From LA to Illinois ....The trip so far...
Before I started out on my journey in the United States I promised myself I was going to write a travel journal to document my experiences. I wanted to do this as much to let my friends and family know what was happening but also so that I have something to look back on. This has probably been my longest, most active holiday I have ever taken and I can safely say that finding the time and the energy to sit down and write a travel journal is a lot harder than it sounds.
Since I last wrote anything at all, I have survived LA, spent unforgettable time with friends in Illinois, attended a Supernatural convention in Chicago and have settled in Lawrence, Kansas for the last week of my stay in the states. A LOT has happened since Hawaii and a LOT of time has passed. I feel like I have been travelling forever at this point and as much as I am happy to be here and experiencing everything that I possibly can? I know I will be happy to touch down in Melbourne when the time comes. I am tired LOL
That said, a lot of exciting stuff has happened and a few more exciting things are still yet to happen. I want to at least express some of the highlights of this massive trip so far in a little less detail than I had originally planned but better that than nothing I suppose, right?
Starting with LA. That was interesting. I remember when I was planning this trip with my friend Evelyne, I stressed that I wanted to go to LA. I thought to myself that I couldn’t go to America and NOT see LA. From an Aussie perspective, we watch so much American TV and hear so much but I really felt the need to see it for myself and do the typical touristy stuff. And I have to say that in a way? I was slightly underwhelmed. Now before people start wondering why and gasping “how could you?” I think there are a number of reasons why I felt this way about good ol’ Los Angeles. TV tends to colour your view on things. When I see LA in my favourite TV shows and movies it seems bright and bustling and exciting and a happening place. What I experienced was a less than welcoming start.
For starters, I had just the beautiful Island of Oahu, Hawaii where everyone was generous and kind and relaxed, a place where I had no qualms in walking the streets after 9pm at night. We landed in LA as I have explained and after the awesomeness of running into my friends Caroline and Emily, we dealt with a very rude Shuttle driver, and people that just seemed like they didn’t have the time of day to give a shit about anyone but themselves. We arrived at the hotel and it looked in a seedy area just down from the walk of fame and our hotel room smelt of cigarette smoke. It was a less than stellar first impression.
Despite this our time in LA wasn’t spent unhappy and in fear. We actually really did have a good time. We organised a shuttle driver through the hotel to get to Disneyland for two days and Universal Studios. Caesar was fantastic. He restored my opinion on people in LA. Granted he was born in Mexico but … he was a joy to be a round which is a great thing because we had him for 3 days and it took us about just over an hour every day to get to Disneyland from our Hotel in Hollywood.
Disneyland was great. I was actually kind of a little surreal to be there. It’s a place that I hear about all the time and see on TV but never ACTUALLY thought I would get to. I come from a family (a fantastic family) that never really had a hell of a lot of money and the thought of travelling to the states and getting to places like Disneyland always kind of felt like a pipedream. So to actually walk through those gates and see Mickey and Walt Disney statue and Sleeping Beauty’s castle and the massive big Halloween Pumpkin of Mickey Mouse was really quite surreal. And the good thing is that despite the impatient attitudes we’ found of people in LA and Hollywood? Disneyland created a whole different aura. People were happy. It was a happy place.
Another thing that I liked and appreciated is the rides that accommodate people of all kinds of ages and sizes. I am a bigger person and cannot always go to a fair like the Royal Melbourne Show or Moomba in Melbourne and enjoy the rides because they just don’t accommodate for people like me. Disneyland was different. I never felt worried about it. Another thing that I liked was the fact that everything was interactive and interesting, even waiting in lines to get on rides. Going to Space Mountain? I felt like I had entered a space station while making my way to the actual line. The star wars ride felt like you were entering a space airport with Monitors expressing the different flights you could take to Tattoine and other planets and robots dealing with baggage claim and customs … it was all just … so freaking good. We went on the Star Wars ride twice and the actual ride was different the two times we went. That was so cool as well.
