LA and Vegas

Leaving the parks we were again city bound. We really didn't want to leave the serenity and go back to the city but our trip must go on. We drove in to LA slowly winding our way down through the southern entrance of the sequoia national park. We arrived in LA and thought we would stay at Santa Monica. We were told that you could stay on the back streets of Santa Monica in your van. Andy and I really didn't feel safe doing this so we made the decision to stay at a hostel. We booked in to Venice Beach Samesun hostel. It was very pricy for what it was but when you're staying right on the beach who's complaining. We ventured off in the morning, after having some food with a guy that was in our room, we hired some bikes. We rode up past Santa Monica Beach stopping at the Fun Park on the way. It was a glorious day to be out and about, you could seriously spend hours on the foreshore people watching. We were a bit surprised by the amount of homelessness on Venice Beach, but I guess its a warmer climate and plenty of tourism to make a few. 

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Beach

There was so much to see at Venice Beach. Muscle Beach is just up the road which has the same guys from the 70’s still pumping iron. You could spend hours watching the skaters at the famous Venice Beach skate park. Andy met some up and coming skate boarders from Mexico that were just in LA to skate. He was able to take some shots of them in action which was pretty great. If street performing is your thing then this is the place to be. It’s all happening from musicians to comedians, live art and even crazy snake handlers. If you want ink or a hair cut, great little coffee shops and good food then again this is a great place to be. Andy and I came across a small barber and tattoo shop. Andy has been talking about wanting to get rid of his beard or at least get it tidied up so this was perfect. Dave at Old Glory Barber shop, an ex police officer turned professional barber had it covered. Andy was in great hands and the result was amazing. Andy was so happy with his new style and he even learned that he'd been parting his hair the wrong way. Who would've known! Andy and I grabbed some lunch/dinner and sat to watch the sunset. What a wonderful day. 

Venice Beach Skate Park

Venice Beach

After a couple of days we were booked in to another Air B&B in Downtown LA. We said our goodbyes to Moby the van and picked up our rental car. We arrived at Rebecca’s place in the Fashion district. She lived in a converted warehouse loft apartment, it was very cool, open plan style with every thing we could've needed. She was the hostess with mostess, she welcomed us with a beer as we walked in the door and an offer of food. She provided us with breakfast food including pastries and fruit, the coffee was always hot and she was an absolute pleasure to stay with. Anything we needed she had it covered. We spent our first day in downtown LA just wandering around the fashion district to see if we could find a bargain. It is similar to the Melbourne Markets but obviously on a much larger scale. It was very repetitive however and we ended up retreating home out of the hot sun. On day two we went to the Citadel factory outlet mall. We were in a bit of a need to update some of our clothes that were worn and torn. A little bit of retail therapy never hurt anyone… Right? We went to little Tokyo for a feed of ramen and sushi and headed home. On the way home we drove down one of the main streets of downtown LA also known from what Becca had told us as Skid Row or Tent City. Wow what a sight to see. There were homeless people lining the streets and so were their tents. They were not on the street themselves but just off the footpaths in driveways but in full view. These tents were not one or two person tents but large four or five person tents lined up along the street five or six in a row with a space for a couple of shopping trollies and then four or five more. This went on for around four or five blocks which in the the USA is a long way. We have never seen anything like it before and were blown away by the amount of people lining the streets. Becca said these places are notorious for drugs and petty street crime at night and not to venture here. So we didn’t. She also said that LA particularly is very bad when it comes to helping the homeless and as we know the US has no welfare system so I guess these people have somewhere to go every night, their tent. 

Our third day in LA we went to Hollywood, much to Becca’s disgust. She had said not to go as it was expensive and far to touristy but we wanted to see it for ourselves. We tended to agree with her. It’s interesting to see but it’s not the most exciting place we've been to. We went to Griffith Park Observatory to check out the view of the city. It’s really hard to get a great view because most of the time LA is covered in a cloud of smog or fog. So instead we went wandering around the Observatory learning about the universe. We were given the opportunity to look at mars through a huge telescope as well as the moon. We saw a planetarium show, which was quite funny. Not the show itself but the lady who was narrating the show had the most unusual voice I think I have ever heard (for a narrator anyway). We were constantly looking at each other and having a little giggle to ourselves throughout the show. We learned about the galaxy and then waited up top for the sun to set which was spectacular. 

