Into and Around LA

Well lets start off with where we left off - we awoke in our bogey RV park and hit the road as soon as possible. We headed down to East Beach and parked after a little bit of searching. Again, it's out of season so even though it was a Sunday it was quite quiet. We walked over the path running parallel to the whole beach, under the incredibly tall palm trees and past the cyclists and down onto the sand. We found a spot and chilled out for a while. There were alot of people playing beach volleyball, others fishing, some sunbathing and even a couple getting married. This beach area was an awful lot less comercialised than Santa Cruz and we had a nice afternoon relaxing. It was nowhere near as warm as Santa Cruz (they had record temperatures that day in Santa Cruz) so we left the beach in the early afternoon and hit the road.

We arrived near Magic Mountain pushing 6pm. We drove up to the entrance to find out all the details about the following morning of fun. It opens at 10.30 until 6 and it's $60 per person. Thankfully we had some Coca Cola in Solvang and the can had a voucher for a free entry when you buy one. We parked a few hundred yards down the road past the hard shoulder in the dirt beside the white picket fence and tumbleweed and hit the hay in anticipation of the following day. And what a day it was!!!!

We got to the entrance just after 10.30am, parked the RV and headed towards the entrance. There was no problem with the can (we even gave our spare one to a Father and his son heading in who couldn't believe it - the father thought we were taking the piss until it actually worked and then was thoroughly grateful) so we got in for half the usual cost and then had pretty much no lines to deal with for the whole day. This meant that we got to go on all the good roller coasters twice. And they had plenty of them. We started off on Goliath, a standard bar over the legs jobbie that had a massive start ramp that descended undergound and just tore around the track up, down and sideways. A brilliant start. After that we went on Colossus. This was a real old school wooden ricketey roller coaster that was quite uncomfortable. Didn't get a second go from us. We then went on Scream which is a leg danglie one where the restraints come over your shoulders. It was good but the track was below so you so it wasn't as good as it could have been. Again only one go of this. Next up was the Batman ride. This had a deadly entrance through the underground of Gotham City. Since there was next to no queues we didn't have time to admire it but it was a fun entrance none the less. The ride was just like scream but the track was above you so you had a real sense of leg dangling action. Load of twists, turns and loops and thoroughly enjoyable.

We then headed through Gotham City to the other Batman themed coaster - Riddler's Revenge. You stand up during this one, your strapped in like the Batman ride but instead of sitting into the restarints you are standing up. Much more twists and turns and loops, to the extent that Emer had to have a quick rest to gather her thoughts (and belly) before the next ride. Which was Deja Vu. An absolutely mental ride. You are seated facing what you believe to be the forwards, then it hurtles you backwards, vertically up in the air. You then fly past all the people in the queue where you got on and through a series of loops and twists and up another vertical section like the very beginning. And then you do the whole thing backwards. Like I said, absolutely mental. After this we took a bit of a break and then headed to the next few rides.

The next one that we went on was Revolution. This was the first ever roller coaster to incorporate a loop the loop. By today's standards it was boring, the whole thing led up to this single loop the loop but I am sure back in the 70's it was a major thrill ride. Next up was Tatsu. Nothing prepared us for how good this was. We strolled up and straight into our "seats" as there was no line. It was similar to Batman in that it seemed to be a leg danglie one but as we pulled the restraints over our shoulders, other ones were coming in around our ankles. It all became clear as just before the ride began we were flipped over so we were now facing the ground and we did the whole coaster in the Superman flying postition. Unbelievably good, and one of the best things I have ever done. Loads of twists, turns and loops but a whole new way to experience it. We obviously did this one twice. We then went onto Viper which was really disappointing. The restraints seemed to be designed for really short fat people and were thoroughly uncomfortable. You go upside down seven times during the ride, but unlike all the other times it was painful and you were just looking forward to the end so you could get off. After this there was only one left in the park - X2. This opened last year and looked amazing so we left it until last for a reason.

