Enjoyed a continental breakfast sans the majority of Texan / Alabaman folk that were abounding the hotel the day before, and then printed out our wad of prepared google maps directions and checked out.
(TRAVEL TIP: some hotels, such as LA QUINTA LAX, gives free wifi internet as well as providing a complimentary desktop PC at reception. We used the wifi in our room to plan our directions using google maps [remember to include a displayed map when using this method] and then printed them at the front desk for free)
We hired a car from across the road at Thrifty (a short walk away), and opted for an econo. class car (aka "compact"... which as we know, US defines "small" the same way we all define "humungous") for $45 a day with unlimited mileage. That works out to roughly R300 a day, which isn't so bad. Unfortunately it doesn't include insurance or GPS, so once we added that all in and included a penalty fee for depositing the car off at SFO, it came up to $450 for four days (ouch), excluding fuel (at $3 a gallon approx. = double ouch).
(TRAVEL TIP: you don't need to get an international driver's license in the US. It's a scam from the AA [unless they add some benefit like insurance that I'm not aware of]. We saved R250 each by not buying one beforehand in SA. As far as I understand it, the SA driver's license is 100% accepted internationally, and certainly the US accepts it)
We had our pick of the litter (perhaps literally litter) in section 6, and decided to pick a DODGE CALIBER over the FORD FOCUS and HYUNDAI because we've never driven a DODGE and it was the only hatchback available. Pity we didn't know anything about fuel economy etc. because a shrewd automophile could have been selectively prudent (at moments like this we miss you even more, Graeme!).
Kat volunteered to drive first because she drove "on the opposite side" in Switzerland many moons ago, so I controlled the GPS. We made it through LA traffic to Universal Studios in about 40 minutes (as opposed to metro 1h40m), and had a good sightseeing along the way - GREAT JOB KAT! We even spotted the HOLLYWOOD sign on the hills while on the freeway, although it looked more like HOLLYWOOD at our distance!
Parking in CURIOUS GEORGE parking cost $14, but at least it was right next to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, which we hit again for a second day. Thanks to our BOGOF tickets (buy one get one free) we just scanned our fingerprints again and we were in! I presented my refillable tub of popcorn and scored free refills (yuk, yuk, yuk).
We took to the lower lot and started off on the JURASSIC PARK ride. Without spoiling the fun or surprises, the ride was exhilerating. There was a lot of anticipation as we proceeded, and my worst feeling was knowing "what goes up, must come down". The photo presented at the end of our ride showed both Kat and I with our eyes closed, clutching to the lap safety bar :) We were specifically asked NOT to take a picutre of our photo, so we have no evidence of this ride! Highlights included the waterfall and T-Rex finale!
(UNIVERSAL STUDIOS TIP: we ended up in the first two front left seats and didn't get too wet; I think the $3 ponchos they sell are not necessary, and the ride itself is perfectly fine, apart from the ending, which isn't ideal for the faint-hearted, but it's all good and we'd do it again)
The shows being shot on set while we were there that day.
If I could, I'd edit out that wally on the left infiltrating my funny picture... :(
Caption: "my helmet didn't fit so well"
Kat directly after the Jurassic Park ride :)
Then, as is befitting Friday the 13th day of our adventures, we took on THE MUMMY's REVENGE. They provide free lockers for one hour (fingerprints again) so we hauled into the ride without any extra baggage. While you're in the queue within the tomb there are a few fun gimmicks like holes in the wall you can stick your hand into, and such, and they build up the tension and "horror" with a very well-done shaman / witch crystal ball projection screen that serves not only as a mood-setter, but also as a backdrop for anyone who needs to know a basic idea behind The Mummy series. The ride itself? We got the front left again, and this ride built up a LOT of fear within us as we got closer and closer to the front once we realised it was a ROLLERCOASTER. We were told it was less stressful than JURASSIC PARK, but when we hopped on, we soon discovered the advice was all rather subjective. The almost instant acceleration to 40mph (that's +-60km/h) is gut-wrenchingly swift! I think it took my brain a few seconds to register that we were about to die! The ups and downs and turn arounds were intense, and just when we thought it was all thankfully over (it's all underground so you have no idea of the complete length of the ride), we started to go BACKWARDS!! Disapointingly (although at the time, it was more like mercifully), the ride ends far too abruptly, but it was still all worth it because we survived :) Again, our end-of-the-ride photo's showed two closed-eyes Johnstons clutching the lap bar, although in our defence we had our eyes open for EVERYTHING else except the moment they took the photo!
