1. Not quite san diego, but on our way there, we had a change of flight at LA. Our plane from London was slightly delayed, which meant that we had approx 40 minutes to leave one plane and get on another. Different terminals. Going through customs again. Needless to say, Lisa was out of breath, and I was running down the corridor with my pants slipping down, my shoes and belt in my hands. We made the plane, but then as always is the case, it ended up just sitting at the gate for another 15-20 minutes.
2. Getting to meet regulators again! awesome having chrisso and cheah pick Lisa and me up from the airport. Getting used to driving on the other side of the road - awesome rental car that he had by the way... it was a station wagon (think it was a dodge caravan), and could fit 7 people comfortably. Later in the night, we got to see Lev/Della and a walking Kai which was very cool.
3. Although only spending one night here, could definitely see why the hippy has rated the place quite highly. The city had a very cool vibe about it, although perhaps a few too many "awesomes" and "dude" comments made by pretty much everyone we spoke to. I also loved seeing plasmas everywhere showing sports in bars - something that I have missed while being in the UK...
4. The next morning, did the drive along the coast, and had breakfast at a pretty cool restaurant near seal cove. Then visited a few shopping centres - majority had underdressed for what was predicted to be a fairly cold weekend, so we hit fashion valley amongst other joints. Never have I seen such big buildings that are simply just shops. Everything in California just seemed so OTT.
Los Angeles (photos can be found at http://www.globalregulators.com/LosAngeles)
1. The drive to LA from San Diego probably took a bit longer than it should have. But we still had fun. Well at least Cheah and me did, as it was our turn to play navigator/driver, while Chrisso/Lis sat in the back. We also had the good fortune of having veteran LA people with us in Claire (Damian's sister) and ????. Cheah and me managed to make the OC interesting by doing quick stops at several beaches for a few photo ops.
2. So we had no hotel driving into LA, but plenty of choices to choose from. Location was a bit of a debate, but the veterans helped to steer us into the right direction - we ended up staying at Days Inn on sunset blvd. Free wireless, and a room that could hold 6 people meant that we were all pretty happy with the final choice. The boys made the first visit to Hooters at around 11pm. Obligatory photo is present.
3. 2 days in LA didn't seem like long, so we all tried to make the best use of time. We headed to Santa Monica pier which is a pretty cool sight. For a themed restaurant that seems to be doing quite well, definitely go and check out Bubba Gump Shrimp. We were all very happy with the food on offer, and makes such a difference when the staff there are so friendly. with loads of forrest gump quotes plastered around the place how can you go wrong?
4. As we walked towards Venice Beach, there was quite a gathering by the water with several helicoptors swarming above the water. At one stage, I thought someone from the crowd would come running to ask "are any of you marine biologists?". In actual fact, it was a small 3 seater airplane that had crashed - turns out it was an ex tv-host, and they were just recovering the plane as we arrived. To see that amount of rescue personal there was pretty big, and you could tell it was quite a big operation. Venice beach did have a good feel to it, but think it would have attacted a lot more freaks (which I think it is known for) during the warmer months.
5. One night, we headed to the Dresden, which is the bar that Swingers was shot at. Actually was a pretty cool place with a little jazz band playing when we arrived (I think we were there on a monday night, so it was busy but not packed). A late night chilli dog was then the preferred snack to complete the night - we swung past pinkys, which is a apparently a hot spot for celebs getting their late night snack in.
6. walking along Hollywood Blvd, and checking out all the names on offer there (photo ops taken of the stars of David Hasselhof, Hugh Hefner, the Olsen twins and Michael Bolton). Also went and checked out the Kodak theatre, which one week earlier had been the stage for the oscars.
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