All Things USA & Belated Birthday Celebrations

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Los Angeles
Finally time to celebrate my very belated 40th birthday from August last year which due to back surgery I spent recovering on the couch. Flying via Auckland on Air New Zealand we landed in LA and wasted no time settling into our north Hollywood Air bnb apartment. It was a sweet little place – walking distance to Hollywood Boulevard and just up the road on the next street over you could catch a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign if you stood just in the right spot.

The very first day we set off for the walk of fame and had booked a hop on hop off bus service that drops you off and picks you up in all the good spots from Hollywood down to Santa Monica. The weather was perfect and after a bit of star spotting on the walk of fame we set off to catch a glimpse of the Viper Room and the Whiskey A Go Go (birthplace of many big bands that we know and love). Jumping back on the bus we then headed off to Beverly Hills and took in the famous Rodeo Drive – sampled a world famous Sprinkles cupcake and after wandering all the big name brands that have never appealed to my bohemian sense of style we jumped back on the bus and headed to Santa Monica. On the way down to the coast, the wind picked up and the weather got colder which wasn’t a good sign for the beach and when we did reach the coast unfortunately the fog had drifted over the pier which made for getting photos a bit of a chore. We stopped and had lunch at Big Deans just near the beginning of the pier and then walked all the way down along the beachfront to the Venice boardwalk eventually making our way down to the beautiful canals – all along the way taking in the madness of the characters, funky one of a kind shops and the many homeless people selling their goodies on the side of the path. It was my second time here but Sam's first visit, when I visited back in 2005 the weather was less than desirable, rain and bad weather forced everyone indoors and I found myself wandering around pretty much on my own missing out on all the action this place has to offer.

Second day was full of all things Universal Studios, it cost a fair chunk of coin but we paid extra and got VIP passes which allowed us to skip all the lines on all of the rides and access to studios and past movie sets such as War of The Worlds and Psycho. We also got the chance to see the warehouse where they store all the props that can be rented out to any tv/movie production – was very cool and being a big Will & Grace fan I was ecstatic to see a framed photo of Rosy & Jacks wedding! That evening on the way home we made or way to the Museum of Death in Hollywood – the name says it all and within these creepy walls lay all things related to death. From legit correspondence to and from all the well known serial killers, autopsy images of Marilyn Monroe and JFK, crime scene photos of the Manson slayings, famous cults that have rocked our history and how different religions celebrated death and the rituals carried out within them. You could spend all day in there, we spent almost a good two hours before calling it a very long day and headed back to our little pad.

We arose super early the third day and hiked a fair way up to a viewpoint which was supposed to give you the best view of the Hollywood sign but due to fog we lucked out and couldn’t see a damn thing so we took the bus again back down to Santa Monica hoping to get a better day at the beach and we lucked out this time - our pics came out perfectly and the sun was out all day. We hit Melrose Avenue on the way back home to cruise the streets where many cool murals reside, dragging Sam along to all of them. When we neared home we caught the same bus up the hill we caught in the morning and stopped when we found the one unobstructed view of the sign – took the piccy and ran back down the hill again, finally got that shot!

Las Vegas
The next day we jumped on a very cheap bus and after a four hour trip including a stop at a very American roadhouse on the way for lunch, we finally made it to Sin City. We couldn't have asked for better weather, spring time here was still pretty warm though in the middle of the desert. Straight away I wanted to get a pic of the iconic Vegas sign at the start of the strip and deciding not to line up behind the many people (and a couple of bridal parties) I went to the side of it and managed a piccy there with no one in it! We spent the first two nights in Park MGM, just a hotel room but still pretty nice and Sam worked out the first day there was the best weather so we booked a trip that day to get out to the Grand Canyon (again my second time here but last time was in winter and the Canyon was complete white out with snow so I didn't see a thing!) We were picked up about 4.30 from our hotel and straight out to the wee airport all the light aircraft operate from. The trip out there didn't take too long, about 45 minutes and on the way over we took in the sites of Lake Meade and Hoover Dam. The first point of the canyon we drove out to was Bright Angel Point, the views here were extraordinary but the second point we visited, Mather Point really takes your breath away. It was interesting walking around here, learning of all the different Native American history and culture and of all the different tribes that called this area home and have a very strong connection to the place. That night we opted to do something different and visit the Neon Museum, kind of like a graveyard for all the old bright lights and signs of old casinos and hotels of Vegas nostalgia. I really enjoyed it here, as the lights went down they put on a show to music (mainly old Vegas greats like Frank Sinatra & Liberace) it was a bit cheesy but still cool to see all the old signs lit up like they were in there glory days.

