We caught a bus to Los Angeles rather than a flight, to get a taste of “outback,” as we call it back in Australia.
I was thrilled at the prospect of enjoying the famous Route 66. But my enthusiasm dampened when, rather than the Mother Road, it turned out to be an a four lane highway, all the way to LA. The original Route 66 (2347 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica) ran from various towns in 8 states and 3 time zones.
Nevertheless the landscape was the same. Barron hills, dry and prickly vegetation, not a sign of life. We crossed several solar panel fields that supply to Vegas ever increasing electricity needs. I was surprised to find casinos by the road in the middle of nowhere.
About two hours later we stopped at a town called Barstow for lunch. Barstow was a mining town, founded in 1880 during silver mining rush. It used to be called Fishpond and later on Waterman Junction when rail arrived here. In 1886, it was renamed to honour William Barstow Strong, then president of the Santa Fe Railway. Mining died, but Barstow survived as a railroad town and a tourist spot.
Our next stop was Sanbernardino. Back in 1810s, Sanbernardino was the site of a Spanish mission and was named after St. Bernardino of Siena. The mission closed in 1834, and the land was sold to Mormons who established a fort there. In 1850s they laid out a town here. Gold was discovered nearby in 1862, that brought an influx of settlers. Town has something to do with camper vans. I saw thousands of them parked in a site nearby.
We arrived in LA at 6:30PM and took an Uber to our hotel. Our hotel turned out to be as grand as Vegus casinos. Built more than 100 years ago Millennium Biltmore was the place where Oscars started and JFK launched his presidential campaign.
The next day we left the hotel early to get to Hollywood Walk of Fame
A guy was creating a new star on the Hollywood Bulevard. Lots of people were standing there watching him do that. We stopped too. It turned out, for $10, he would create a star for anyone. We got one created for us.
We walked almost the whole stretch of the Walk of Fame to find the shopping mall from where Hollywood sign is visible. Last time I was in LA, I remembered taking photos from there. After endless walking we found it. It’s called Ovation Hollywood and it is the centre of activity. It houses Dolby Theatre where Oscars ceremony is held each year.
Close to it was the El Capitan Theatre, Hard Rock cafe and Madam Tussauds wax museum. We took photos from the 5th floor with Hollywood sign in the background.
From there we took a bus to get to the Tar Pits. It was my favourite place during my previous visit as I had seen nothing like that before.
Right in the middle of densely populated city, there is a pond (and several pits) where methane gas is emitting from the oil reserve underneath.
It is a site where thousands of fossilized skeletons of Iceage animals have been found (and still being found). They would come there to drink water and get stuck in tar, due and get fossilized.
Close to Tar Pits is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Since we didn't have time to see both so we chose Academy Museum. Academy Museum was spectacular and enlightening.
We were not ready to call it a day, so we went to Santa Monica beach. Since it was Saturday, it was choker block full. And that was the best visit. The atmosphere was cheerful and festive. We walked the full length of the pier, had dinner and called it a day.
For the next two days we explored LA.
On Sunday, we visited the Holocaust Museum. It is the first survivor-founded and oldest Holocaust museum in the U.S with the largest collection of Holocaust-era artefacts.
We took a tour 70-year old second generation survivor and the later on attended a talk by 90-year old actual survivor.
Nathan Spiewak, was about ten year old at the time he had to flee his home with his parents. He and his parents were in different concentration camps.
At the end of our tour we were taken outside to a memorial for 1.5 million children who were killed in the concentration camp. Each one of us wrote a prayer on little strip for a child who's photo and details on the back. All of it was a sombre experience.
Next to the museum was Farmer’s market. Opened in 1934, it is known as Original Farmers Market. I loved it. We had lunch there and took a ride on the tram.
Clouds gathered and we had a bit relief from the sun. So we decided to go to the Rodeo Drive.
My memories from previous visit to the most expensive shopping street in the world was of lots of Rolls Royce and its of people. It was almost deserted on Sunday evening.
We took a stroll admiring the window display then headed home.
On Monday we went to see Getty Villa. Situated in Malibu, it houses the priced collection of European art.