And we weren't disappointed. Each person gets strapped into their own "pod". You go up the starting ramp backwards and there is music playing building the tension, laughing at you, telling you how high it is and generally just getting your nerves going. And then you reach the top and slowly start going down. But each pod can move independently so they turn around and you are greeted with a straight drop. What follows is a blur of twists and turns and loops and music and fire and fog and lights as all your senses are totally disorientated. You think you are approaching a loop the loop until your "pod" turns and puts you upside down so you experience the loop completely skew ways and not like your brain expects it to. Whoever designed it is an absolute lunatic and I commend him or her for it. The future of roller coasters... We drove into LA afterwards, had some In N' Out Burger and found a place to park for the night, our bodies were crying out for sleep but didn't quite expect the semi stable surroundings. As we nodded off to sleep our brains were telling our bodies to expect to go backwards off a drop and then upsdie down before being jolted around a couple of times. A strange sleep is being generous to what we had.

We slept in and got up around midday, had the usual breakfast and went about trying to find a bus to bring us downtown. This was alot harder than we expected. Everyone drives a car in LA so nobody uses the bus and therefore knows nothing about the bus schedule. We found a stop, asked the next bus driver how to get downtown and he brought us to the bus we needed to get. Now downtown LA is not like most other downtowns. It has the financial and administrative buildings but very little else. LA is made up of numerous smaller cities over a massive land mass, all connected by numerous highways and freeways. Downtown LA does have city hall which offers unspoilt views of the city from the top floor which you can go up to. It's amazing to look out and just see city sprawl every way you look. After this we strolled up to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, another Frank Gehry designed building with crazy shapes on every corner. We then went and got some info on the bus network which proved to be very useful. We headed back to the RV, did some shopping and then parked close to the NBC studios to get up early and get tickets for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

We were up at 7.30 the following morning and made the short stroll to guest relations at the studio. We got tickets for the show and had a look at who the guests were due to be. We didn't recognise anyone but the following day were people and a band we knew. So we decided to come back again the following morning and go for that show instead. I suppose I should point out that just because you have a ticket it doesn't guarantee entry to the studio, they give out much more tickets than there are seats so that they can guarantee a full house every night. So we headed for Hollywood to have a look for some famous people. First up the walk of fame on Hollywood Boulevard where all the bronze stars of famous actors, singers and rasio personalities are in the sidewalk. It's nothing amazing once you get there - there are a couple of thousand of them and most of them are outside very non-descript buildings and areas. Around the main part of Hollywood Boulevard we saw the Kodak Theater (where the oscars are held), Gaumann's Chinese Theater (where all the big premiers are held and some stars have left their hand and footprints in the concrete. After that there is very little to see, you are constantly hounded by people trying to sell you maps and souveniers and trips of the stars homes.

We went into an office away from all the madness and booked one of these bus tours. It was actually quite enjoyable. We started off by driving up Mulholland Drive and into the Hollywood Hills. Along here we saw massive houses every way we looked, the most memorable were the house from Lethal Weapon 2, Britney Spears (old and new), Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson, Meg Ryan, John Travolta as well as many others - the list is just too long to put here. At the end of Mulholland we went into Bel Air. I didn't think it possible but the estates grew in size as we entered. First up we passed Harvard Westlake School, made famous as the High School that Will Smith went to in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. It's where the rich send their children to be educated and at $12,000 a year you would like to think that they get that there. Through Bel Air we saw some amazing houses, the ones that stick out were Elton John's, the house from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the house being built for the Sultan of Brunei and the Playboy Mansion. Here's the photos of the only piece of the mansion that you are able to see from the road, it has massive walls and bushes the whole way around to it to make sure that you can't see in.

We also passed a few estate entrances with security that have a number of houses in them but nobody famous was coming in or out when we were there. After Bel Air we entered Beverly Hills. I don't think I have ever seen so many Bentleys and Rolls Royces in one place before. They were as common as Renaults and Fords are in Dublin. Here we drove down the famous shopping street, Rodeo Drive. It really is like another world, and one we chose to come back to to explore a bit further after the tour. The bus continued through Beverly Hills and headed back to Hollywood along Sunset Boulevard. Here famous nightclub's start side by side with top end restaurants and cheap motels. An odd mix but the street has a bit of character because of it. This street takes on a whole new persona at night though. We were then dropped back to Hollywood, tipped the driver (grrr) and then headed for Beverly Hills. This required a bit of a walk to the bus stop so we sat in the sun and had some lunch first. We then got the bus and hopped off at the edge of Beverly Hills. The money in this area is unbelievable. We passed City Hall which is the building from the Beverly Hills Cop movies. We walked down Beverly Avenue to Rodeo Drive and walked down looking in the windows. As we passed some of them were closed, obviously for a private shop for someone with alot more money than any of us have. We strolled around touching elbows with the upper class and then got a bus back to the RV.

