Apologies guys, I was supposed to be updating this blog while I was away... alas I didn't actually run into any internet cafe's or spare PC's so it would have been a matter of using my fat fingers on my little iphone
keypad to write all this... so forgive me if I didn’t have a spare 5 hours trying to do that!
I'm going to break the experience up into two blogs... one for the US, and one for the race itself as to combine them would be to create a tome bigger than Ben Hur... and nobody could be bothered reading that! So without further ado, here's my brief rundown of the trip and the US first...
Just to get a quick lead up to the trip, I had a virus of sorts for my Yeppoon race that left me a mess... I'd had blood tests done that showed a couple of deficiencies but nothing too sinister. I also needed to get an ultrasound done on my abdomen to see if there was anything untoward going on. Two blood tests later and two postponements of the ultrasound done I was actually starting to feel quite good. A week out from the trip, I competed in the local Duathlon... and with the absence of the Honky Tonk man, I won... pretty comfortably I must say and I felt good after it, so I wasn’t too concerned about pushing for the ultrasound and the virus appeared to be clearing.
We unravelled after that though didn’t we! Sunday night I developed a head cold. Monday it got worse... and Tuesday more so. For the rest of the week I improved steadily, but not enough to have me 100% for the flight.
Saturday morning came... flight at 10:50am that gets us to LA at 7:10am the same day. 14 hours was a long flight with a head cold my friends. Little to zero sleep and much discomfort from the inevitable swelling of the legs associated with air travel! I retrieved my Quad and Calf sleeves from my bag and slipped them on for half the ride, but the damage was done already and Amanda and I arrived in LA with some rather stumpy fluid filled legs. I should have taken a photo as my ankles did look quite funny!
Out of the air conditioned plane, my head started to clear somewhat and we made our way out of the airport.
My first thoughts of LA were "no, that cant be the actual sky can it?" as I looked up and saw this mist or pollution sitting quite thickly above us... Amanda's "I think it is" was quickly rebuffed by my, "nah, must just be a morning mist that hasn't lifted yet"…
Anyhoo... our bus comes and we head off to Anahiem for our first 3 nights.
Anahiem as some may know is the home of Disneyland. It's also the home of the Anaheim Angels baseball team… and our hotel, the Tropicana Inn. If you venture too far away from Disneyland... as I did on a couple of runs... there isn’t much else to see apart from Taco shops, churches of all denominations, some beat up streets, loud large cars and American flags on houses… both of my runs I was lucky enough to get a few head nods from some shady customers in big black utes… oh and there was one spotting of a Cadillac with hydraulic wheels… shame it wasn’t bouncing along when spotted though! The Disneyland district is a sight to behold though and well worth the visit. Oh, one thing of note for Anahiem... near Disneyland, there is no supermarkets of note... so it is very hard to get healthy food anywhere unless you have a car and you're willing to drive a few miles. Otherwise, it’s Denny’s… with their new Cheese menu, Ihop (international house of pancakes) or maccas for you. Nah, there is a couple of restaurants there with decent food… but you cant really be hitting up a big restaurant for breakfast lunch and tea.
Disneyland
Disneyland was brilliant… everything you think it is going to be. Shame I didn’t go as a kid as the enjoyment would have been up ten-fold.
So much colour, noise, rides, things to buy etc... just a huge place that easily filled a day and a half for us. Open until midnight just so you can cram everything in.
Being an “adult” though, you do think about things like “I’m getting burnt”… “there’s too many people”… “the lines are too long”… “gees this food is unhealthy”… “I’m sick of walking… can we sit for a minute” etc… but it really is a quality place in Anaheim and very much enjoyed once all the walking was done!
I had a great time there with Amanda on the rides and in the shops and we even did a runner one night just to get one last roller coaster in before it closed.
If you read on though, if I take Eli and any other future brothers and sisters to Disneyland in 2014 when I plan on doing a 70.3 race in Hawaii, I think it’ll be a stopover to the one in Orlando, Florida perhaps?
3 days in Anahiem done, 2 days of settling in and Disneyland and one day of outlet shopping.
2 morning runs completed (on morning 2 and 4), we headed off in our rental car... minus $750 due to having to upgrade the tiny car the travel agent booked for us... on the 4.5 hour drive to Vegas.
Outlet Shopping
Before we left, we were told of the Outlet shopping that would be available and that plenty would be spent. Sadly, we didn’t have heaps to spend, but it didn’t stop us from pulling into our 2nd lot of outlet shopping when just across the Nevada border in a place called Primm. Only 40mins left to get to Vegas, we stopped anyway as a natural break (as Phil Liggot was calling it during Le Tour) was needed and a stretch of the legs.