Hollywood

Hugh Jackman'a Hand and Foot prints

Downtown LA from Griffith Park

Now it was time for some FUN. Disneyland and California Adventure World. We were both very excited about going to Disneyland in particular.  Letting out our inner child. We arrived at around 10:30am on a Monday during summer holidays… what springs to mind instantly?? BUSY BUSY BUSY. People everywhere, lineups for rides were enormous and we had to be in line to meet a character for an hour or so before they were due to arrive. It was a very hot day but we stuck it out until 11pm. We saw the parade, met loads of characters and went on all the rides we possibly could. Our favourite was by far the Space Mountain ride which was initially closed when we arrived but secretly opened later on in the day. It was an awesome ride right from the start when you get in your carriage and head directly into the dark. All that is going on around you are small LED lights in the ceiling and surroundings depicting the stars. You can not see anything and have no idea where you are exactly going, zipping around corners, up and down the track with cool music playing as you go round. So much fun :-).

Disneyland

Maddie and Tigger

The Front of Disneyland

Us at Disney

Disneyland Parade

Us and Eeyore

Fireworks over Fantasyland

Fireworks over Fantasyland

Fireworks over Fantasyland

We drove back home and got stuck in a bit of a traffic jam but finally arrived around 1230am and headed straight to bed as California World was our next days adventure and we wanted to be up early for another day of fun.

Walking through the gates of California World we expected much the same as the day before at Disneyland. Super busy with huge lines and everything taking forever to get in or on to. But with some good fortune there were certainly not as many people, not as hectic and it made for an even better day than the day before. We had set out a plan of getting the FAST pass for the rides we really wanted to do in the mean time checking out other exhibits. However when we got to the Cars ride all the FAST pass tickets had already been taken for the WHOLE day and the line up was at least an hour to one and a half hours. So we thought we would leave it for later in the day and with good success as when we finally decided to do the ride we only waited for around 45 minutes. We had a much more fun and relaxing day at California World and some of the rides were great. In particular was the Hollywood tower ride, where Andy almost ripped off Maddie’s leg instead of holding onto the bar on the seat. This ride is a smaller version of the tower of terror and inside in the dark. When you reach the top a door opens and you see outside before plummeting to the bottom, then back up for the window to open and close and plummet back to the bottom a few more times. The California express, a roller coaster which had one loop was lots of fun, and most of all I think Maddie enjoyed the whirling swings if not only for the comical value of Andy’s child like laughter whilst spinning around. We even saw the Aladin show where the Genie was great value and a good laugh as well as the the Pixar street parade. 

Radiator Springs rd

Art from Monsters University

Mater from Cars

Paradise Island California World

Jesse from Toy Story

We finished up the day getting a photo with Lightning McQueen from Cars and headed home before tomorrows adventure for Las Vegas and our UFC experience. 

We headed along the highway for Vegas and four hours later we could see, plonked right in the middle of the dessert of Nevada, the casinos of Las Vegas. Rewind an hour or so driving along the highway we passed an unusually strange looking field of shining objects with three large towers surrounding them. From far away is was hard to see what they could be but as we got closer we could see that it was a large area occupied by solar panels. On further research we discovered that the area we had driven past is actually the largest solar panel plant/field in the world. It made us wonder why does Australia not have something like this in our dessert. Moving right along..

We arrived in Vegas, WOW, was it hot. We are not talking Cairns humid hot or Tassie dry hot, we are talking about melt your face off… HOT. We pulled into Treasure Island our accommodation for the next 5 nights, our car was taken by the valet, nice, and our bags were taken by the bell hop, even better. Checking in our room was on the 35th floor and looking out over Vegas. Not over the strip but still great view from the hotel room. First point of call, Casino’s and where’s all the cheaper gambling. Our hotel although considered to be one of the older casino’s on the strip still had expensive gambling. Wait, hang on a minute. I mean expensive for a backpacker. $10 a hand of blackjack was still well out of our price range and we were on the hunt for a craps table anyway. After the cruise Andy is hooked on craps and was keen to try his luck rolling the beloved dice. We walked around before being roped into one of the stalls in the main walkway of the hotel. A free chance to win $2 million dollars or a car they said. Oh yeah. too good to be true. It was a company (Wyndham Worldmark) giving you the chance to go and see some of their new Condo’s in Vegas and in return they offered you cheap show tickets. We thought why not, it’s only 2 hours out of a whole day and nothing happens in Vegas during the day. So we bought some cheap tickets to Blue Man Group and Chris Angel in exchange we would go to check out the new hotel the next day for a free breakfast, a presentation around two hours of our time and then head back to our hotel to be able to enjoy the rest of the day. Now it was time to wonder the strip. We went out of TI and headed south along Las Vegas Blvd. There were people everywhere from street performers, people dressed in transformer costumes, girls with basically no clothes on and feathers on their backs for photos, people giving out cheap drink cards for nights clubs and the constant flick of a card in your face for a strip club or call girls. After walking around for a bit we found a nice restaurant to eat at run by (chefs name) and it was delicious. Walking back out onto the strip just looking at the enormity of it made us tired. We strolled back to the hotel but not before stopping at the Mirage to watch the Volcano show. The balls of Gaseous fire coming out from the stacks could nearly singe your eyebrows off. In this heat it made it even hotter. We settled into the air con of our hotel and nodded off to sleep ready for more adventures the next day.

