Day 11: Last Day LA

THESE EVENTS TOOK PLACE: June 10, 2009 (USPDT)

So my final day in Los Angeles isn't exactly an editorial to get too excited about.

Mostly it was a day of getting organised and tying up loose ends. This basically meant: getting some much-needed washing done, making sure I have everything packed, making a list of things I might need, going out and about to get a few things that couldn't wait, hitting a few favourite spots, doule-checking my travel plans to Camp Fuller, triple-checking my flight details, packing my bags in a suitably airport-friendly way... and so on and so forth...

Washing was an adventure in and of itself. I had not yet learned that guests aren't allowed to use the washing machines prior to 3pm as the cleaning staff use them. Bugger. Had to hang about and stalk from afar later in the afternoon as time was creeping up on me and a nervous first-time traveller like me obviously wants to be packed several hours too early.

When I did get around to it later in the day, I felt like I was in a movie using coin slots and the suchlike in a communal area. Heeeheeee.

As far as real events for the day go...

I went back and settled on the white hi-top Nike shoes I mentioned previously and was thrilled to get such a great buy at such a cheap price, US$59 ladies and gentleman!

I picked up bits and pieces around the place and found at least thirty t-shirts I wanted to buy, vowing they'd get another look-in on my return to LA, prior to departing for Oz later in the year.

I swung by the Grauman's-Highlands district again for lunch and general shenanigans. Truly a favourite spot on the planet for me.


One last Hollywood Tourist shot (probably not THE last, let's face it)

I ran into a close friend of Nikki's while in the area:



While waiting for my bus I decided to grab an iced mocha from the McDonald's that always tempts me behind that bus stop. I loved that even the Macca's is Hollywoodified with movie star portraits, signs, lights and other random paraphernalia:





With all that and washing done, multiple checks of my luggage completed and necessary paperwork printed and ready, I booked an airport shuttle for 8am the next morning. All set.

Tony and his buddy Tarwin arrived back from San Francisco bringing with them Tarwin's friend Miki, who's a whole can of awesome. It was settled that we'd skip the hostel party and spend the evening in Santa Monica. Woot! I hadn't yet managed a proper trip to this much-desired spot yet.

A ridiculously long car ride and several silly magnetic word games with Tony later and we were sitting on Santa Monica Beach at twilight. Toooooo nice.

Just to add some colour there was a helicopter doing low circled laps of the water a ways out, which we were left to assume was some kind of search. A rather morbid form of entertainment, for our part, if it was indeed something emergent going on... *tugs at collar*

After a visit to the parking meter, Tarwin had picked up another friend and we were all seated in a flash at a super groovy restaurant in the middle of the main street. The food was great and the ambience even better. I did Karen proud by ordering one of their fancy beers: Leffe, check! I even tried a sip of Miki's weird chocolate beer. Thanks, but no thanks.

We toured down to the stunning Santa Monica Pier from there, a little late to see any of the really good stuff it offers, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I successfully made Tony like me a little less by choosing to drive while the others walked. Parking was a nightmare, Tony pretended he didn't mind.

Meandering about on Santa Monica Pier was a fairly perfect way to spend my final night in LA.

Highlights were the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company shop ("Forrest Gump" Fan For Life!), the enormous flapping fish a guy caught and let flap around on the deck a while and Miki harassing another fisherman until he offered to let her take a turn casting, only to get it caught and tangled and everything else she could possibly do wrong with a fishing rod. Hysterical.




Flappy fish! (You probably had to be there to feel any enthusiasm)

Another ridiculously long drive and some GPS navigation fun and we saw the rest of the night out at the hostel, then it was up at sparrowfart for me and off to the airport.

And y'all know what the next installment will be. Epic, you know it. Epic.