Day three we set aside for my belated 40th birthday celebrations. Up to the Stratosphere Casino (now called The Strat) the tallest freestanding observation tower in the States at 350.2m and home to the third highest thrill ride in the world - The Insanity, a massive claw that takes you over the strip and just spins around constantly in one direction. Now I have never been afraid of heights but something about this ride filled me with panic and I just couldn't get on the damn thing. It worked out well in the end as I was able to take a pic of Sam riding around on it - no regrets here let me tell you! That afternoon we took the bus to Downtown Vegas which was the original strip back in the day. On the way we visited the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop (Pawn Stars) they obviously weren't filming that day as it was pretty quiet around the Pawn Plaza where Rick has opened a BBQ Bar & Restaurant & Chum-Lee has a candy store. Wandering around the shop was fun, everything very expensive though as to be expected. We had lunch next door at Ricks and started drinking for my birthday celebrations. On the way out bought some choccy from Chum-Lee's candy store then wandered past a few wedding chapels into the heart of Freemont Street. We had seen and heard about this place called Nacho Daddy - home to the scorpion shot. Sam and I both hate Tequila but it had to be done, it was about 1.30pm and we took a seat at the bar and ordered two of them, and we both agreed the worst thing about the whole thing was not shooting a scorpion but the tequila. Chasers were ordered pretty quickly after this! Downtown Vegas has a lot of heart, its tacky and wonderful and there is just something about it that to me really epitomizes Las Vegas - I guess this is where it all started so its no wonder it gave us this feeling. The last two nights we spent in an MGM Signature Suite, we only paid $80 resort fees and a $20 upgrade to get a balcony with a view of the strip. Sam had been playing a slots game on his phone to accrue points and get us a deal which I didn't think would work but it did and he managed to get a pretty sweet deal in the end. We hit the casinos for a gamble, I invested $100 and managed to walk away with almost $1000 on a 'Hangover' pokie machine which paid for our diving in Costa Rica. Most of the night we spent at the Coyote Ugly bar where 15 years earlier at the age of 25 I danced in a very drunk manner in the very same spot. We made it to 2.30am which was enough fun for me, I felt content that I had officially turned 40 and spent the next day in bed most of the day nursing a Sin City hangover.

San Francisco
Our last quick trip was up to San Francisco, neither of us had been there before and more than anything just really wanted to visit Alcatraz. As soon as we landed we pretty much just dumped our bags at a hotel not far from the airport as we had to fly out to Costa Rica early the next day. We first set off to get a glimpse of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge and stepping off the bus we were hit with crazy cold winds. Due to the weather we opted to bus down to Fishermans Wharf rather than walk down. Its such a lovely waterside city full of character and all things maritime. We had a 2pm tour booked to go over to Alcatraz Island to visit the penitentiary. The small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a federal prison from 1934 until 1963. Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of Native Americans from San Francisco, who were part of a wave of Native activism across the nation, with public protests through the 1970s. In 1972, Alcatraz became part of a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. Visiting 'The Rock' was definitely a highlight of the trip, it was hard to try and manage to get piccys without people in them but I think in the end we did quite well. It was crazy walking around the halls and cells, listening to audio from inmates who did time here speaking of their experiences and trying to imagine what life would have been like here back in the day - we got the impression it was much harder than what our current prison systems are like.

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