What I did find in both parks (Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure Park) seemed to have a gift stores everywhere … and even if it was a specific theme, all gift stores still had a general area so you could never miss finding specific souvenirs. I was like the ABC stores in Hawaii LOL
Universal was so cool. This was the place that I really wanted to go to. I have wanted to go to Universal Studios for as long as I can remember and it lived up to what I imagined about it. The tour was great and the rides were fun and I do have to admit, after being on the go and on my feet for the third day in a row? I was kind of done with it before the end of the day though. What I can tell you is that there was a lot of Walking Dead souvenirs and advertisements because of Halloween and the Walking Dead Premiere :) What killed me? Is the next day when we went on our city/Beach tour was overhearing a couple that were at Universal the same day we were and witnessed the cast of the Walking Dead walk into the Hard Rock Café … I don’t know what cast members but I can’t believe I was so close and didn’t know they were there… dammit. That’s just my luck though. I have in my head that it must have been Norman Reedus and Andy Lincoln just because my luck and timing is so bloody bad lol
The city/beach tour in LA was cool and I am glad I got to do it even if I have all these photos of celeb houses and cant remember who lived where lol Our tour guide took us out to see Mann’s Chinese Theatre and some of the stars. I found it rather amusing to find out that Marilyn Munroes star is right in front of a McDonalds now LOL I did see Scarlett Johansson’s star and geeked out a little because I know Jeremy Renner was there when she got her star LOL Our Tour guide did warn us that there would be guys out there trying to sell you CD’s and to ignore them because most of the time the CD’s were blank. We stayed clear of them. We were taken to Santa Monica Pier and got to see that which was cool. From Santa Monica we were taken to Venice Beach and were told the same thing about guys and CD’s venice Beach was cool for me because just like Santa Monica Pier I recognised areas from NCIS LA but it was also daunting and we kind of had a quick look and then chickened out and went back to the bus and waited for the others.
Our last day in LA was spent at SeaWorld. For one? I just want to say that I haven’t seen Black Fish yet and I do plan to watch it. I hadn’t heard about the documentary until after I bought my ticket for SeaWorld and thought once I knew about it that I would wait until after I got back from the states to sit down and watch it. There are a lot of different complications with the captivity of Orca’s and I am not an advocate for captivity, but I also know that right now? The solution isn’t as simple as letting these creatures back into the wild. They simply wouldn’t survive. I have wanted to see Orca’s in real life for such a long time and I would naturally rather see them in their natural habitat. Of course it wasn’t Orca season and we decided to go to SeaWorld. I didn’t want the documentary to colour the amazement of seeing these beautiful smart creatures in real life. Captivity aside, amazement was definitely had. These animals are just simply pure beauty and amazing to see. The size, the colouring, their personalities, everything about them is just amazing (I keep using that word but … it’s the one word I keep coming back to) I am glad to say I have seen them now. But Next time I will definitely look to be seeing them in the wild and free. SeaWorld itself (just like the one we have in Queensland) was pretty underwhelming. The food is overpriced and pretty pathetic, the attractions are meh and the only thing (in my opinion) that it really has going for it is the Orca’s and even that comes with its controversy. I do have to laugh at Dolphins though. Very cheeky creatures. Evelyne and I came around their enclosure from the back way and came across some not in the main tank and they kept leaping out of the water, looking in our direction as if checking if we were still there and then splashing us. Cheeky bastards.
Now the thing about SeaWorld? Is that its all the way in San Diego. We were staying in Hollywood. The drive there was close to 3 hours, which meant our trip back was close to 3 hours. We didn’t get back to the hotel room until about 10.30pm and then we had to make sure everything was packed and ready for us to wake up at 3am to get ready for our shuttle that was taking us to the airport.
