Day 16 Travelling across the USA was the day we realised any plans of coming home from the USA with any money were out the window. We found that LA is not easy to get around using public transport, and using Uber is the only way to see as much as possible of this City.
Morning
After a great night’s sleep, we were up early and raring to go. We planned to have breakfast get a bus to the nearest Metro, and then head for Santa Monica Pier. At this point, we realized it wouldn’t be easy to use public transport in LA. The journey would take 2 hours, or an Uber would take 45 minutes. Our time today was limited, so we went with the Uber option.
We arrived at Santa Monica Pier just before 9 am. While nothing was open, the place was a hive of activity. We walked along the pier, watching people fish and swim in the waves.
Once done on the pier, we walked along the boardwalk to Venice Beach. Along the walkway, you had people walking dogs, yoga sessions, rollerbladers, church services, joggers, and people just chilling with a coffee. The California vibe was in full flow. It was a pity it wasn’t sunny as we would have seen the beach filled with sun-seekers.
You can tell when you leave Santa Monica and enter Venice Beach. The area becomes more artistic and a little rough around the edges. I don’t think I would recommend the area at dark, but during the day it is grand and well worth a walk around.
We spent some time watching people work out at the famous Muscle Beach, people playing basketball and people skateboarding. Really nice experience, until a fight broke out and we decided it was time to move on.
Afternoon
We knew from talking to people the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ wasn’t up too much, but can you go to LA and not experience it? After a bit of debate on how to spend the next few hours, we hopped on the Metro and headed for the ‘Walk of Fame.’
You see the movies, and the tv shows and think the ‘Walk of Fame’ will be in a rich affluent area. It certainly isn’t! The area is very run down, and the smell of pee is strong in the air. We took some photos, before heading for some food and then made our way toward our entertainment for the night.
Evening
We made our way to Dignity Health Sports Park for LA Galaxy – Atlanta. We started our journey on public transport, but we soon realized this was going to take forever, so we bailed and ordered another Uber $$$.
Our Uber driver was an Australian lady who grew up in England but now lived in LA. My mind was blown trying to work out her accent, as she kept flicking between them. She told us some stories of the famous people she had in her car, but no names sorry! (We signed an NDA sorry folks lol.)
Traffic got very heavy as we neared the ground, we offered to hop out and walk the short distance, but she was having none of it and dropped us off right at the gates.
We had planned to grab a couple of beers and join the tailgate, but we arrived late and without beers. I built up the courage to ask someone to sell me a beer, “Wise up man!” I thought I was out of luck “Please take a beer on us, sadly you have arrived a bit late, or your daughter could have got some pizza.” People are just so friendly in the USA.
Inside the ground was mental, it was Star Wars night. All over the place, we found people dressed up as Star Wars characters, but that wasn’t half of it. Live bands were playing, DJs playing, food stalls selling whatever you could think off and my favourite a supermarket self-service selling beer.
I have done a youtube video where you can watch the game, but it ended in a late goal win for LA Galaxy.
Night
Getting home was a bit of a nightmare. No Uber drivers wanted to come near the stadium until the area cleared. We witnessed a bit of a gang fight and after about 30 minutes a driver finally arrived. Once again, our driver was friendly and very informative. She was actually from Guadalajara who we watched play in Vegas a few nights before.
We arrived back in Burbank safely. It was lights out the moment we got into our room; with a very busy day planned for tomorrow.
Thanks for taking the time to read our ‘Day 16- Travelling across the USA.’ If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section below.
Thanks
The Lewis Family.