Our private chauffeur drove us to the new Wyndham hotels, we sat down and waited for our names to be called by one of the hotels representatives. Ours was Randy. A nice guy originally from New York and now living in Vegas. We tucked into some free breakfast before sitting through a small 30 minute presentation about Vacation Ownership. Similar to Time Share with a bit of a twist. It was well presented, the two hours of our time was taken up and we headed back to the hotel to relax before heading to Blue Man Group for the 7 o’clock show.  Blue Man group were amazing. A percussion show using all sorts of equipment (predominantly PVC pipes) with lighting effects and a brilliant stage show. At times they used crowd participation which was very funny and throughout the whole show none of the performers spoke. A very entertaining and funny evening. We headed out of the theatre and walked back towards TI. We stopped at the Belagio for the water show out the front of the hotel. The water is timed usually with a son and at that current time the song was Elton Johns “This is my song”. 

It was the eve of the 4th of July or National Independence Day for the USA and everyone was out to party. As soon as we walked through the doors of TI we were given a drinks card which stated open bar at Señor Frogs from 930pm until 3am for just $25. It was around 10pm and we thought why the hell not. When in Vegas……….. The drinks were flowing, DJ’s music blaring and people were going bonkers for the 4th of July as soon as midnight struck. By the time the open bar had closed we were well and truly drunk as skunks. We stumbled back to the hotel room not before having a long conversation with an american couple and apparently even inviting them to Australia to stay with us should they ever venture to our wonderful country. Our heads hit the pillows hard…….

Not sure whether it was from hitting the pillows hard but most likely the alcohol, we were pretty hungover. Feeling a little sorry for ourselves Andy headed down to one of the food establishments within the hotel and bought back some food which was pretty delicious. We switched on the TV for a bit and got a good laugh out of the 4th of July Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. The guy who ended up winning ate 61 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Now you would assume these guys would be pretty fat, and maybe eat a lot of hot dogs. On the contrary they were skinny little blokes who smashed those hot dogs like you wouldn’t believe, buns and all. We can barely eat one hot dog and these guys were downing 50+ hot dogs. 

As the sun was setting in the distance, we looked out and could see fireworks lighting the sky for miles. Everywhere the eye could see there were fireworks. We headed back out onto the strip but this time headed in the opposite direction towards the Stratosphere and Circus Circus. walking past some pretty fancy looking hotels we decided to stop in at Circus Circus and have a look. Another one of the older Hotels on the strip it was not a bad establishment with even a free circus show and the equivalent to sideshow alley on the second floor. Andy dabbled in some craps hoping to win some money. Was on a pretty good run at one stage but unfortunately came out empty handed once again. Pretty late in the night around midnight we caught the bus back to the hotel and were trying to decide if to drive to the Grand Canyon or take a helicopter ride. We couldn’t decide so we nodded off to sleep and would decide in the morning.

Las Vegas Sunset

As soon as our eyes were open and we awake Andy was on the phone to one of the Helicopter companies regarding the Grand Canyon flight. There were a few spots available in the afternoon and we thought once again why the hell not. At 415pm we would be on a six seater helicopter flying over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and then onto the Grand Canyon. We showered browsed around for a bit and waited for our limousine to pick us up. 

Being picked up by a limousine is pretty cool, makes you feel a little bit famous. However it was just the limousine and no perks. A glass of bubbly would have been good but that probably would of cost extra as well and we were already spending enough on the flight itself. After picking up a few extra travellers we made our way to the terminal. After a short briefing and a bit of a wait we were strapped in to the helicopter, the rotor blades were spinning and we were flying towards the Grand Canyon. Now we all know Maddie is not the best flyer in the world and even with a few windy spots and a couple of bumps I think she enjoyed the ride and especially the amazing view we were getting. The first landmark was Hoover Dam. Wow what a structure. Apparently the walls are something like 250m tall and (something) thick. It was enormous.  After a few S turns and a couple of photo opportunities we made our way over the beautiful Lake Mead and headed for the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Up and over the mountain we went and looking below was a shear 3-4000 foot or 1-1500meter drop to the floor of the Grand Canyon. It was spectacular. The massive rocks look like they had been parted specifically to allow the Colorado river to run right through it. The rock faces, the river and all the amazing crevices were just stunning. We made our way back to Vegas with a quick fly by of the strip for a few photo’s and then headed back to TI in another limo, had a shower and headed to the Luxor for the Criss Angel show. 