Our next destination was Springfield, Illinois. We flew into St Louis, Missouri where our friend Carol (qultng1) was going to be meeting us there with her husband. Back in 2009, I met Carol and her husband Ray when they visited Australia. We’d been speaking online for a few years and upon meeting these two it was like we’d known each other in person for years. It felt right and that first night at my house Carol, Mum and I stayed up laughing at cute Cat videos on youtube and chatting until close to 3am. It felt right and normal. And I remember the moment I went to the Airport to pick them up, seeing Carol for the first time and hugging each other hard. This time it was my turn to be the visitor and I can tell you right now, it was SOOOOOOOO good to see them again. Both of them. For me it was like it hadn’t been years since we last hugged. I love this couple. They are family.
These stop was the last stop Evelyne was making before heading home to Montreal and reality. So we watched TV shows, made friends with Carol’s cats Sassy and Buddy and Carol showed us around town, took us to see Lincoln’s home and Museum and Ray took us to his gun range and let us fire off some shots with his handguns and rifle. I was once again surprised to learn that I am actually not a bad shot and I definitely enjoy it. What wasn’t so fun was trying to fish out a hot bullet casing out of my bra where it had fallen after bouncing off the wall. I still have a fading burn mark lol
Evelyne eventually had to make her way home and then it was just me. I had agreed to go with Ray to his regular Live Shooting Competition and actually compete. On the day of the comp I tried to back out. I was nervous about shooting in front of a whole bunch of strangers and doing something wrong because I am not use to handling guns and obviously gun safety is a very important thing. Ray convinced me to compete and to my surprise it wasn’t all that scary and I actually did really quite well. I was actually kind of proud of myself and glad that Ray hadn’t allowed me to back out. In the overall scoreboard I was situated right in the middle and for someone that hasn’t really had any experience shooting a gun? I think I did a pretty good job.
Ray and Carol took me to Hannibal, the home town of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. We went into Mark Twain’s Cave which I have to admit was pretty cool. I mean I have been in caves before in Tasmania but I always find it really cool LOL
Eventually my time at Ray and Carol’s house had to come to an end though. I was due to spend some days with a mutual friend of mine and Lisa’s. So Ray and Carol saw me off on the train to head to Downers Grove to spend some time with Shawn and his family. This part of my trip actually made me look forward to be going home to Aus. Simply because Shawn introduced me to some video games that I am SO looking forward to buying and playing. Thanks for that Shawn. While visiting Shawn, we went to Brookefield Zoo. The weather was kind to us which meant the animals were kind to us as well. I spent a bit of time with Shawn’s mother Sherry and thought she was a really lovely woman and I enjoyed her company and meeting her wonderful friends. I do want to take another moment to thank Shawn and his family for letting me crash and showing me all that they did. I appreciate it a lot.
Carol and her son were due to pick me up on the Monday around noon so I said my goodbyes and started the next part of my trip. Carol and I were going to stay with her son and his family for a few days before we were due to check in for Creation’s Supernatural Convention. Again I have to say how lucky I am to know some of the nicest people and need to thank them for being so generous with their time, money and homes. I appreciate it more than I can adequately express.
The first day back with Carol we ended up going to Vacationland to check out a trailer that her son was looking to trade his RV for. What we weren’t expecting (or at least Carol wasn’t expecting) was the fact that she would be slowly convinced to trade in her current trailer and buy a new one. She tried so hard to resist but to be honest seeing some of the current trailers out there? It’s like staying in a bloody house LOL I would have been sorely tempted also. Caravan’s aside, during my stay with Carol and her family, Carol took me into the main city of Chicago, allowed me the chance to see the Fire House where they film Chicago Fire which is something I am soooooooo soooooo happy about. And we also drove past the building that Early Edition filmed their McGinty’s scenes.
At this point, I do have to say that I was very tired. I had been travelling for weeks now and when I think of how long ago my time in Hawaii was? It freaks me out. All the people I started my trip with have all gone back home and gotten back to normal life and here I am … still travelling in the states. It’s crazy. That said, I have met some of the nicest, generous, kind people on this trip and have been able to reconnect with friends that for the most part I am only able to connect with online. Being able to meet my friends and their families has been the best part of my trip and to be honest the main reason I wanted to come to the states in the first part.