The first Outlet shops we went to were while staying in Anahiem. We took half a day and caught a bus to Southern LA. Both surprised at the bargains available, we spent some dollars there that day… well, what dollars we could afford anyway. The outlet shops over there really do make Sydney’s DFO shops look quite piddly and ridiculous. Polo jeans for $20, 4 t-shirts for $30, clothes from GAP and Tommy Hilfiger for Eli by the bucket load for next to nothing… it really was a bargain basement place to shop.
Anyhoo; back to Primm. Nothing much bought here as was very similar to the first lot, however some more items added from GAP and Nike I believe. Was scouting Hugo Boss for a wallet, but just not quite cheap enough.
The third and final Outlet shops we went to were in Las Vegas itself. There are 2 there… one North of “the Strip”, and one South. We went to the north on our way out of Vegas and hit up a few more shops as well.. prime target was buying a cheap suitcase to put everything we had bought in, for the trip home.
In short, if you want to make the most of a West Coast visit in the US… take some money and be prepared to spend. Both Amanda and I could have done a LOT more damage, but unfortunately just didn’t have the funds.
Las Vegas was also brilliant in its own way. Needless to say it’s got some weird people but by and large everyone was great… apart from the Mexican guys on every second corner trying to hand you nudie cards for hookers… fantastic at first just to be handed some nudie cards!… but by golly it got annoying very quickly. They’d flick them right in your face as you walked past. Even holding hands with Amanda they’d still be trying to offer me hookers… even with Amanda walking on their side, they’d hold them out across her for me to take.. ridiculous, annoying and rude.
Still, it had all the glitz and glamour and fountains and lights you’d expect to see in Vegas… Some of the casinos are absolutely massive with some serious dollars spent on them, like the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, Treasure Island, Mandalay Bay etc… and some, up in Freemont Street, while less grandiose… had all the tackiness you’d expect to find in Vegas.
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| The Strip |
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| The Bellagio |
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| The Venetian |
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| Camelot |
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| Indoor "sky" |
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| Coke Store |
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| Freemont Street |
We stayed in the race suburb of Henderson which was quite handy. Far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the strip, but not too far as it only took us 15 mins to get to the city if we wanted. The roads were perfect for running and riding with very wide area on the side of the road and no potholes. The only catch… bloody hot! 40+ degrees almost every day we were there.
I went for one road run this week plus two ride / run combos at the venue. Got burnt once, learnt my lesson and didn’t let it happen again. Swimming? Sadly I had no idea where to go swimming and to be honest I was more concerned about the ride course and wanted to get out and see what all the fuss was about… Beware when doing this though... one missed turn and we ended up in the good ol state of Arizona at the Hoover Dam :)
In short, Vegas did not disappoint Amanda or myself and Henderson (Comfort Inn) was a lovely place to stay that put on a good breakfast spread.
Not really a place for the kids though as there isn’t really any theme parks… apart from a roller coaster at “New York New York” casino. If a 70 year old 3’5’sun wrinkled Mexican lady in Minnie mouse outfits are what spins their wheels… then sure, take them along and pay your fiver for a photo with her, or Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Capt Jack Sparrow, Spiderman, Captain America, Wonder Woman or even Marilyn Monroe or a midget Elvis… I can’t guarantee they have cleaned their suits lately though…
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| Hoover Dam, Arizona |
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| The TAB betting agency |
LA
The day after the race we headed back to LA. After pulling up quite tired from the race, Amanda donned her driving cap and got behind the wheel. I started the trip as we both knew it wasn’t her preference, but by the time we stopped for fuel just past Primm, it was abundantly clear I was too tired to make the 4.5 hour journey. Top little stint in the driver’s seat, she did however learn that is wasn’t that easy to stop yourself from drifting left in the lane when driving on the opposite side of the road to Australia… I don’t know why it kept happening, but I did it heaps… also nearly turned down the wrong side of the road a few times but always saved myself just in time.
Anyway, LA… There was 5 major parts to LA that we wanted to fit in 3 days…
LA city itself, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive and Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica and Venice Beaches... and Universal Studios
Hollywood Boulevard – yep, saw the stars on the footpath and saw the shops and stuff there… not overly impressive but tick it off that I’ve seen it. Plenty of people dressed up (as in Vegas) like Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise etc wanting money for photos.
There was a premiere on that day as well… some new movie with one of the guys from Twilight? The red carpet was being set up and some of the sidewalk blocked off. Not really anything here for the kids again apart from the occasional Mexican dressed up as Bumblebee or Buzz Lightyear… or the overweight Indian guy in the Captain America suit.
LA – dodgy dirty rubbish city… really unimpressive stuff. Both Amanda and I were looking forward to seeing the city and even decided to catch the train there for something different. We caught the train there from Hollywood and upon getting off it looked exactly like Sydney. Here we go I thought, not too bad…. Then you look around for a second and it sinks in. You start thinking… ok, what’s here? The answer to that question is… nothing.