We also did the BACKDRAFT special effects show but that was too long a wait for too brief a show. If you've got time, do it, otherwise skip it.
We had a chance to see the HOLLYWOOD SPECIAL EFFECTS show which is a seasonal show but Kat wanted to get going asap to miss LA traffic, so we had a domestic disagreement and ended up leaving UNIVERSAL STUDIOS without doing the show.
That's what all the local yokel fuss was about...
college football. Sigh. According to the Texan air-hostess, all Texans ever do is eat, sleep, and watch sport.
This guy was frankly quite creepy...
Friday the 13th rearing its unlucky head again?
I had to get The Hulk into action again... LOOK ALIVE!!
We grabbed a pre-trip meal at SUBWAY (no footlong $5 special at this tourist hub, so we got a Black Forest Ham footlong plus iced tea plus soup for $8.55. I thought the soup was lekker), and hit the road.
I took this from the "travel group take photo's here" spot
(TRAVEL TIP: the US is dotted with power points everywhere so we took advantage of this to briefly charge our depleted camera battery... Sometimes you may have to find covered plug points, but they're there. Find them, and charge your cellphone, camera, laptop, whatever)
Deviating for the HOLLYWOOD SIGN, we took a GPS drive to 6342 Mulholland Highway and the Hollywood Reservoir (take note! This is a fantastic spot, so this is the place to go to get a prime viewing...). We arrived at night and drove through larney Beverly Hills. There's definitely two sides to LA, and we were now in the side we'd want to live in!
Hitting the top of the hill we had a thoroughly spectacular view of LA over the reservoir (there was also a fire in downtown LA which, although possibly tragically, actually improved the sunset even more!), and behind us was a clear shot of the HOLLYWOOD sign.
We beat the fading light (and fading battery for the camera) and snapped a few shots and then headed off. One "typical LA" sight was a stretch limousine with some botox bimbo showing off the HOLLYWOOD sign to a gaggle of teenie-bimbos in training. Frighteningly, there is no fencing or secure area to stand to see the view; you just risk it by hanging out on the outcrop / hillock over this sheer drop down into the valley below... Just like in the movies!
Detouring through LA at night was an adventure in itself; we took the Avenue of the Stars as a minor route deviation but otherwise drove on and to Santa Barbara.
One cool spot on the way was a pier fair, with a massive neon ferris wheel spewing patterned kaleidoscopes of colour, but besides that it was a pretty sober drive. It's worthwhile to note that this part of our holiday has not been planned! We are driving on the Pacific Coast Highway until we want to rest, and then we're doing the "give us your best price" tactic. It's not a risk around these parts because there are SO many places to stay that you'll never be without an available room to check into!
We decided to stay the night at Oxnard and first tried out our strategy at some dodgy motel with an Indian guy that couldn't speak English, but wisely changed our minds and took the Best Western Inn Oxnard further up the road. We grabbed some "home cooked" microwave meals at the local Mexican supermarket (it was that or pigs' ears and ox-tongue stew), and cooked it in our motel's microwave; the closest to decent real food since Jeni's!
Sadly, afterwards we discovered that there was a classic US diner one block down from our motel and in hindsight we would have dined there rather than eat our microwave pizza (Kat) or turkey, mash, gravy, and peas (me), since it's been my American Mission to try out US cuisine! I want the US DINER experience!!
We took it easy that night, and apart from flaky WIFI, it was a pleasant stay!
As an aside: One of the driving highlights for the day for me was Kat asking what "ped eksing" means ... When it actually is an abbreviation for "pedestrian crossing" (x'ing ped) :) Got to love her :)\
How can you not think this is beautiful??
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