Coming up next … The Supernatural Convention *happysigh*
Since I last wrote anything at all, I have survived LA, spent unforgettable time with friends in Illinois, attended a Supernatural convention in Chicago and have settled in Lawrence, Kansas for the last week of my stay in the states. A LOT has happened since Hawaii and a LOT of time has passed. I feel like I have been travelling forever at this point and as much as I am happy to be here and experiencing everything that I possibly can? I know I will be happy to touch down in Melbourne when the time comes. I am tired LOL
That said, a lot of exciting stuff has happened and a few more exciting things are still yet to happen. I want to at least express some of the highlights of this massive trip so far in a little less detail than I had originally planned but better that than nothing I suppose, right?
Starting with LA. That was interesting. I remember when I was planning this trip with my friend Evelyne, I stressed that I wanted to go to LA. I thought to myself that I couldn’t go to America and NOT see LA. From an Aussie perspective, we watch so much American TV and hear so much but I really felt the need to see it for myself and do the typical touristy stuff. And I have to say that in a way? I was slightly underwhelmed. Now before people start wondering why and gasping “how could you?” I think there are a number of reasons why I felt this way about good ol’ Los Angeles. TV tends to colour your view on things. When I see LA in my favourite TV shows and movies it seems bright and bustling and exciting and a happening place. What I experienced was a less than welcoming start.
For starters, I had just the beautiful Island of Oahu, Hawaii where everyone was generous and kind and relaxed, a place where I had no qualms in walking the streets after 9pm at night. We landed in LA as I have explained and after the awesomeness of running into my friends Caroline and Emily, we dealt with a very rude Shuttle driver, and people that just seemed like they didn’t have the time of day to give a shit about anyone but themselves. We arrived at the hotel and it looked in a seedy area just down from the walk of fame and our hotel room smelt of cigarette smoke. It was a less than stellar first impression.
Despite this our time in LA wasn’t spent unhappy and in fear. We actually really did have a good time. We organised a shuttle driver through the hotel to get to Disneyland for two days and Universal Studios. Caesar was fantastic. He restored my opinion on people in LA. Granted he was born in Mexico but … he was a joy to be a round which is a great thing because we had him for 3 days and it took us about just over an hour every day to get to Disneyland from our Hotel in Hollywood.
Disneyland was great. I was actually kind of a little surreal to be there. It’s a place that I hear about all the time and see on TV but never ACTUALLY thought I would get to. I come from a family (a fantastic family) that never really had a hell of a lot of money and the thought of travelling to the states and getting to places like Disneyland always kind of felt like a pipedream. So to actually walk through those gates and see Mickey and Walt Disney statue and Sleeping Beauty’s castle and the massive big Halloween Pumpkin of Mickey Mouse was really quite surreal. And the good thing is that despite the impatient attitudes we’ found of people in LA and Hollywood? Disneyland created a whole different aura. People were happy. It was a happy place.
Another thing that I liked and appreciated is the rides that accommodate people of all kinds of ages and sizes. I am a bigger person and cannot always go to a fair like the Royal Melbourne Show or Moomba in Melbourne and enjoy the rides because they just don’t accommodate for people like me. Disneyland was different. I never felt worried about it. Another thing that I liked was the fact that everything was interactive and interesting, even waiting in lines to get on rides. Going to Space Mountain? I felt like I had entered a space station while making my way to the actual line. The star wars ride felt like you were entering a space airport with Monitors expressing the different flights you could take to Tattoine and other planets and robots dealing with baggage claim and customs … it was all just … so freaking good. We went on the Star Wars ride twice and the actual ride was different the two times we went. That was so cool as well.
