Mile Zero
Our smooth and simple flight from Sydney to Los Angeles introduced us to the joys of time travel into the past by arriving before we departed. We left winter in Sydney at 8.00 p.m on July 5th and thirteen hours later we arrived at our destination in summer time at 2.00 p.m on the same day.
Confused???? Just think how our bodies felt!
This would probably explain why we were all wide awake in our Hollywood hotel at 2 a.m celebrating our arrival in the U.S with an early morning feast of rainbow ‘goldfish’, La Croix seltzers and fresh fruit salad.
After a year on the road it’s good to be back on home soil, even though California is a part of the U.S. that we have never explored before, so it wasn’t too long before we became dedicated American consumers again and went shopping at Target, stocked up on GT Kombucha at Whole Foods and had our first Hollywood hamburger at Mel’s Drive-In.
Ah America. it’s good to be back!
Despite the brutal jet lag we did a bit of exploring around L.A. starting with a visit to Santa Monica Beach and followed with an early evening stroll down the “Walk Of Fame”, which gets its name from over 2,500 terrazzo and brass stars which are embedded into the pavement.
Another Hollywood “must do” is a visit to see Grauman’s Chinese Theatre which is home to a forecourt which features handprints, footprints and hoof prints of loads of iconic Hollywood celebrities….(it was Roy Rodgers horse Trigger in case you were wondering about the hoofprints).
♫….until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard ♫
One of the highlights of our first few days in California was a drive to Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave desert, about 3hrs hours from L.A. It was blisteringly hot but absolutely beautiful as we hiked through the stunning rock formations that surround the piñon pine and joshua tree forests in Hidden Valley. It may have been the mind altering combination of dehydration, jet lag and 39°c (102°f) temperatures but I clearly felt the presence of the spirits of this ancient and magical land join us on our trek. It was nature at its most raw
Joshua Tree national park. What an amazing place
In keeping with tradition, Sunday morning was spent at our families church (also known as the Los Angeles Farmers Market). It was a very different experience from any farmers market we have seen so far as, all the stalls were permanent shops selling all manner of cool stuff and delicious food
Just one of the many gustatory distractions available at the L.A. farmers market
And so begins the great American road-trip back to New York
NOMAD FAMILY TALES 