No sign of shopping centres or attractions like Darling Harbour or Pitt St in Sydney.. or anything really and the further you get from the main area the dodgier it got. A few blocks south for example we found a Macca’s. Perfect we thought… get to Macca’s log on to the internet and have a look at the map to see where we can go. Upon walking up to Macca’s though you can see it was only where the real affluent of this neighbourhood ate. I’m no racist at all, but this was a black and Mexican area ONLY and we stood out like like nothing else in our new GAP and Nike outlet shopping gear… it was time to head a few blocks back north!
The “Historic District” Is just old unrepaired buildings, the “Jewellry District” is about 500 jewellery stores lined up next to each other… with about 2/3’s shut down and the “Downtown” area… well we sort of did circles and found nothing of note that resembled a downtown area.
The only saving grace in LA was we found a Starbucks so we hid out there using their internet while having a cuppa tea, chocolate shake and a cookie… then accidentally finding the Staples Centre where the LA Lakers play as well as ESPN Zone for dinner… yes, I chose ESPN over Hooters… Hooters was just too far south in the city for comfort (ironically it was only 2 more blocks… and ESPN Zone has tables sat in front of a big screen… and smaller tables around the edge all with their own little mini flat screen as well... a real sportsman’s paradise. I ate my ribs and fires in a much contented state as LSU played Mississippi State… apparently a big game for the crowd that was there watching.
Sunset Boulevard - was impressive only by name to begin with… started off as a normal street with a few cafes and restaurants, then moved into a more exclusive area with large fences and greenery as you got closer to Rodeo Drive. Two celebrity spottings though. One a C grade actor from the movie “Road Trip” confirmed by both of us, and the second was KD Lang only confirmed by me… so let’s say 1.5 spottings.
Rodeo Drive – exactly as thought… passed some massive houses at the top end of the street… all with big fences… and the shopping part for the street was all $$$$. Jewellery stores with rings for multi $100,000’s of dollars. A special Bugatti parked in the street too.
Zippo for the kids in Rodeo drive apart from the cool cars, and not a macca’s in sight to keep them dreaming.
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| Santa Monica Beach |
Universal Studios – thoroughly unimpressed.
About 5 rides to go on and not enough to see. Did go on the famed Backlot tour which was OK I guess… but not even close to worth the money it costs to get in and the shops outside the joint including the LA Dodgers store were by far more interesting.
The much celebrated Mummy Ride lasts… and I kid you not… about 40 seconds max. Listed as the scariest and fastest ride this side of Texas, it was just a letdown due to length… as the ride finishes, there is staff there clapping… why? Is it because we were another couple successfully caught? Ok, ok, possibly a tad harsh as it didn’t claim to be the longest ride in town… it was fast as advertised, and I did let out a yell or two... but seriously... no longer than 40 seconds and it’s done. I pity anyone there on a busy day who waits in line 2 hours for a ride.
One for my mate Trent there as the Simpsons 3D ride was pretty darn good I thought, and the shop after the ride had the biggest donuts I have ever seen… again though, for the hype, this place was less than expected and we left early and went shopping while waiting for our return bus.
Back to the air quality I mentioned upon arrival at LAX…
The air in LA, Hollywood, Universal Studios was polluted, foggy and hazy the entire time. Anahiem air was good… as was Vegas surprisingly… we were in Henderson though which was just off the strip so that may have helped… but LA in general was dirty, dated and in need up updating. I’m sure some of the stuff around the place is being left as is to keep its authenticity… but really, it did not live up to expectations.
BUT – I’m still glad we went, I had a ball travelling around with my Princess, and Amanda and I can now tick off a lot of boxes on the to-do list.
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| The lovely air of LA... |
“HIGHLIGHTS”
One confirmed “celebrity” spotting in this guy…
And one supposed sighting of KD Lang by me… Amanda wasn’t quick enough to confirm but I’m pretty confident. Walking with another woman so its almost confirmed isn’t it?
Bananas at 56c per pound in Henderson… which is roughly about $1.25 a kilo. Great quality too!
West Hollywood obviously carried a premium… 99c a pound
Disneyland? 1 for $2.20… it is a theme park though…
Australia’s $13.99 for a kilo of brown ones is a joke!
Tattoo parlour named “precious slut”
Coke and M&M’s stores in Vegas had seemingly everything Coke and M&M you could imagine… but nothing worth buying?
The Sugar Factory Stores were heaven.
“TAB” inside one hotel / casino we stayed at – wall to wall prices, TV’s and personal lounge chairs… All with little service buttons.
F*t Indian guy in an Ironman costume in Hollywood… next to a black and white Spiderman with converse all-stars on.
3”5’ mexican woman who looked about 70 years old and had 5,000,000 cigarettes in a headless Minnie mouse suit in Vegas.
McDonald DO NOT have a Cheeseburger. Double Cheeseburger is the smallest you can get.
oh, and lastly.... apart from the finish line of the race, this was the best site of the whole trip!!! Home at last to see our little man who was much missed. This was taken the afternoon we got back :)
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