They say traffic in Los Angeles is horrible. I can tell you it’s not just a myth, it’s true. It takes an hour to get anywhere in LA by car. And car is the only way to go. LA is very spread out, and in between the different places you would like to go to is nothing but streets filled with cars almost standing still.
Anyhow, we had a good time in LA. Mascha hosted us in Westwood, one of the nicer areas of LA, with cute cafés and interesting stores. Mascha, and her boyfriend JD, seem to know everybody in LA. So of course, we were invited to various parties. The private party with Linkin Park, somewhere in Hollywood, was good – it’s not every day I go to a party with open bar and a chocolate fountain. That was as close as we got to celebrity-spotting. Although we also got to know a couple of days later, that Paris Hilton was at the party we didn’t go to. Mascha’s friend talked to her all night, and she was very nice, he says.
Selling the car didn’t go all that well. We did find one sketchy car dealer who wanted to give us a small amount of money for the car, but we were too stubborn and didn’t accept his offer. Instead, after having driven Anton to the airport, I went to the Salvation Army and gave the car away. With no Anton and no car, the road-trip was over.
It seems that everybody in LA is very much into all kinds of new-age stuff. There are raw-food organic vegan Buddhist people all over. So it seemed like the proper finale of my LA stay to go to yoga with Mascha. I boarded the flight to NY dehydrated, but the stewardesses were happy to serve me one drink after the other, so all was good.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
California dreaming
Going through north-eastern California, we were not really able to enjoy the national parks. Possibly because of still being tired from Vegas, possibly because of being sick and tired of desert. Ok, Yosemite is not really desert, but mountains and trees. But it’s still wasteland. Coming into the San Francisco area, with highways and skyscrapers and other man-made stuff, was beautiful.
From San Francisco, we went down highway 1 (which is about as nice as they say it is) to San Diego, where we were greeted by Shannon and her three (or two, or four – who knows) roommates in a funky house-like apartment in La Jolla, a fancy beach community type thing. Two intense days followed. To maximize the contrast to the snowboarding of the beginning of the trip, we went to the ocean to surf. I managed to stand up on the surf board twice. Too bad it was not really on a wave. Instead, the waves thought it would be fun to throw me around like a rag doll. The whole thing was not made easier by the party at Shannon’s the day before. Being better at partying than surfing, we were invited to an all American frat-like theme party that night, which was great fun. The theme was Around the world, and obviously, me and Anton dressed up as Swedes.
Leaving San Diego for Los Angeles, we realized that this was the very last time on the trip that we were on our way to a new, unknown destination. It is sad that this trip is coming to an end. I think we both feel that we could do this for another month or two. But it will also be nice to get back to Sweden and meet everybody there. I wonder if these months have gone by as fast in Sweden as they have here.
Now, it’s time for those last days in LA.
From San Francisco, we went down highway 1 (which is about as nice as they say it is) to San Diego, where we were greeted by Shannon and her three (or two, or four – who knows) roommates in a funky house-like apartment in La Jolla, a fancy beach community type thing. Two intense days followed. To maximize the contrast to the snowboarding of the beginning of the trip, we went to the ocean to surf. I managed to stand up on the surf board twice. Too bad it was not really on a wave. Instead, the waves thought it would be fun to throw me around like a rag doll. The whole thing was not made easier by the party at Shannon’s the day before. Being better at partying than surfing, we were invited to an all American frat-like theme party that night, which was great fun. The theme was Around the world, and obviously, me and Anton dressed up as Swedes.
Leaving San Diego for Los Angeles, we realized that this was the very last time on the trip that we were on our way to a new, unknown destination. It is sad that this trip is coming to an end. I think we both feel that we could do this for another month or two. But it will also be nice to get back to Sweden and meet everybody there. I wonder if these months have gone by as fast in Sweden as they have here.
Now, it’s time for those last days in LA.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Mormons and gambling
The ride through the mountains of Colorado, on the way to Utah, was spectacular. We stayed for lunch in Vail, and it was not hard to see why this is a popular destination for American ski tourists. All you had to do was to imagine lots of snow. Once we crossed the border to Utah, all the beauty disappeared. What we were left with was flat and boring semi-desert for miles and miles and miles. It took us two hours of driving before we saw anything man-made (except for the road). It was a shed. Following our new tradition of going to Sunday church, we found our way to a Mormon service, which was just as boring as the rest of Utah. Although it must be said that the Mormons were friendly to us.
One might think that we would be tired of desert, and just flee the Mormons and go straight for the west coast. We didn’t. Instead we went south to Arizona. Our waitress in Vail had recommended the little town of Sedona, Arizona, where, supposedly, some energy lines cross which soothes your soul. We saw nothing of the energy lines, but we did, again, see some spectacular nature. The mountain/canyon/desert combination, some say, even beats the Grand Canyon. For the first time, we couchsurfed with a family: two parents and two kids. We never really figured out which kid had which parent, if they had any kids together, or if any of them had any other kids. But we had a great time with them in their kind of big Sedona house with a backyard well suited for hamburger grilling.
The Grand Canyon was cool. But not as cool as going in a helicopter. I might have to buy one of those when I get really, really rich.
Las Vegas is probably the first destination on our trip that met, or ever exceeded, my expectations. It was everything it sets out to be. I think I spent some thirty hours by black jack tables in a bunch of different casinos, and it is the most pleasant experience. Free drinks are served, so what you’re actually doing is to sit around a table, play a game and talk with total strangers from all over the US (and the world) over a drink or two or three. I guess that it’s less fun if you lose money, though.
One might think that we would be tired of desert, and just flee the Mormons and go straight for the west coast. We didn’t. Instead we went south to Arizona. Our waitress in Vail had recommended the little town of Sedona, Arizona, where, supposedly, some energy lines cross which soothes your soul. We saw nothing of the energy lines, but we did, again, see some spectacular nature. The mountain/canyon/desert combination, some say, even beats the Grand Canyon. For the first time, we couchsurfed with a family: two parents and two kids. We never really figured out which kid had which parent, if they had any kids together, or if any of them had any other kids. But we had a great time with them in their kind of big Sedona house with a backyard well suited for hamburger grilling.
The Grand Canyon was cool. But not as cool as going in a helicopter. I might have to buy one of those when I get really, really rich.
Las Vegas is probably the first destination on our trip that met, or ever exceeded, my expectations. It was everything it sets out to be. I think I spent some thirty hours by black jack tables in a bunch of different casinos, and it is the most pleasant experience. Free drinks are served, so what you’re actually doing is to sit around a table, play a game and talk with total strangers from all over the US (and the world) over a drink or two or three. I guess that it’s less fun if you lose money, though.
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