What I did find in both parks (Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure Park) seemed to have a gift stores everywhere … and even if it was a specific theme, all gift stores still had a general area so you could never miss finding specific souvenirs. I was like the ABC stores in Hawaii LOL
Universal was so cool. This was the place that I really wanted to go to. I have wanted to go to Universal Studios for as long as I can remember and it lived up to what I imagined about it. The tour was great and the rides were fun and I do have to admit, after being on the go and on my feet for the third day in a row? I was kind of done with it before the end of the day though. What I can tell you is that there was a lot of Walking Dead souvenirs and advertisements because of Halloween and the Walking Dead Premiere :) What killed me? Is the next day when we went on our city/Beach tour was overhearing a couple that were at Universal the same day we were and witnessed the cast of the Walking Dead walk into the Hard Rock Café … I don’t know what cast members but I can’t believe I was so close and didn’t know they were there… dammit. That’s just my luck though. I have in my head that it must have been Norman Reedus and Andy Lincoln just because my luck and timing is so bloody bad lol
The city/beach tour in LA was cool and I am glad I got to do it even if I have all these photos of celeb houses and cant remember who lived where lol Our tour guide took us out to see Mann’s Chinese Theatre and some of the stars. I found it rather amusing to find out that Marilyn Munroes star is right in front of a McDonalds now LOL I did see Scarlett Johansson’s star and geeked out a little because I know Jeremy Renner was there when she got her star LOL Our Tour guide did warn us that there would be guys out there trying to sell you CD’s and to ignore them because most of the time the CD’s were blank. We stayed clear of them. We were taken to Santa Monica Pier and got to see that which was cool. From Santa Monica we were taken to Venice Beach and were told the same thing about guys and CD’s venice Beach was cool for me because just like Santa Monica Pier I recognised areas from NCIS LA but it was also daunting and we kind of had a quick look and then chickened out and went back to the bus and waited for the others.
Our last day in LA was spent at SeaWorld. For one? I just want to say that I haven’t seen Black Fish yet and I do plan to watch it. I hadn’t heard about the documentary until after I bought my ticket for SeaWorld and thought once I knew about it that I would wait until after I got back from the states to sit down and watch it. There are a lot of different complications with the captivity of Orca’s and I am not an advocate for captivity, but I also know that right now? The solution isn’t as simple as letting these creatures back into the wild. They simply wouldn’t survive. I have wanted to see Orca’s in real life for such a long time and I would naturally rather see them in their natural habitat. Of course it wasn’t Orca season and we decided to go to SeaWorld. I didn’t want the documentary to colour the amazement of seeing these beautiful smart creatures in real life. Captivity aside, amazement was definitely had. These animals are just simply pure beauty and amazing to see. The size, the colouring, their personalities, everything about them is just amazing (I keep using that word but … it’s the one word I keep coming back to) I am glad to say I have seen them now. But Next time I will definitely look to be seeing them in the wild and free. SeaWorld itself (just like the one we have in Queensland) was pretty underwhelming. The food is overpriced and pretty pathetic, the attractions are meh and the only thing (in my opinion) that it really has going for it is the Orca’s and even that comes with its controversy. I do have to laugh at Dolphins though. Very cheeky creatures. Evelyne and I came around their enclosure from the back way and came across some not in the main tank and they kept leaping out of the water, looking in our direction as if checking if we were still there and then splashing us. Cheeky bastards.
Now the thing about SeaWorld? Is that its all the way in San Diego. We were staying in Hollywood. The drive there was close to 3 hours, which meant our trip back was close to 3 hours. We didn’t get back to the hotel room until about 10.30pm and then we had to make sure everything was packed and ready for us to wake up at 3am to get ready for our shuttle that was taking us to the airport.
Our next destination was Springfield, Illinois. We flew into St Louis, Missouri where our friend Carol (qultng1) was going to be meeting us there with her husband. Back in 2009, I met Carol and her husband Ray when they visited Australia. We’d been speaking online for a few years and upon meeting these two it was like we’d known each other in person for years. It felt right and that first night at my house Carol, Mum and I stayed up laughing at cute Cat videos on youtube and chatting until close to 3am. It felt right and normal. And I remember the moment I went to the Airport to pick them up, seeing Carol for the first time and hugging each other hard. This time it was my turn to be the visitor and I can tell you right now, it was SOOOOOOOO good to see them again. Both of them. For me it was like it hadn’t been years since we last hugged. I love this couple. They are family.