Las Vegas Strip

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Just outside the Grand Canyon

West Rim Grand Canyon

Our Helicopter

Inside the Grand Canyon

Inside the Grand Canyon

Inside the Grand Canyon

Before the show began we sat down at a beautiful steak house for a good feed of red meat. Something we had been missing due to it’s cost throughout the USA and Canada. But we decided why not splash out for a decent meal. It was bloody amazing. Steak so tender and juicy, Mash potatoes to die for and delicious vegetables. Our bellies full it was time for Criss Angel. 

A great street performer on his TV show Mind Freaks his stage show Believe had a lot to live up to. The show was pretty mind blowing. How he performed the tricks and illusions were incredible however the crown didn’t really seem to get into the vibe of the show and made it feel like a bit of a let down. We were constantly amazed by how he did what he did and whether the crowd felt the same we were, not sure. Sometimes we didn’t know whether to clap or just sit there with our mouths open. All in all, the show was unbelievable and mind boggling. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIt’s TTTTTIIIIIIIMMMMMEEEEE. The day had come for the UFC fan expo and The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale featuring BJ “The Prodigy” Penn and Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. We made our way, although later than expected, to Mandalay Bay and headed directly to the UFC fan expo. It was huge and amazing. So many fighters and celebrities hanging about. We saw the likes of Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Clay Guida, Micha Tate, Michael Bisping, Urijah Faber, Anthony Petis, Lyotto Machida, Travis Browne, Octagon ring girls, and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. The highlight of the expo was by far Andy getting his photo taken with Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. This guy is only 125 pounds, 56kgs and slightly shorter than Andy. As you can tell by the photo Andy was a little excited to be standing next to one of the champions of the UFC. 

Happy much, Me and Mighty Mouse

Urijah and Forrest

Me and Joe Silva

After the expo we made our way to the events centre at Mandalay Bay for the start of TUF 19 Finale. First on the card was Robert Drysdale, a former ADCC champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, now making his debut into the UFC  after being 6-0 vs some guy with a nick name “She bang a bang”. Well it was more like she doesn’t bang a bang because after a few, I would say awkward strikes, Drysdale took down his opponent, got his back and after the opponents knee crumpled and possibly dislocated, won with a rear naked choke. A pretty good start to the evening. 

A few more impressive bouts and a few very good knock outs from some of the fights it was time for TUF Finales. Trent had told me to keep an eye on Diego Lima one of the finalists but unfortunately his opponent was to strong and knocked him out pretty quickly. The second Finale was very similar to the first with another knock out.

BJ Penn was announced to come into the ring, his music played, and the crowd went absolutely crazy. Everyone was rooting and cheering for BJ as a win would keep him in the UFC and a loss could possibly force his retirement. Frankie Edgar is a very very good fighter and there is a reason why he is still at the top of the sport. Some unlucky losses in his past few title fights Frankie looked good and eventually finished the bout with a KO. The crowd was super disappointed and in the post match interview BJ said he would be retiring. The crowd cheered the loudest for BJ as he has done so much for the sport of MMA and the UFC and he will be missed as a fighter. So we say Thank you BJ for all you have done. True Legend of the sport.

Washing needing to be done we headed to a 24hr laundry mat and sorted out some clothes so that we had something to wear while we were in Mexico. We curled up in bed at TI for the last night and set an early alarm as we needed to have the car back by around midday and the drive would take 4-5 hours.

After checking out we made our way back towards LAX to drop off the car and wait for our flight to Mexico City leaving at midnight. 

3 weeks around California was amazing and we have had the time of our lives with some great memories. We found a cafe to sit at whilst waiting for our check in and wouldn’t you know it sat next to some Aussie’s from Perth and chatted until they had to depart. It was now time for us to check in and once again some Aussie’s popped up and took our seats as they are hard to come by in the international terminal. We have met so many fellow Aussie’s travellers  We checked in made our way through customs and waited till midnight before boarding the plane bound for Mexicio City.

Missing home 

Peace Out

Andy and Maddie