San Diego & Los Angeles

I arrived in San Diego very late at night (2am), thanks to the Greyhound bus company. They had oversold my bus, so I had to wait for a later one. That will be the last Greyhound trip for me, thankfully! I was staying in a hostel on Ocean Beach (imaginatively titled), which was two blocks from the beach...

I spent the day walking around the place & then chilling on the beach - an enjoyable and affordable past time! The weather in California is incredible, although the locals are praying for some rain - otherwise they are going to have a tough & dry summer! In the evening I went out to the bars in Ocean Beach & mixed with the locals, who were very friendly. I also tried some more ales - it turns out that California boasts quite a few decent ones!

The next day I got a lift over to Balboa Park, on the NW side of the city. This is a large park filled with Palm trees, walking trails & lots of museums. I spent the whole afternoon checking the place out. Some of the buildings were very nice...

On the way back to the hostel I stopped off in Downtown San Diego, which really is nothing special. It is the standard array of shopping malls & fast food restaurants, which I have now seen far too many times!

The next day I hired a bike from the hostel & cycled off up the coastline to the harbours & some other nearby beaches, taking it easy & enjoying the sights & weather. San Diego is a nice city, as it is spread out enough for it not to be too cluttered - reducing that "city" feel. I crossed over to the other coastline & cycled all the way down to the Sunset Cliffs to watch the sunset...some stunning views again...

After my brief visit to San Diego it was time to go to my last mainland American destination...LA. I got the train this time, so was able to take in the coastal view the whole way (which was nice). Upon my arrival I got the subway to my Hostel in Hollywood! The hostel is located just off of the Boulevard, so I immediately went to check it out.

Amongst all of the famous actors/musicians/celebrities were the Rugrats (?!?) and the Simpsons. The Boulevard itself isn't that exciting. It is long and full of tourist shops, selling all kinds of tat. The famous Chinese Theatre is plastic fantastic - which is probably pretty appropriate! There isn't much else to Hollywood, apart from a lot of housing. I decided against visiting Universal Studios etc, in order to save ($$$ &) the experience for my next visit. Instead I decided to check out the walking trails on the hills that overlook LA. I timed the excursion perfectly to coincide with the sunset ;-)

The next day I got the bus over to Venice Beach. A word of advice to all planning on visiting LA - hire a CAR! The public transport system is slow, overcrowded & it doesn't go everywhere in the city. As a result of these factors it took me two hours to travel the 10 miles to the beach. Venice Beach is where Baywatch was filmed, so it would have been rude not to check it out!

That evening the hostel had arranged a Limo tour of Beverly Hills & Hollywood, with Champagne & Beer included - so not bad for $25! We stopped off at a couple of bars, before heading back to the hostel bar. It was a good laugh with some great people.

I am now writing this on the eve of my departure to Hawaii, where I meet Mr Christopher Small, as he has been formally invited to join me for the rest of my year's adventure! I have had an amazing five months travelling, & whilst I have been on my own in deciding my next destinations & pace of travel I certainly haven't been on my own - as you meet SO many amazing people whilst travelling. Anyone who is thinking about doing it should stop doing so - and just DO IT!

Lots of people claim to have "found" themselves whilst travelling. I don't ever consider myself lost, although I can conclude the following things that I have learnt in the past five months (in no particular order):

- you can't beat a bit of Sunshine!
- buying a laptop would have been a good idea (internet logon costs pile up)
- everyone should go snowboarding
- Australians get EVERYWHERE
- being a well spoken Englishman has many benefits, internationally
- walking on frozen lakes is a lot of fun
- fast food comes in literally hundreds of varying guises!
- I like the beach more & more everytime I go (I loved it anyway)
- there is no such thing as "spare" change...if only the homeless of this world could grasp this concept!
- I can sleep anywhere, as long as I am horizontal (ear plugs help)
- beer really is an essential source of calories, & North America actually offers some good ones (in amongst all the crappy "light" beers - aka, beerwater)
- I could go the rest of my life not working another day & I would be a very happy man! :-)

Not words of incredible wisdom, but some accurate observations nonetheless!

BRING ON HAWAII! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW :-)

written by

johnnoble on January 30, 2009 from Los Angeles, United States

from the travel blog: John's year off...

Send a Compliment

comment on this...