These stop was the last stop Evelyne was making before heading home to Montreal and reality. So we watched TV shows, made friends with Carol’s cats Sassy and Buddy and Carol showed us around town, took us to see Lincoln’s home and Museum and Ray took us to his gun range and let us fire off some shots with his handguns and rifle. I was once again surprised to learn that I am actually not a bad shot and I definitely enjoy it. What wasn’t so fun was trying to fish out a hot bullet casing out of my bra where it had fallen after bouncing off the wall. I still have a fading burn mark lol
Evelyne eventually had to make her way home and then it was just me. I had agreed to go with Ray to his regular Live Shooting Competition and actually compete. On the day of the comp I tried to back out. I was nervous about shooting in front of a whole bunch of strangers and doing something wrong because I am not use to handling guns and obviously gun safety is a very important thing. Ray convinced me to compete and to my surprise it wasn’t all that scary and I actually did really quite well. I was actually kind of proud of myself and glad that Ray hadn’t allowed me to back out. In the overall scoreboard I was situated right in the middle and for someone that hasn’t really had any experience shooting a gun? I think I did a pretty good job.
Ray and Carol took me to Hannibal, the home town of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. We went into Mark Twain’s Cave which I have to admit was pretty cool. I mean I have been in caves before in Tasmania but I always find it really cool LOL
Eventually my time at Ray and Carol’s house had to come to an end though. I was due to spend some days with a mutual friend of mine and Lisa’s. So Ray and Carol saw me off on the train to head to Downers Grove to spend some time with Shawn and his family. This part of my trip actually made me look forward to be going home to Aus. Simply because Shawn introduced me to some video games that I am SO looking forward to buying and playing. Thanks for that Shawn. While visiting Shawn, we went to Brookefield Zoo. The weather was kind to us which meant the animals were kind to us as well. I spent a bit of time with Shawn’s mother Sherry and thought she was a really lovely woman and I enjoyed her company and meeting her wonderful friends. I do want to take another moment to thank Shawn and his family for letting me crash and showing me all that they did. I appreciate it a lot.
Carol and her son were due to pick me up on the Monday around noon so I said my goodbyes and started the next part of my trip. Carol and I were going to stay with her son and his family for a few days before we were due to check in for Creation’s Supernatural Convention. Again I have to say how lucky I am to know some of the nicest people and need to thank them for being so generous with their time, money and homes. I appreciate it more than I can adequately express.
The first day back with Carol we ended up going to Vacationland to check out a trailer that her son was looking to trade his RV for. What we weren’t expecting (or at least Carol wasn’t expecting) was the fact that she would be slowly convinced to trade in her current trailer and buy a new one. She tried so hard to resist but to be honest seeing some of the current trailers out there? It’s like staying in a bloody house LOL I would have been sorely tempted also. Caravan’s aside, during my stay with Carol and her family, Carol took me into the main city of Chicago, allowed me the chance to see the Fire House where they film Chicago Fire which is something I am soooooooo soooooo happy about. And we also drove past the building that Early Edition filmed their McGinty’s scenes.
At this point, I do have to say that I was very tired. I had been travelling for weeks now and when I think of how long ago my time in Hawaii was? It freaks me out. All the people I started my trip with have all gone back home and gotten back to normal life and here I am … still travelling in the states. It’s crazy. That said, I have met some of the nicest, generous, kind people on this trip and have been able to reconnect with friends that for the most part I am only able to connect with online. Being able to meet my friends and their families has been the best part of my trip and to be honest the main reason I wanted to come to the states in the first part.
Coming up next … The Supernatural Convention *happysigh*