California Dreamin

Part two of spring break found Vlad and I on the other side of the country: Los Angeles, California!

After a 6+ hour flight from New York on Thursday, we got to LA around 10AM pacific time and were exhausted!  The plane ride felt short because we were in and out of consciousness the whole time.  When we arrived, we made the last minute decision to rent a car instead of relying on public transportation.  For the things we wanted to do, we figured spending the money on a car would be worth the time and hassle the car would save (which it did).  The most annoying part was even though I have a clean driving record, because I'm not 25+, rental companies jack up the car prices.

Once we picked up the car, we were leaving the area and noticed an In-N-Out around the corner.  Obviously a lunch break was in order. 

Not the Last Time we Made a Stop Here

From there, we made our way to Hollywood Boulevard in, you probably guessed it, Hollywood, and checked into our hostel.  Yes, the US does have hostels.  I was worried a bit because I had looked up the hostel in the JFK airport and on one website it said you had to have an international passport with you to be able to stay there.  Luckily when we checked in, we found out you just needed to have an out of state license.  Crisis averted.  We stayed in a 6 bed room but were the only ones there (until later that night) and decided to take a much needed nap.  Afterwards, we walked down Hollywood Blvd taking in the sights.

Let's have a little chat about hostels.  I'm not claiming to be an expert on hostel life but I have stayed in a fair few within the last year.  If there is a TV in the room, do not turn it up all the way and fall asleep with the remote hidden.  Do not wake up everyone else in the room because your sheet fell off the bed.  Do not complain about anything related to the room...you're in a hostel!  Talking to yourself is also something that should be done when there are not other people around.

While on a tangent, let's also talk about drivers in the LA area.  The majority of them either drive insanely fast or way too slow, there is no in-between.  No matter the speed, they were all just terrible drivers!  On the plus side, I only got honked at once which was in the parking lot returning the car.  Also, traffic was terrible.

Anyways on Friday, I got to finally have a proper childhood.  

We...
went...
to.... 
Disneyland!  

My only mental images of Disneyland are from this old VHS tape I watched all the time as a kid.  Although the park has changed a lot, it was fun to see some of the places I remember watching on the tape.  Since there was no line, we started off on Splash Mountain followed by the Haunted Mansion.  Some rides later, we rode California Screamin' at California Adventures which was our favorite of the day.  Being Friday of spring break, the park was quite crowded and the lines long but we made it work.

Dreams Do Come True...for $137

#NoFilter

We only had time for one day in the Magic Kingdom which meant we went all out.  Come hour 6, our legs were burning.  Add on all the walking we had done in New York and you have two very tired people.  We powered through and made it to the fireworks show over the castle (which is much smaller in real life) and then finally got to use our 10:30 PM fast passes for Space Mountain.  All in all, an exhausting but great day (with, of course, a stop at In-N-Out on the way back to Hollywood).

On Saturday, Vlad and I decided we deserved a sleep in.  When we were well rested and awake, we headed out to torture our legs again by hiking up the backside of the Hollywood sign.  The hike had a fair incline but wasn't too bad.  The top rewarded us with a complete, although hazy, view of the LA skyline and the backside of the Hollywood sign letters.

Behind the Letters

For lunch we went to a food cart the internet told me had good, authentic, Mexican food.  The internet never lies.  It was delicious!

That night, Vlad and I went to the Staples Center to watch the Clippers play the Pistons.  The Clippers won.  I hadn't been to an NBA game in a long time so that was fun!  Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were there as well and we got to see them on the "kiss cam."

Basketball

On Sunday, the two of us got up and checked out of the hostel.  From there we headed down Hollywood Blvd again for a bit and then made our way to swanky Beverly Hills.  We both felt out of place and underdressed.  It was like being on 5th Ave in New York but even more uptight.  Sometimes I'm glad I'm not rich.

Vlad needed to film some for the Los Angeles portion of his YouTube video so we made our way back to Hollywood Blvd.  When shooting was done, we drove out west to the Santa Monica Pier.  It was dark by the time we got there which made the lights from the rides stand out more.  After hearing a restaurant owner yell at a patron for not paying, we got seafood at a place on the pier and then headed to LAX for our last airport overnighter. 

So Hollywood.  It was an interesting place to visit but I think a day is all I could take. Hollywood Blvd was the epitome of a tourist destination.  Every five steps you got aggressively asked if you wanted to go on a tour bus, massive crowds of people stood in the middle of the sidewalk unaware of their surroundings, and souvenir shops are as far as the eye can see.  Although we were only in Santa Monica briefly, it had more of the laid back California vibe I like.

Walk of Fame

TCL Chinese Theater

And that was unfortunately the end of spring break 2014.  I had such a great time hanging out with Vlad and seeing sites I may not have had the motivation to see otherwise.  I had forgotten how much I love being in the traveling state of mind and it's depressing to go back to school.  I always get some post travel depression when I get back from traveling.  It's been 5 days since getting back and I'm just now adjusting to normal mode.  On the plus side, only 2ish more months until graduation which hopefully means more traveling!   

Watch Vlad's video of us recapping spring break here.

That's all for now. Bye. 

Empire State Of Mind

Surprise!  Apparently I'm blogging again!

In case you weren't aware, I wrote a blog about my study abroad experience in Europe last year.  I kind of miss blogging.  I've started up some new blogs a few times over the last few months but haven't been happy with the content and never published them.  I decided I'm just going to go for it and see what happens.  I thought I'd start the first post out with a bang.

