So I ran away to Hollywood... (pic heavy)
*insert "The Great Escape" theme here*
Yes, I went to Los Angeles with a brief stop in Texas on the way. Within a few hours of the plane landing in Texas, I did a photoshoot with a lovely lady- "Heather Sterling" and here's a photo. I look a little less jet-lagged than I felt and I felt a little less confused than I look.
(More about Texas at a later date).
I then left for Los Angeles, met Tom at the airport and had several photoshoots (more about these later. One photo at the bottom, more to come). Had a fantastic time staying with Tom's aunt and her family (they were lovely) in their house in Malibu- which had lizards and hummingbirds in the garden (and a rattlesnake that I never saw, sadly).
Tom found this little guy in the bathroom!
We went for a walk in the mountains behind the house, after which I was warned not to go up there alone due to mountain lions. I keep forgetting how comparatively "safe" England is- I loved Malibu but it's nice knowing I don't have to constantly guard my cat from the local coyotes!
The beach was just down the road so we went for a look and then to the memorial for September 11th, which was actually really moving-I had no idea how many people had died and there was a flag for each person- they covered an entire mountainside.
One little problem... Do you notice anything strange about one of the flags?) :oS
We visited Universal Studios (no photos as of yet- will post when I work out how to upload them from my phone.) There was a ten-foot statue of Marilyn Monroe made entirely of Jelly Belly beans, a flying machine, a Harley Davidson shop and a big picture of King Kong.
We then made the five-hour trip to see some trees, a log and a rock. (aka Sequoia National Park).
It was hard to get my mind around the fact that everything around me was older than Jesus.
General Sherman (the biggest tree in the world) lives there! We left at 8am and drove up through the mountains until suddenly coming to the desert, which was a bit disconcerting.
When we finally got to the National Park, we climbed Moro Rock which was 6725 feet high. Amazing view- it was nice knowing that the land as far as I could see (which was a long way) was natural habitat for animals. We saw lots of squirrels and chipmunks and although someone said a bear had been spotted nearby and I nearly bust a rib trying to get up the hill, I didn't see it. :o(
A chipmunk. *squeeeeeeeeee!*
This is Tunnel Log
Immaturity reigns, but come on- can you blame me???
On the way home, I had a traumatic experience involving an egg sandwich (sugared bread WTF????) and we rescued a small terrified abandoned puppy. I am not going to go off on one about animal rights so just insert rant here ____________. (Believe me, the ranting has already been done.) Ugh.
Then we went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Oh holy crap.
We stayed here.
We were actually there as part of the coach trip we'd booked to the Grand Canyon. It is Grand indeed. Very very big. And red.
I felt a little uncomfortable about the way the tour guide spoke about the local Native American tribe (like a zoo attraction) as I don't like seeing cultures reduced to showpieces, but the man I met (Hualapai tribe) was nice, and I bought a pair of turquoise and silver earrings for my sister.
The edge of the canyon wasn't fenced off, so we could go as close as we wanted- which was cool, but a bit scary. I jumped over a "mini-canyon" less than a foot wide on my way to the main canyon but when I looked back, I realised the mini one was almost as deep. *shudder*
Have some canyon: (I wonder if that crow knows he's flying over *the Grand Canyon*)
Eagle Rock- it looks even more like an eagle when viewed from the right but I couldn't get a very good photo from there.
We went here for a very yummy buffet lunch, with tortillas, beef, veg, spicy beans and stuff. (But entering the public toilet was a mistake. Picture a tampon apocalypse.)
We had a few hours to explore and then head back to Vegas, where we went to the Italian restaurant in the hotel and took the open-top bus tour!
Showgirl clone? Naaah.
Sadly some of our photos didn't come out too well but we also saw the fountain display at the Belaggio hotel (highest fountains in the world), Caesar's palace, the Pirate Ship, lots of other entertainment/casino-type places. A lot of things to see!
We'd have loved to see some of the shows but there just wasn't time (or money, in my case!) Hoping to go back one day and spend a whole week in the theatre!!
Vegas cliches:
* Weddings: we saw four brides in the hotel alone but I think this says it all:
* Elvis impersonators: Saw one in the street and numerous adverts, so yes.
* Morbidly obese: Mm hm. Nearly every third person
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It was a bit disconcerting arriving home in the middle of autumn but I liked it in a strange way. (It was sunny) One day of rest and then onto the Eurostar.
Here's a photo by Kook (from LA). Make-up by me.
Next entry: "What I got up to in France!"
ROSWELL xxx
P.S. Well that's good to know!
