Author: kimspathway

Wed 27/6 – 4855 with 10 flights
We left LA and headed back North to Yosemite up highway 395. It was a long drive through a large desert, with mountain ranges on either side. The mountains are incredible, such a variety of shape and colour, and of course types of rock formations. Every now and then there is a bit of water and/or salt pans. There are many RV parks along the way, some more derilect than others. The radio signal comes and goes.  David periodically sang “”Hmm, hmm, I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name….”

In the middle of nowhere, there is a Visitors Centre, so we stopped. David found some books to read as we still have not bothered to turn the TV on. We handed the ranger the Swazi card, waiting to put in the pin when the ringer said it was declined. So we told him we need to put in a pin. He said “I can override that.” Not arguing, we gave him the SA card and said, we will need to put in a pin. He said “I can override that.” David replied: “Clearly you can’t!” It was declined!  So we paid cash and left. Generally, on my Standard Bank card, if they can read the chip in the card, all is ok, no signature or pin required, but if you happen to be buying when the credit card systems are being updated, around midday here, it denies access. David’s FNB always needs the pin. However, these know-it-alls have helped us get at least 2 free meals which we happily paid for and left, only to discover a day later that the transactions were declined.
There are also huge wind and solar farms. We also came across an airport, storage facilities and a few military installations. There are old mines, few still operate. Houses varied in size and condition.

Further up the road we came across Lone Pine which is near the Alabama Hills, where over 400 films, 100 television episodes, and countless commercials have been filmed since 1920. Mostly Westerns, these include Gunga Din (1939) with Cary Grant; The Gunfighter (1950) with Gregory Peck; Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) with Spencer Tracy;  How the West Was Won (1962) with James Stewart, right up toThe Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp in 2013. The same hills have also been used for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) with William Shatner and Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe.
The rocks are beautiful and landscape is fascinating.

Another interesting, but sad place, about 7 miles north of Lone Pine, is a relocation camp, Manzanar, which was built following the attack on Pearl Harbor when President Roosevelt ordered all people of Japanese ancestry living along the Pacific coast had to be placed into relocation camps.
It was a long drive and when we finally reached our campsite at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite, the stress started showing when tempers rose as I was trying to direct David while he backed up into a narrow campsite with rocks in the way. After a near domestic, David got on his bicycle and rode off. I opened a bottle of wine to cook with. Crisis averted and we had a lovely evening.
Kim’s Chuckle of the day: While packing up in LA, I overheard David talking to his bike: “Sorry I didn’t take you for a ride in Hollywood.”
 What I learnt: I already knew that I know “my side, your side”, “this way or that”, I just cannot automatically give them names such as “left or right”. Now I know that some people just cannot understand how this nomenclature it is not intrinsic to everyone.

Tues 26/6 – 18567 steps with 4 flights
After much indecision about what to do in LA, I booked us a VIP tour of Universal studio, starting at 8am. We were instructed to be there by 7:30 and google maps said it would take about an hour to get there from our RV Park. So we were up at 5, and in the Uber by 6:15. Well, it took 20 minutes to get there and it was deserted. We thought we would try to find a coffee shop, but nothing was open. However, we stumbled onto the boulevard and had the whole place to ourselves. What a pleasure! I recommend arriving this early to anyone. I have to admit I found it all rather exciting, actually rather thrilling, in fact, I was like the proverbial kid in a candy store.

When the turnstiles opened, we were ushered to the VIP reception and they suggested we join the 7:30 tour. There was a fabulous feast set up for breakfast, coffee, yoghurt, pastries and savoury croissants. We could also help ourselves to mints, lip balm and sunscreen. We were greeted by our host for the day, Lary with 1 r, and headed off through the still empty streets of the amusement park.

We boarded a trolley and went for a tour of the Universal Studio sets. It was mind-blowing. We had a lovely small group and were driven around on a small “trolley” bus, going into sites that the normal tour does not get to see. There were no crowds. We went through areas where you “travel” through a building with the most awesome 3D effects. One was Jurassic Park and we were chased by dinosaurs and the other some CIA or FBI team (with Dwane Johnson) chasing down a “most wanted” and we helped them save the world. It was so realistic and exciting. David also loved it.
Lary was informative and amusing. We went through sets where they filmed Jaws,  Pyscho, War of the World, The Grinch who stole Christmas and even Desparate Housewife’s Wisteria Lane, to mention just a few. Not all these were Universal productions, but they hire out the sets to other companies. They were apparently filming a cowboy movie, so some sets were “hot”, but we did not get to see any of the big name actors who are apparently in it. We went inside the sound studio where they film Superstore, as well as a street of famous cars and also the prop storage facility. You cannot believe the amount of furniture, décor, costumes, etc that they store for their own use, or for hire to other studios.

