Almost a day in LA

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We knew this day was going to be difficult - 18 hrs to fill in between flights from Brisbane to LA and then a midnight flight to Guatemala, but I don't think we anticipated how little sleep we would get on the flight from Australia. Leaving at midday for a 12 hr flight just does your body clock in big time. Arriving in LA at 7am we were really pleased that we had prebooked the day use at the LAX Travelodge and could get a couple of hours sleep before hitting the road.

The Travelodge was a little surprising - a relic from the 50's, with very litle charm, but when we fronted up at 8.30am they allowed us access to the breakfast room and then at 9am our room was ready. We drew the curtains, put the lock on the door and collapsed onto the two double beds. Waking the boys about 3 1/2 hrs later was difficult -they just wanted to stay in bed. But we had a Mustang convertible to collect and Santa Monica beach was calling!

Collecting our Mustang from Dollar Rent a car was a pretty straightforward affair - though no one shows you how to work anything. You just go and collect your car from a range of several and head out the gate! We finally worked out how to open the roof and headed off with the invaluable GPS system, to check out some shops at Westfield Culver City. Like most shopping malls, this is a pretty depressing place, but we were keen to see if a particular camera was in stock. Unfortunately it wasn't - but Michael and Taylor did pick up some cool Vans shoes, so all was not in vain.

We then headed to Santa Monica beach and pier, surprised at how busy the freeways can be, all 6 lanes of them. LA is pretty ugly in most parts and the freeways have to be the ugliest of the ugly. But we finally arrived at Santa Monica and found parking at one of shopping centres.

It was a quick stroll to the famous Pier and beach, which is impressive mostly for its width. Australian beaches are never this wide. It almost looks like a freeway by the sea. I can understand how this part of LA would be an apealing place to live (if you had to live in LA), with the almost endless cycle paths, beach volleyball and cool shops. But we were really too exhausted and by this stage too hungry to enjoy it, so at the weird time of 4.30pm we headed in search of a place to grab a (very) early dinner/ (very) late lunch!

Salvation came in the form of the True Food Kitchen, next to one of the upmarket shopping areas. Beautiful fresh and organic food, great juices (the Ginger and Soda drink was so refreshing) and a very cool,green and wood decor was just perfect. We loved our shared Dumpling entree as suggested by our friendly waiter, and most of us had the Penang Chicken curry for main. Delicious! That they didn't even blink when we asked for dinner before 5pm was also appreciated!

Some more browsing after dinner and we headed back to the Travelodge and a little more rest before dropping back the Mustang (that was fun!) and heading to LAX for our 3 hr advance check in for for the 12.35am flight to Guatemala City. Just love that airport!

See you next in Antigua!

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Photos

Car park cruising in the Stang!
The boys are in the hood!

Santa Monica Pier, LA
Dusk at Santa Monica Pier

Comments

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Welcome :)
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