So I'm in New York.

It's CSU's spring break this week and I'm spending the first part of it in The Big Apple.  It was kind of a spur of the moment decision to buy a plane ticket to New York but it's a place I hadn't been and the opportunity presented itself.  I flew from Denver to New York with a layover in Chicago on Monday and met up with my good friend Vlad who was fulfilling his lifelong dream of seeing Lebron James play with the Heat in Miami a few days prior (more about him later).

Following a series of unfortunate events with Vlad's flight from Miami to New York, we were finally able to meet up and take a bus/subway to our hotel.  Our original lodging had fallen through only a few days before we were supposed to get here which stressed me out like none other but we managed to find a place to stay.  We were literally around the corner from Times Square which let us be the ultimate New York tourists.  After checking in, we walked around the overwhelmingly bright and crowded Times Square

Consumerism at its Best

On Tuesday morning, we caught a train headed down to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan.  From there, we walked up to Wall Street and Ground Zero.  The 9/11 memorial consisted of two amazingly crafted fountains dug deep into the ground where the towers used to stand.  Forming the barrier up top were etched names of those who were killed in the attacks.  Although I remember the event happening quite well, I didn't realize how big of a deal it was at the time.  I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have been in the city that day but could not wrap my head around it.

NYSE on Wall Street

Ground Zero Memorial

We then headed back to Battery Park to catch a ferry to Liberty and Ellis Island to see the Statue of Liberty.  Lady Liberty was impressive in person!  Our ferry tickets also let us go up on the pedestal but the line to get in was taking too long and we decided it wasn't worth waiting.  Ellis Island wasn't terribly exciting but it was neat to see the rooms where immigrants registered when they got off their ship.

Welcome to America

After getting back to Manhattan, our legs needed a break.  We had planned to head back to the hotel to catch a quick rest but were partially zoned out on the subway and missed our stop.  When we realized this and got off at the next stop, we discovered we were at the edge of Central Park.  Knowing that Trump Tower was close by, we walked to 5th Ave and saw all the stores that I could never afford.  After more wandering, we found Rockefeller Plaza and saw the ice rink, NBC studios, and Radio City Musical Hall.

Ice Rink

Radio City Music Hall

At this point, we headed over to the Eugene O'Neill theater to try our luck at the Book of Mormon ticket lottery.  Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), we weren't chosen.  At this point, we really needed a break so we grabbed some food and headed to the hotel for a nap.  Feeling recuperated, we set out to Times Square again to do some overpriced shopping.  Vlad had never been to Applebees before so we stopped into the one right off of Times Square which we realized was a mistake a minute after looking at the menu.  Prices were about $5-$10 more expensive than the normal mediocre Applebees food so we left.

After the failed lottery ticket attempt the day before, the two of us decided to go for rush tickets Wednesday morning to ensure we would see a show.  My sister, Megan, told me about rush tickets.  I had no idea what they were prior, but basically you line up at the theater hours before the box office opens hoping that you're one of the first 20ish people to get a greatly reduced ticket.  The seats are not ideal (think front row or partially obstructed view) but paying $30 instead of $300 is worth it.  We decided on Avenue Q.  The show's website was not very informative about the rush tickets and we showed up way earlier than we needed to but got the cheap tickets!

We then walked back to the hotel where Vlad took a power nap and we checked out of the hotel.  Our next stop was Central Park.  We walked around the park a bit and saw the ice skating rink as well as some scenic shots frequently used in movies.  It was freezing but the park was a nice break from the rushed city atmosphere. 

Central Park

At this point, we headed back into the city and met up with my uncle Mike.  He took us to a food cart where we got curry wurst which was delicious!  We walked around for a short bit and parted ways but it was great to briefly see him!

Up next was the Brooklyn Bridge.  Vlad and I caught two trains to the Brooklyn side of the bridge and walked across to Manhattan.  The architecture was amazing and you could see the green lady in the distance to the left and the Manhattan Bridge to the right.

Brooklyn Bridge

When we got back to Midtown, we got off at Grand Central Station and walked to the Empire State Building followed by some more shopping followed by Avenue Q.  Our tickets were for the front row which wasn't ideal for the singing but the show was a great time!

Grand Central Station

Almost every trip I took in Europe, there was either a snow storm or a rain storm.  Apparently that theme decided to stay with me in the US because when we got out of Avenue Q, it was pouring!  At this point we had nothing else to do so we got our luggage from the hotel storage room and trudged through the torrential downpour to catch the subway to the airport.
 
So here we sit, currently in the JFK airport, waiting for our 7AM flight to our next location.  Even though the only people who may read this probably know where that is, I'll keep it a secret until next week's post.

Granted we were really only in New York for two full days, the city surprised me, mostly in a positive way.  Everything was much cleaner and felt much safer than I was expecting.  The pace of life is definitely faster than what I'm used to/like.  The amount to do in this massive city is endless.  We hit up almost all of the major tourist sites but it would be fun to explore areas away from Manhattan.  Could I see myself living here?  Absolutely not.  Would I come back? Absolutely.

One more thing.  Vlad has been making YouTube videos about his time on exchange here in the US and they're pretty funny.  Here is his spring break compilation video. 

That's all for now.  Bye.