Then it was off to the amusement park, with quick passes to all rides. Absolutely my best, but David’s nightmare. He started off very wary, and was a bit white after the first few rides. Then we went to a fabulous buffet lunch at the Moulin Rouge, where he met Marilyn. Thereafter, we went to a special effect show which was very entertaining. After that, back to the rides, saving the best, Hogwarts, for last. Our last ride ended with us playing Quiditch along with Harry Potter. It was so realistic, we felt right in the game, swooping down between turrets, narrowly missing other players and feeling the heat of dragons breathing hot fire at us.

I guess anything after that would be flat, but we still had a day of hop on hop off tour and we had not been to walk of fame. However, it was so crowded, I decided I could skip the pavement stars. David took pictures of 2 he recognized, Sandra Bullock and Jim Gray. When I asked him who Jim Gray was, he had no idea, without his glasses he thought it was Jim Carey. So we did a bit of the bus ride, more landmarks, but it was feeble and we decided to get off.

We walked past a block in urban LA where tar has been bubbling to the surface for thousands of years and no-one knows why. Very interesting to see. Then we went to Farmers Market, which was wonderful, so many interesting permanent stalls and an “ABBA” band playing on the pavilion, so we watched for a while, bought Chinese takeaway in case we were hungry when we got home and then found an Uber. The Uber driver was far more informative than the bus tour and took us home so we could see some of the homes of the wealthy. Incredible day and the Chinese was delicious.
Chuckle of the day: so much real laughter my cheeks were sore.
What I learnt: I found a couple of things in LA which I absolutely love and there is still a rather active inner child inside me. And have I mentioned the restrooms yet?

Mon 25/6 – 10918 steps including 8 flights
We slept till 11am! Then we took an Uber back to our RV and dropped off our luggage.  We bought a 2 day pass for a Starlight hop on, hop off bus and headed back to town, where we had lunch before we hopped on. We drove around for an hour or so, passing so-called places of interest, such as the church where Jimmy Stewart read the Christmas story each year; the church where Elizabeth Taylor got married for the first time; the corner of the road in which you can find the house that Marilyn Manroe died in, but it has been renovated to look completely different; the corner of the street in which you will find OJ Simpson’s house, except it has been demolished; famous streets such as Rodeo Drive, but the bus is not allowed there and some famous hotels. The commentary was pre-recorded and not very informative. There were many interesting buildings which they said nothing about and the info did not always match up to the location of the bus. It often came after the event.

We got off in Santa Monica and walked down to the end of the pier. It was very crowded. The waves looked better than Malibu, but not as good as Nahoon.

Then we hopped onto another route and went to Venice, apparently the birthplace of modern skateboarding and on to Fisherman’s Village. We had a half hour stop at the end so we had coffee. Not much else to do.

We returned to what I seem to remember as Beverley Hills, had dinner at La Scala Presto which was reasonably priced and the food was very good. David got stuck into the bread with olive oil and vinegar. I have to admit after being very good and having chicken and salad, I ended my healthy meal with a ‘healthy’ portion of cheesecake, which, luckily, on insistence of the waitress, David shared.
When we returned to our RV, we had to do 2 loads of laundry, so we had clothes to wear.
Chuckle of the day: I noticed a scraper on the beach and wondered “if 7 maids with 7 brooms swept it for half a year, do you think…that they would get it clear?”

What I learnt: LA, so far, does not impress me much.

 

 

Sun 24/6 – 10017 steps recorded before my watch died somewhere in the afternoon.

We were exhausted by the time we got home in the early hours, but luckily the hotel staff had prepared our room and closed the black out curtains, so we could sleep a little later. We got up, our old bodies were aching from all the walking and dancing, so David set off to find a pharmacy, but all the nearby ones were closed, so he ended up walking 5.6km there and back. He bought tablets (pain killers) that Gareth had suggested. These little blue pills were extremely effective and we were soon able to walk again. Thanks Gareth.
We repeated the process of breakfast, shuttle, choosing who to see, rushing from stage to stage and had another thoroughly amazing day. I did not manage to fit in Aaron Neville, and I had to miss some Alanis Morisette and some Los Lobos, even though I was power walking between stages. Luckily the day ended earlier than the previous one.

