peculiar and unique world pass by. It now all makes perfect sense to me that the governor, the man in charge of this massive state of California, is The Terminator him-very-self, one Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger... only in America...
After spotting Jerry Springer in Central Park, New York, we were still keen to find another celebrity and by being based right next to Hollywood, we were in the hornet's nest. On returning to our hostel one evening, we found a film set being rigged up right outside for a risque'
new American TV series called 'Californication'. Note naughty play on words - I'm too wholesome a lad and didnt spot it at first! The main star happened to be David Duchovny, aka Fox 'Spooky' Mulder from The X Files. We had a lot of fun drinking our beers on the hostel balcony as the Irish lasses staying there hollered down to him for photos and marriage proposals. Good times...
After a day or two, we took a trip to Hollywood itself to see the Hollywood sign on the hill, the stars on the pavement and all of that touristy drivel. The most eye-opening and interesting part of this was getting there via Downtown LA. Dodgy with a capital 'D'. In Hollywood though, I was really chuffed to visit a cinema on Sunset Boulevard to see 'The Bourne Ultimatum' on its second day of opening and it was awesome! I love those films!
LA gave us enough decent downtime to relax and look back over our American adventure. 7,000 miles in the car, too many states to mention, too many people to name, too many burgers munched but overall, an awesome experience for the last six weeks. I think
the most amazing thing for me is that we picked our way through so many cities, options and alternatives to progressively joint the dots on the map and plot our route across - but what about the possibilities to be had in all of the places we passed up? Split decisions to bypass Boston, Chicago, Philly, El Paso, San Antonio to name just a few. It's a vast land and these towns and people we missed this time will just have to wait for another trip on another day.
Thank you people and places of America for an unforgettable 35 days : )
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Ed
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Spanky, indeed
Fool! Spanky McFarland was a boy film star of the Our Gang comedies.