Los Angeles

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LA Lakers and the Grammy Museum

By Mike



Lovin’ our sport as we do another prearranged and much anticipated event was the Lakers v the Pelicans at the Staples Centre in LA. We woke up and checked out of the Bellagio in good time and made a bee line for LA – no stops – so we got there with a chance to get organised. The closest RV Park we could get was 50 miles out of the city so we thought it best to stay in the city after the game and we found the Milner Hotel a few blocks from the venue.

A train ride into town and a cab to the hotel meant we were in town about two hours before the game. Perfect. We wondered through to the Staples Centre for an early dinner at Wolfgang Pucks which is directly across the square and then wandered in.

The crowd was abuzz. The Lakers put on their own TV Channel before the game and people were swamping the merchandise store which I was remarkably restrained in. We wander up to the gods to view the game but once again every seat is a good seat.

The similarities between this and the 49ers game were that there is that degree of manufactured environment. The music during build up, the defence chant but where was everyone?! The stadium had more people outside than in at tip off.

The prematch was rousing…Lakers really living off the tradition of greatness. The anthem was great. This is the Kobe show and his cheers were twice as loud as anyone else when the intros were done.

The game starts and it is a case of who wants to be worse than the other…Lakers win and go ten down…can’t buy a basket. They get close by half time and fingers are crossed.

The second half really livens things up. Lakers come back…the crowd gets really roudy – the atmosphere is unbelievable…every turnover every basket is greeted with wild cheering and fist pumping. The Lakers pip the Pelicans in a last minute finish and the crowd goes wild, particularly when Jack in the Box shouts the whole crowd two free tacos…vouchers at the door. The US companies really know how to leverage. Buy a subscription to the Daily newspaper and get a free Lakers sweatshirt.

NBA – amaaaazing. The cauldron created by a close game and Kobe’s greatness in his swansong season made this memorable in so many ways. I will definitely be back (fingers crossed) Let’s go Lakers!!



We woke up the next morning and wandered back to Staples for a peek in the Grammy Museum…what a place! Homage to the greatest musicians, singers and songwriters of all genres. We could have spent the whole day here. The great thing about the museum is interactivity. Slap the head phones on and look at genres, their roots, three songs and related genres…the evolution of music by decade, by music epicentre (city), special sections like Ravi Shaktar and the Sitar. Writers Hall of Fame.

We particularly enjoyed the Roland Play stage where you could play musical instruments from drums and drum machines to keyboards and guitars, to music if you wish.

Jacob and I went into a booth and were taught to create beats and loops by a DJ – end product our own music! J

I sang with Frank Sinatra.

So much learned and so much fun had by all. Recommend to all music lovers.





Warner Bros Studios

By Jacob



My early morning enthusiasm was at its maximum potential as I got out of the RV into freezing temperatures. We walked down the streets through GayLord Drive and others to further progress forward. We soon arrived at the Warner Bros sign. We followed the giant unmissable arrows (G.U.A) until we reached the studios. Without the help of our G.U.A’s we struggled to see the door that lead to the main desk. Who would have thought it was the door through the arches of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. We then head inside and we were greeted with our tour guide. We entered a small theatre room similar to the one in Jurassic Park to watch the introduction video hosted by Ellen. We then progressed through the tour which due to copyright I can’t explain word for word, so blame the Warner’s not me. The experience was amazing however. It was awesome getting to see how everything was filmed, where it was filmed, the prop house, the sound studios, the massive fake streets and houses, it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I managed to learn so much about how Warner Bros Studios operates on a day to day basis. And of course there was the iconic moment where we all got a coffee from ‘Central Perk’. I took my parents photo outside the sign, and I must confess that they were stoked. They also managed to get their pictures taken on a set from friends, in the ‘Central Perk’. We finished with a browse through the gift shop of course, where you could find items from any of the movies or shows filmed there. The best part of this was me getting some Jelly Beans like the ones from the Harry Potter movies. The best flavour included would probably be Earwax, vomit or possibly cherry, I can’t choose. Warner Bros was an experience of a life time, I guess among other things, I am forever grateful to my parents.



LA Tour

By Michelle



We had lots of places on our ‘to do’ list for LA and decided the best way to tackle them was to take a tour on offer from our RV park. If it hasn’t been mentioned elsewhere our RV park is the closest to LA we could find and is 50 miles away. As such, it’s a good one hour commute by train and that’s not allowing for waiting on trains and the fact they seem to easily be cancelled (meaning an extra hours wait). So we decided on a ‘sampler’ tour with the idea being that if there were places we wanted to see more of we would do this on return to LA after the cruise.