“Chuckle”/special moment of the day: On the fences they use to cordon off the area, are steps or seats, on the inside of the fence. There was one on the side near the front so David sat on it while we waited for Robert Plant. His back was really sore as the pain killer had worn off by then. When they started, he stood up. (We had been told during an earlier act that the area was standing only). While he was standing, a young girl came and stood on his step, right behind him, which is also not allowed.  David said she could use it for a while, but he needed to sit occasionally for his back. She said fine, but when he asked her to move a little later on, she wouldn’t, so he sat down, on her feet. She was outraged, claimed he had physically violated her, her boyfriend got aggressive, said he knew a band member so they could stand there, then called the policeman who was standing nearby. Luckily, the policeman wasn’t interested in getting involved, said: “Sort it out yourselves, but you are missing the show”. I spoke to the girl, said we did not need to get testosterone involved, luckily she agreed and changed her tune and they moved off. Huge sigh of relief.
What I learnt: Sometimes I need to listen to David. Before Robert Plant, I was so exhausted, I seriously thought of leaving! My clever husband reminded me that this was a never to be repeated opportunity, so I returned to the clubhouse, had a little rest, some food and some sugar and danced the rest of the night.

 

Sat 23/6 – 16147 steps (musical marathon)
We did not sleep late, because we could not find the black out curtains when we got back to our hotel just after midnight. So we had an early start as the sun rose at about 5:30am. Luckily, the hotel had a cafe that sells Starbucks coffee and a very good breakfast for $15. Then we set off to find the free shuttle buses to the Rose Bowl, about 2 blocks away from our hotel, that run every 10 minutes, from 10am to 1am on Sunday morning. What a pleasure!
It took ages to get through the queues and security checks, but when we eventually got inside, we were blown away.  The event takes place on the golf course next to the Rose Bowl. There were 3 stages, in different locations and as for the line-up, words fail me. Almost every act could headline in SA. It was hard work deciding who to see and getting from one stage to another, as well as seeing all the other vendors etc. We walked around absorbing the energy, watched North Mississippi Allstars, who were very good and then rushed to the bottom end of the course to watch Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) and the Mildred Snitzer orchestra who played wonderful old jazz.

I must admit I had splurged out and bought VIP passes for this event. These allowed us into the air-conditioned clubhouse, which was a good thing as it was extremely hot. There were tables ladened with a never-ending supply of every type of candy, doughnut, cookie etc, as well as nuts and fruit. There was also 1 tub of mini meat sticks, so I put a few extras in my bag – very good travel snacks for low carb (haha) diets. Sadly, these were not replenished. In addition, waiters walked around with free samples of a variety of cocktails, kombucha, beer or wine etc, as well as having buckets of ice-cold water and juices freely available. From about 3pm till about 9pm, they also periodically walked around serving of different hors d’ouvres, from sliders to pot stickers to ceviche to lamb chops, and many more, all delicious.

At 5pm, we rushed back to the main stage to get good places for the Pretenders, but it was unnecessary as they cleared the area before the show and our tickets gave us access to a cordoned-off area. It is as if they cut our golden circle in half, left and right.  Right is for clubhouse ticket holders only, so it was easy to get to the front, without having to keep your place all day.
Chrissie Hynd was incredible. Her voice was amazing, better than ever. What an inspiration! I must be honest and admit I did return to the clubhouse for a break and missed some of Jack White, but I had to be prepared for Neil Young. It has been a dream of mine to see him perform live for so many years.

With some help from the people around us who discovered we were all the way from South Africa, we got to the front, me right at the railing, David a row or two behind. He was being a gentleman and let a few shorter folk stand in front of him. There was such a happy atmosphere amongst the circle around us. Young and not so young, all laughing and joking. All the stage hands were also not so young. Then Neil (forever) Young and his group, Promise of Real, walked on. The atmosphere was electric and he had so much energy, I was not disappointed.

Chuckle of the day: An American lady, who we shared a table with, thanked us for visiting their country while they were in such a mess and apologized for their president.
What I learnt:
I thought one of the members of Promise of the Real was Neil’s son, but he is actually Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas, and it is well worth looking up his song “Georgia”. It is excellent. Unfortunately I cannot post videos on this blog.
Growing older does not stop you from being amazing.
Sometimes in life you have to go first class.