Another 7.30 start for Jay Leno tickets, this time it was busier because of the better guests. We decided that we would need to be outside the studios no later than 1.30 to give ourselves a chance of getting seats at 3pm when ticket holders are let in. We had some time to kill so we drove Ita up to Griffith Observatory. From here there is a great view of the city. We had a look around and decided to come back after the show. We headed back to our parking spot, had some food and joined the queue. The hour and a half wait was quite nerve wrecking as we weren't sure how many seats were available to the public until people on the guest list turned up. In the end there was no need to worry too much as we comfortably got in. We went throught the metal detector, down the hall past all the lighting rig ropes and into the iconic studio. We were toldd to hang on a minute just as we were about to be seated and were then directed to the right. And seated in the front row!! We couldn't believe it, right beside the house band and in front of where the guests come out.

We sat back and watched the studio fill up. At about 20 to 4 Jay Leno came out in his denims and had a chat with the crowd, took some photos and then headed in to get ready. The guy who writes all the monologue then warmed up the crowd with some jokes and threw out some free things - I caught a Tonight Show beach mat which was nice. And then the band started playing, the lights went into TV mode, the applause sign lit up and Jay Leno came out to start the show. The show airs for an hour and it takes an hour to shoot, no retakes, no cuts, nothing. When it breaks for ads, the break is as long as the ads are going to be when it goes out. The house band play during these breaks and they are really good. The first guest on the show was the first contestant voted off American Idol - Matt Giraud. There was a short piece with him and Carrot Top (who is performing in Vegas at the moment) and then Jay did a comedy piece at his desk. After the break the first guest of the night came out - Matthew McConaughey. He looks very young for a 39 year old and Emer noticed how little his forehead moved during the whole interview. 2+2=botox, and lots of it. He was a good guest though, quite entertaining. After him brought Magic Johnson, one of the best basketball players of all time and a home town legend after playing with the Lakers during his distinguished career. He was very good, funny and well spoken. These two interviews formed the bones of the show. Every show finishes with a band playing and this one was no different. A large screen on the other side of the studio lifted and Starsailor played their current hit to finish the show. A brief trailer was shot and then it was all over. The show is all recorded by 5pm and goes out on the East Coast at 11.30 pm (which is 8.30 on the West Coast).

After our brief brush with fame we headed back up to Griffith Observatory to watch the sun go down over the Hollywood Hills. I drove Emer mad taking loads of photos and afterwards we explored the Observatory (which amazingly, the majority of was free). They had some really good exhibits - a tesla coil, a pendulum powered only by the spinning of the earth, a periodic table of elements with a sample of each element in it's respective position and on the roof a really powerful telescope that we could view the surface of the moon through. We then headed to Santa Monica to park and relax on the beach the next day. We strolled down the 3rd Street Promenade and then had a look at the pier and the beach. Again, some of the houses on the beach front were simply stunning. We searched to find a place to park the RV for the night which was difficult as nearly every space had restrictions or meters. Eventually we found one and headed off to sleep.

The morning brought overcast skies and since our water tanks was running seriously low and Ita was in dire need of a recharge we decided to go to an RV park for the day instead. We consulted our directory and chose one in Pomona which was about 40 miles east, still in the heart of LA. The journey brought us along the much fable LA freeways and was quite an experience. The junctions here and like nothing you have ever experienced before. Roads come from nowhere to join and lead off, one minute yosu might be driving on a 3 lane highway, next thing there are 8 lanes and 5 different route options in front of you. And the traffic! There is always traffic on these roads no matter when you are on them. I don't know how people managed this before without Sat Nav's but ours has really earned it's value the last few days. Having a slow 24 foot box on wheels isn't the ideal way to navigate the roads but it is an experience and one that is enjoyable one you get into the lane you need to be. It's an experience that is hard to describe but the few that have done it probably know exactly what I am talking about.

The overcast skies didn't clear so we decided to stay another day at this great RV park. Nice to recharge the batteries and take a quick break before continuing south towards San Diego.