The villa itself was spectacular. It is a recreaction of a Roman seaside home which got buried in the volcano eruption that butied Pompeii.
Since it was close to Santa Monica, we went there again. It was as crowded on Monday as it was on Saturday.
I almost didn't go to the Universal Studios. I wasn’t interested in rides and didn't think there was much to see in the studio itself.
I was wrong.
The most visited tourist destination in the world (63,000 people visiting everyday) it turned out to be the highlight of the Los Angeles visit.
The first thing we did was to join an hour long queue for the studio tour. It was well worth the wait. We saw metropolitan city, western town and facades for familiar landmarks from various movies. We also saw the real cars used in Fast and Furious and mechanical dinosaurs used in Juressic Park.
From there we walked through the Harry Potter village and watched a dance show based on one of the movie.
Even though we didn't want to do the Harry Potter ride we ended up in the line while visiting the castle. There was no way out so we did the ride.
It was the best experience of my life.
Even though I am terrified of roller coaster rides, I enjoyed riding on the broomstick with Harry Potter.
The heat was intolerable, so we stood in a line which was in shade. It was a ride based on Mummy movie.
This ride was scarier than Harry Potter ride. We went at a much higher speed, turned upside down and then halted abruptly. Before we could recover, we went backwards, at high speed, and hung from the roof.
I was thankful when it ended.
The line for Jurassic Park was 3-hour long. We skipped that and went to see Waterworld show. It was brilliant. It had super wild stunts, jumping jet-skiers, massive explosions, firefights and even a plane crash.
We were exhausted by the time but still didn't feel like leaving. So we went to see Kung Fu Panda animation show and Nintando World. I felt like a child.
We spent the last two days in Los Angeles visiting the two major attractions - Getty Center and Griffith Observatory.
Getty Center is the second museum to house J Paul Getty’s art collection which he left for the people to enjoy. Like Getty Villa it is free.
Mr Getty fell in love with European art and became a collector in sixties. He realised most people in America didn’t get the opportunity to see and admire such exquisite creations. So, he started opening his house once a week, to share his collection with people.
When he found lot of interest, he decided to house his collection in a museum. His first museum was at the Getty Villa in Malibu. When it ran out of space his trust opened the second museum, in Crestwood Hills.
Unfortunately he didn’t see any of his museum.
I was very impressed with the trust looking after Mr Getty’s wishes. They have done (and are doing) a tremendous job in running these museums. Not only the collections and grounds are well looked after but heavily staffed and each staff member is very courteous, helpful and knowledgeable.
There was another man who also used his wealth to creat something for people to enjoy. When Griffith J. Griffith saw the stars for the first time from a telescope, he was shaken and thrilled.
“Man’s sense of values ought to be revised. If all mankind could look through that telescope, it would change the world.” - Griffith J. Griffith
He decided to build an Observatory for people. In 1896 he donated a large chunk of his own land to Los Angeles municipality to make a garden for people. In 1919, he left money in his will to build and observatory.
Today, Griffith Observatory is the most visited observatory in the world. It has a very impressive building, a planetarium and spectacular 360 degree view of LA.
We are half way through our trip, and I have been giving you a daily account of what I have been doing each day.
I might be boring you with all these details but writing this travelogue is making me enjoy this trip even more than usual. One of the advantages of writing is that you observe everything more intensely because you are going to help others see it through your eyes.
Writing travel diaries is as old as the travels itself. One of the early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century.
But the credit of modern travel writing goes to James Boswell, who wrote “Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides,” in 1786.
I am making detailed notes of my travels with the hope that one day I will be able to write account of my journey through America.
On Thursday night we took a flight from LA to Toronto. For the next two weeks we are going to do a road trip to through East Coast of Canada and US and sharing my experiences with you.
Let me know if you don’t want me to bore you.
I am on holiday in US and Canada. This means you will hear about my adventures, on and off, when I get time to write them and have a Wifi connection to post them.
You can get my new book here.
That’s all from me this week.
Neera Mahajan
Whenever you are ready, there are three ways I can help you.
You did more in a few days than I did the 10 years I lived in Southern Cal! What a fantastic summer you’re having.