So a lovely lady picked us up at 9:15 and drove us into back to the area of El Pueblo where we were yesterday. El Pueblo is beside Union Train Station and is the birthplace of LA where the original settlers settled. Lovely Mexican architecture and the main street, Olivera Street, has Mexican market stalls and eateries.



It’s off peak in the States at the moment as school has started and we find ourselves on our tour with only one other couple, newlyweds from Calgoorlie, outside of Perth. After a wee while away it’s actually really nice to meet up with other Australasians who we can understand and who can understand us! We’re so busy nattering away that after a bit the driver in frustration interrupts us so he can start his commentary!



First stop is by the Philharmonic orchestra and opera buildings. Great views from there of City Hall in the background. Next stop is a vista viewpoint after driving up Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood hills where we can take snaps of the famous Hollywood sign and the Hollywood Bowl. Nice day but seriously smoggy so whilst we’ve got a view back over LA the photos don’t work out well.



Into Hollywood and a chance to walk down the stars walk of fame and check out the shops (touristy crap to be fair). Warned by the tour operator about the street hawkers and sure enough all of Tyrones (of Venice beach) whanau are out flogging their quality mix tapes. Savvy now and Jake reckons I’ve perfected the ’don’t even think about coming near me’ hand.



Next stop is driving through the leafy and affluent suburbs of Bel Air, Brentwood, Beverly Hills etc. Beautiful streets and monster houses. Surprisingly not as gated / hidden as I would have expected. We see houses of the rich and famous including Paris Hiltons (which is surprisingly really nice and tasteful). Best of all we go past the Playboy Mansion and hear it is up for sale at $200 million. What a bargain when you consider part of the deal is that Hugh will continue to live there! Wonder why it hasn’t sold? We also saw the last house Michael Jackson lived in and the window of the room he passed away in – sad.



Off to Rodeo Drive and a wee stroll. Just like in the movie Pretty Woman each shop has a haughty shop assistant guarding the door and daring you to think you could afford to step inside! Every second car on the street is a luxury one, Maserati, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Rolls Royce etc.



The beaches are included in this tour so next stop is Venice Beach. Because we’ve already explored it we go straight to the skate bowl to watch the skaters. Full drama – fight breaks out between tough kid younger than Jake (15/16?) and older guy (40?). Skater code jumps into action and they’re reminded that fighting in the bowl leads to a life time ban so need to take it to the alley. Dude in charge of paparazzi control walks the crowd dramatically reminding us “no pictures, no videos, that’s not how we do things here”. Dudes walk towards alley but are cut off by police and security.



Next stop Santa Monica beach. We’re coming back here so all good that it’s a whistle stop visit. A very long day as we drop the Aussies in Anaheim then head North East to our stop in Pomona in busy LA traffic!





Santa Monica

By Michelle



Our cruise leaves on a Sunday and our RV is due back on the Saturday morning so we’re staying a night in Santa Monica. We drop off Minnie Winnie and cab to our hotel. Time is gold when travelling so rather than trying to negotiate public transport we wear the USD $115 plus tip fare. We’re staying at the Comfort Inn (a chain of 3 star hotels). This is NOT the Bellagio we mutter as we pull up outside! Bear in mind this place is miles (literally) away from the Santa Monica Pier and still costing NZD $300 a night. Double that to be close to the pier! Turns out the room is clean and actually really spacious! Spend the afternoon down at the pier. We start with lunch at Mai’Kai where we watch the football playoffs. Classic moment when an American man stops and asks Mike where the game is at. Mike commentates the game like a pro and the local walks away a happy man.



Lovely afternoon at the pier. We enjoy the entertainment, stroll the boardwalk, peruse the shops etc. We caught the bus in (stop really close to where we are staying) but a few crazies* on the bus so decide early evening to cab back. Comfort Inn is comfortable and the ‘free’ breakfast is actually ok.



*I’m a big advocate for supporting people with mental illness, have worked in the area and NEVER refer to people as ‘crazies’. But I’m sorry, loads of people here are nuts! I’m actually saddened by the state of people out on the streets in the states and clearly without the help / support they need. But I’m also sick of being randomly abused by people! Dude on the bus to the pier thought I stood on his foot and nutted off then nutted off at the guy sitting next to him who wanted to get off the bus! One guy on an empty street walked past us and started raving about us f**ing Irish getting in his way on the pavement??

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