On a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles- the last leg of our journey before returning home to Australia- I took a few moments to record 10 things I learned from the trip. Looking back now I realise I was being incredibly negative. As a case in point, #1 on the list was:
Americans are generally pigs. Further to this, they seem more than content being pigs and will remain pigs for generations to come.
Now I'm not saying that this isn't a fact (it absolutely is) but for this to be the number one thing I took away from 16 days in the USA is more than a little morbid. To adequately reflect on my trip, it seems only appropriate to start from the beginning...
LOS ANGELES
Touching down at LAX after 13 hours on a plane should have been a relief, but when you're facing the prospect of US Customs for the first time it's no time to relax. There were three desks open. At these three desks sat three men that looked like they hadn't cracked a smile between them in a decade, or at least since the last time they took someone in the backroom and kicked the shit outta them.
Those of you that know me will know that I can get irrationally nervous, and with said nervousness can come a biblical flop sweat- thankfully this experience was over in a flash and my blushes were spared.
Our journey originated at Melbourne Airport, which is quite a pleasant place with a number of food outlets, bars, newsagents etc. LAX, for anyone that has never been there, is a hell hole and a horrible place to spend more than five minutes as we found on the flight home.After hailing a cab- one of the few we would take for the entirety of the trip- the first thing that struck me was the abundance of palm trees, and the amount of business names jumping out at me as a result of an encyclopaedic Seinfeld knowledge. Arbie's; Jiffy Lube; diners on every second corner; apparent Mom and Pop-type businesses lining the streets- familiar names that had little meaning to me before, and still don't.
We arrived at our hostel, situated 50 metres away from the iconic Venice boardwalk, with three goals for the day: find an In-N-Out burger establishment, visit the Santa Monica pier and, being Sunday, find a bar to get a taste of American culture and watch some football. In-N-Out Burger, a west coast institution, delivered the goods right down to the comically oversized large drink. Remarkably it proved to be the one and only time we would consume this delicious fare for the entire trip. While Blainey went off to buy a US sim card- a decision that I would grow envious of after seeing my bill upon arriving home- JL and I found a sports bar which more closely resembled a biker hangout from the outside looking in.
A critical piece of information we learned, on our very first day in the States, is that there is really no such thing as a sports bar. Every bar is a sports bar, particularly on a Sunday.
On this particular day the Oakland Raiders gave the Seattle Seahawks a scare, the 49ers lost at home to the Rams and the Patriots gave the Broncos an almighty thrashing. All three games were being shown on multiple TVs in a bar half the size of Ballarat's own JD's. Each game had a captive audience and, with action on all fronts, it was hard to know where to look. Being a fair-weather NFL fan prior to the trip, this was the first of a number of experiences which has convinced me that it has more substance than other American sports.
The less said about the Santa Monica pier the better. I have no idea how it attracts so many people; perhaps Americans and tourists alike are drawn-in by the pretty lights? Who knows.
NEXT UP WE TAKE A LOOK AT OUR TRIP TO HOLLYWOOD... SNEAK PEAK- I WAS TAKEN FOR A RIDE BY TWO ASPIRING RAP ARTISTS, AND WE VISITED HOOTERS
