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Published: March 6th 2006
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Hi Guys,
Well, here’s our first ‘log’ from the USA! We flew into LA at 6am on the 1st. After getting through the finger printing etc at the customs we made it outside - fresh (ish) air for the first time in about 14+ hours. I was waiting to hear how our accents would sound once we were amongst Americans and it didn’t disappoint - I sound like Sandy out of Grease and Kent sounds like Mick Dundee!!!!
We caught a cab to our hotel at Rendondo Beach- it was lovely but way tissy (a real American thing…very ornamental). Had breakfast and realised that all the meals over here are going to be like ordering Subway - too many choices, how do you want your eggs? how do you want your potato? toast? What kind? rye, white, bagel, muffin. Juice? Orange, grapefruit, cranberry? Just have to remember to order real bacon too, otherwise you get this fritz looking stuff that is ‘Canadian bacon’ - yummy, not. It sounds bad, but it’s so exciting to experience a bit of Americana.
We crashed after that and woke up about 5.30pm - great sleep! Had a chance to notice a few more differences then
- the water in the loo flushes the wrong way, the toilets are pretty low - like kiddy ones and they fill up really high, so you’re a bit concerned when you have to do a big pee - it splashes back up a Kent and I think I’m going to end up with a wet bum!! (sorry, to bore you with all these little details, but you know how small my bladder is, so I notice these things!)
We thought we better get out and have a drink and some food for our first night of our honeymoon, so we headed to Pier Ave at Hermosa Beach (means beautiful in Spanish). Had a fantastic meal at a Tapas place, then went to the fullest sports bar, which was a Hawaiian style place called Sharkees - it rocked! I got asked for ID - I was so chuffed and thanked the bouncer. Then I had no idea what to drink, there is so much choice in ‘liquor’ - started with a Mai Tai…everything tasted good, but it was so sweet! Sugar is BIG over here - they are truly addicted. Kent stuck to light beers, but there is so much
choice - Corona light, bud light…etc for the calorie conscious American apparently! I had a few and wanted to make friends, so we did, meeting some locals, some college students, some foreigners etc…One of the highlights was hearing ‘you shook me all night long’ by ACDC - what a buzz. I had to have a bit of a boogie then and carried on that it was by an Australian band. A couple of times Kent was off at the bar/loo and I got chatted - it’s so weird but effective when you say you’re waiting for your husband - they’re gone!!
About 1am we were peckish so we tried a pizza place next door where you could buy individual slices - very thin, no topping, just cheese, but way good after a few! I felt like John Travolta in Sat Night Fever.
Woke late the next day - think we are both still recovering from the pace around the wedding, so tired! The weather is clear and sunny during the day and cold at night, but it is spring over here…New York is still in snow - cool! We waited for Kent’s mate Mick who is Australian but lives in
LA to pick us up so Kent just wandered around the carpark. It is so different over here in cars, pick up trucks EVERYWHERE, and fat muscle cars too…they are cheap, most under 20K American. Kent is in his element, like a little kid and now that we’re with his mate Mick that’s all they can talk about. It took us about 2+ hours to get out of LA to Mick’s place, which is in a newly created area that had just been developed in the last 2 (ish) years…sort of like….Northgate? but on a massive scale - 20x bigger. Mick has a new apartment in an area where they have their own community pool, tennis court, gym, putt putt golf etc…all incl in their rent agreement (value added apparently). There is a shopping centre complex near by with every chain you can imagine - you have to drive from one carpark to the next to get to each shop. We went to a Mexican place for dinner and the guys drank big Mexican beers with salt and lime...I had margaritas of course, but again to many choices- there were 8+ on the menu!! We’re off to try the real
thing though now - I’m in the back of Mick’s car typing away while we drive down to Mexico for the weekend. We have our pesos packed, a hotel booked in Ensanada and we’re ready to shop and party! We might call into San Diego on the way back then Kent and I are grabbing a car and heading to Vegas! Yay!!
Post Esanada trip:
Again this is coming to you from the back of Mick’s car as I type while we drive on ANOTHER freeway into LA. The three of us headed down to Mexico on Fri - dropped into San Diego on the way and had lunch at an ‘English pub’ (Mick misses sausage rolls). A little while later we crossed the border and it was evident immediately. The poverty and squalor you can see from the freeway is shocking after being in California. Once you get past the shock it’s a wonderful experience - the houses are painted bright colours, the signs are all in Spanish and the coast line we followed was spectacular. It took about an hour to get from Tijuana to Esanada then we arrived at our hotel which was set out of
town at a yacht harbor - 4 star (ish)…just gorgeous. We quickly dumped our gear and headed into town after getting some tips from a young bellboy on his first day about where to eat and drink (he loved the fact we were aussies because he’s right into his surfing). We then walked the main drag and found a very local place that served big bottles of Mexican beer and BIG margaritas….after lots more rounds and making some friends behind the bar Kent had to rescue his wife (I thought I was a lot tougher than I am- it really was nearly 1 tequila, 2 tequila, 3 tequila ….floor). Don’t worry Di, I composed myself enough to get back to the hotel!! The next day we went shopping and bought some beautiful Mexican silver jewelry and other bits and pieces, had some Mexican food and then headed back to the states. We took a wrong turn somewhere in Tijuana and then got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for 2 hours - the whole time being hassled by poor beggars and their children through the car windows. We finally made it home at 9.30pm - had a California burger and
then crashed. We got up today and went to Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills - it wasn’t that great…so many tourists and over the too many people with more money than sense walking around. Had a lovely lunch though. We’re off to Las Vegas tomorrow.
Hope you guys are all doing well. Will post another entry soon. Hope you guys can all access the weblog. Some of your ‘big brothers’ at work may not allow it as it looks like spam. Anyway adios from the ‘Moon.
Keep thinking how cool it would be to have you guys with us.
Lots of Love Ails & Kent xxxxx
P.S. Here’s some photos from the wedding and the ‘moon.
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