Beginning in the US of A...Hollywood!

Sorry It's been so long between posts (the dial-up internet at home was too hard!), but to fill you in... I made it safely to Tassie on the road trip and had a great time catching up and saying goodbye to everyone. It was also awesome seeing my newly engaged best friend Alicia (who is engaged to Tim) and as i'll be away for their entire engagement it was great actaully having a bit of time to hang out flick though bridal magazines and get excited!

Back to now... on the 27th of March the first part of the adventure proper began and I have arrived safely in the USA! We stayed at the USA hostel in Hollywood, California. LA was a massive sprawling city, but our little hostel was ultra friendly and for 3 days Hayley and I were part of the fun little community which I think made our time Hollywood. We had a random experience on the second day we were in LA. After sleeping in and missing breakfast and the hostel Beverly Hills walking tour, Hayley and I decided to head down to Santa Monica and the beach area as it was a beautiful Los Angeles day. When we caught the train the previous day a few stops earlier we passed the Vermont/ Santa Monica station, so Hayley and I confidently walked the 5 blocks to the station with no map or directions and got off at the Vermont/ Santa Monica station. Unfortunately for us, Vermont/ Santa Monica meant the station was on the corner of these streets, and Santa Monica Blvd just happened to be really REALLY long! We started walking, thinking it wasn't that far, and when we started noticing there were not many other people walking on the "sidewalk" and the ones that were were a tad, umm... different and the shop fronts looked pretty run down and seedy, so we realised maybe we weren't at the beach and it was time to ask for directions! A lady pointed us to the bus stop, and 1.5 hours later (yes, really!) we arrived at the beach! We learned that natural instincts only get you so far, then it's time to ask for directions.

The hostel had heaps of organised activities and the Friday night Hollywood pub crawl proved to be a top night of a few cheap Coronas and fun dancing. But we were informed that you can't be too dressed up in Hollywood and thongs or lace-ups won't cut it. This unfortunately created a bit of a Cinderella story for travel buddy Hayley, as being a faithful backpacker she didn't have appropriate footwear, but thanks to our awesome #113 dorm mates, Amy from Scotland's silver shoes were a perfect fit and we changed Hayley's shoes from rags to riches so that she didn't change into a pumpkin at midnight (or not get allowed in!). As a side, Price Charming may have been delayed at a prior function and wasn't able to make it!

We've now made it to El Paso, Texas so you'll have to keep checking for more updates! But the first 5 days of the trip have been adventure filled already and I'm excited each morning about what new things/ experiences await. Keep praying for Hayley and I and that the rest of the trip can continue to be this good :)