 

Fri 22/6 – 9241 steps
As we drove through Malibu, I was struck by the resemblance of the electric wiring system to that in a video recently posted about electricity hijacking in SA.

Before we left Malibu, we went to Getty Villa. I cannot begin to imagine how much money Paul Getty must have had to just build this facility to house his collection. It was very interesting, especially the wine cups and jars. The collection is astounding, but I skim through museums because I can only do about 2 hours of statues, ceramics and jewelry. David, however, gives each piece its due attention and seems to be drawn in to museums and is reluctant to leave.

 

Later, we checked into the Hollywood RV park, in LA.
The owner, Steve, was very helpful and told us about his connections to the studios and how many of his tenants were in the movie industry. He even offered to get us an audition for an extra to dance in a movie. Not sure what kind of movie…
It seems to me all they focus on in LA is their movie connections and your chance of spotting a celebrity. Not sure I would know if I did spot one. Sure in the old days I would have recognized Robert Redford or even Brad Pitt, but now, there are so many and they are all quite ordinary. If I fell over a Kardashian, I would not even know it.
We locked up our RV and took an Uber to Pasadena to stay at a hotel near the Rose-bowl in preparation for the festival.
We walked around old Pasadena, over bits of original route 66, found a comic store and an English pub while we were looking for a specific pub with live music. It was nice and we had a drink there. David could have stayed there, but no, I wanted to find the spot I had read about.

For the benefit of my family, it was a bit like looking for a pie in Australia. Eventually we found the pub in a dodgy looking alley, but they did not serve food. We talked the bouncer into an early sale of 2 for the price of 1, got our stamps and went around the corner for an excellent supper at a place called Russells.
Tempting as it was to go straight home, we went back to the dingy pub, which consisted of a small stage in a tiny venue with a bar counter. There was a guy standing at the counter, with his back to the stage with space on either side of him. David asked him very politely if he could shift up a little so we could sit comfortably together. His response was that he had been there since 1974 and would not be pushed about. Clearly he meant it, as judging from the Magnum PI Hawaiian shirt he was still wearing, he had never left.  The first act was pure noise, the second was better but disappointing, and luckily, the third band was quite good.

Chuckle of the day: David rubbing shoulders all night with a chop in floral shirt.
What I learnt: I am always amazed that bars/ bands /clubs play good old rock classics in between acts, then the bands start to play noise, no melody, no significant lyrics and very unimaginative rhythm. There is no comparison. I wonder who will be listening to the Black Jacobins in 50 years time.

 

Thurs 21/6 – 9342 steps
We left early and stopped for breakfast. David had the breakfast special and I had ham and eggs. Just look at the size of the ham, plus 3 eggs! and Americans wonder why they have a national weight crisis.
The drive to Malibu was interesting. Housing complexes being built opposite the beach, but you have to cross a major highway to get there.

Along the way we found a spot with all sorts of missiles on display.

We could only check in at 2pm so we had about 2 hours to kill. We found a mall and I needed a hairdresser for root tint and trim. We found one who only came in for pre-determined appointments. I didn’t bother to phone, but walked further and found a rather ordinary looking salon and asked if they could help. They were very obliging, even offered tea ( Earl Grey nogal). David wondered off to Starbucks to catch up on his videos and news. All was good, pleasant enough trim, grey was gone and then I got the bill for $402, I nearly fell over backwards. Either David has to do the root tints or I am  definitely going grey. I didn’t even have blow wave. For that price I should have at least had a foot message or come out looking like a move star. But no, look just the same:

We moved onwards to Malibu RV campsite. It was very nice, but about 4 times the price of last night’s camp. We did, however, get free (ultra slow) wifi and overlook the sea. We went for a swim on beach, which was very disappointing, full of seaweed and lousy waves. Our neighbor said we should have swum at Zuma Bay, but I could not bring myself to do that.
David set off on his bike and found a very steep 10km climb, so got back happy that he had done some training.

We decided to save money and eat lean at home.
Chuckle of the day: Should we inform the president that one of his missiles is missing?

What I learnt: Maybe the beautiful places like the images in my head (eg Malibu based on TV’s Two and a half men) exist or not, but I don’t have the energy to look for them just to say I have been there. The cream of the crop who can afford to live there, can keep it. Can’t remember where I learnt the definition of cream of the crop, but in this case, it is appropriate: “Rich, white and thick”