Harrison Ford hand print at Hollywood walk of fame
This has got to be one of our shortest trips ever to the US as we just did this to use Kuya's visa (less than a week). There were no concrete plans or whatsoever. We just did it since it was the first date written on his application. Well, I did a little bit of research on the things we can possibly do which should be near our aunt's place but there was no guarantee that most of them will happen.
arrived at LAX airport
The flight had a lot of bad turbulence but I think the pilot handled it well. Though this flight will be remembered for the girl who went crazy inside the plane. She was talking loudly, trying to go from one seat to another, spitting at times, etc.. and guess what, she was sitting beside me - an aisle away. It was my first air rage experience, really.
But let us not focus on that and move on. Besides, the United States is waving. Signs everywhere.
welcome to Los Angeles
welcome to the United States of America
I suddenly remember the last time going through the US airport security was at John F. Kennedy's on our way to New York for a business trip. That time we were worried about a lot of things not going as planned but at least, this time its different, this one is a more laid-back one.
Tita Bong and Tito Robin got us from the airport and even after a few years of not seeing each other, they still look the same (awesome). We ate at In-N-Out for dinner before going straight to their place around Seal beach.
In-N-Out burger
Inside In-N-Out
Every morning is a new sight for me. Aside from its foggy, squirrels roam the front garden which was great to see as a break for my eyes on seeing cats and dogs back home (lol).
somewhere around Seal beach
Day 1 - Shopping day around the neighborhood
The first stop is at Costco to get some supplies and pasalubongs if possible. Remembering the lost pack of bottled water in one of the carts there which we ended up buying (haha).
Costco
inside Costco
Tito Robin drove us around Seal beach including the Seal beachside. It was so tempting to go down the car but we didn't since we just came from Boracay before this trip and jet lag is starting to sink in. We made a stop at "A slice of New York Pizza" for lunch before continuing our shop hoping.
A slice of New York Pizza
pizza for lunch
We were looking for some specific items that made us visit a number of shops. The list of shops we went through are the following: Costco, Ross, Dollar Tree, Big 5 Sporting Goods, and Payless
Ross
Dollar Tree (Dollar store)
Payless
We skipped "Bed, Bath & Beyond" & "Target" THAT day because we already found what we were looking for but later on visited them too the following days. Aside from these shops, we also drove around 5 branches of Starbucks outlet looking for a specific tumbler but failed to see one. What a road trip eh?!
Ending that day, we ate at Yasai (Japanese grill) to munch some Asian food esp. rice (lol) since we missed it even that short period of not eating it.
Yasai
We even managed to squeeze in some milk tea after since I saw a lot of good reviews regarding the Bobba milk tea in the state before flying in. The fun part here was that Tita Bong knows where to buy them because they also buy them from time to time (ang cool lang hehe). I still remember visiting the restroom many times that night because of the milk tea which was normal for me when I consume something new which my stomach is not used to. All was good though.
Bobba milk tea
Day 2 - Disney Land (Anaheim, California)
We ate at Denny's for breakfast which is located directly in front of the park's entrance and man, so far so good, everything tastes great and the servings are humongous (lol).
Denny's
We visited the park with complimentary passes from Tita and Tito's friend which made the day even better. Free stuff! Who wouldn't like that?! The theme park has two areas: Disneyland Park and Disneyland Adventure. The "park" for the original version while the "adventure" for the one with more thrilling rides.
Disney Anaheim California entrance
watermill inside Disney
Finding Nemo submarine ride
We did the "adventure" first then the "park". It was very tiring to walk inside since the park was huge. There were a lot of areas though which are really nice to take pictures at just like the photos above. There is now a monorail that can take you to the other side of the park which we discovered after when we crossed the other side (huhu).
We had our late lunch at one of the official Disney diners inside and we (again) had a hard time finishing it. The burger was really big and it is veggie-all-you can, so I grabbed a lot and ended up having a lot of excesses. #Iamsorry
burger inside one of the official Disney diners
Our original plan was to eat at Ihop which is just located beside Denny's for dinner after visiting Disney. We did indeed meet inside the restaurant but ended up going home since we are still feeling full from what we ate inside the park.
Ihop
Day 3 - Rest day / Dinner get-together
This was the day we decided to stay in for the whole day. Of course, I wanted to go out but the body is just not cooperating that much. Felt heavy and the headache is still present. Netflix and great food accompanied us though. Dad drove us around the area and managed to visit a nearby Dollar store again to buy some stuff and ate lunch at Carl's Jr.
Dollar store (again haha)
As dinner came, one by one, our Los Angeles family arrives. it was a nice time to meet each other again after some years and for others our first. It was a blast having dinner with them. Toni cooked macaroni for us while others bought food for the gathering.
Well, nothing much changed with our cousins other than speaking more English but really enjoyed meeting Donald, Mark, and Toni. It was nice of Mark and Kristine to open the dinner with some Word, Toni was really into the discussions while Donald was really funny being the food location guru. Team sky diving ASAP!
Los Angeles family
Day 4 - Hollywood Strip & Universal Studios
After days of thinking if we'll go for the train to roam around the area, finally it pushed through. The original plan was to only visit the Hollywood street walk for the celebrity stars tapos bahala na pag marami pang oras (lol).
We started the day by first dropping off tita at her work, then, tito dropped us next at the nearest train station as planned..
Hollywood train route
5th street station
The Hollywood station was cool but the rest was just ordinary. I saw a lot of people eating inside the train and even selling stuff which was prohibited. We went through some downtown areas too.
As we see the Hollywood sign in sight, I honestly find the area like Eastwood locally. It was an ordinary, popular, commercialized, busy streets with a lot of attractions. We actually walked the whole strip from end to end until reaching the TCL Chinese Theater.
Hollywood walk of fame
With a lot of spare time left, we decided to go to the Universal Studios next which is just a train station away or two to do more stomping and walking.
And that is how you carry a plastic bag?
water fountain at city walk
Well, the picture says it all
Panda Express is our friend (always an option when eating lol). We had our lunch there as the ambiance was superb, it was spacious and not that crowded. Pero goals talaga yung indoor sky diving #inggit
Panda Express
indoor sky diving
Guess what, it's still early! Haha! We actually went back to the Hollywood strip and took the tour around the city to see some celebrity cribs. It was quite interesting knowing some of the trivia our guide was sharing especially if you have a paparazzi spirit. The tour took 2 full long hours including the traffic. Sadly, no celebrity was sighted which was rare to happen. awwww..
Hollywood city tour
Day 5 - Departure day
Spending our last day still with plates overflowing with food here at the Alamitos Bay Marina Center's Schooner or Later. I remember this very cold early morning breakfast by the bay with a unique view of yachts in sight. Heater posts make up for the temperature.
Schooner or Later
breakfast by the bay
With our tummies full, aside from doing our laundry, more shopping and eating happened (lol!). Did a final visit with lunch in a Costco on the way, visited Marshalls, then did some early dinner at an Asian restaurant nearby.
siblings matchy tops at Costco haha
more shopping at Marshalls
Too bad overnight at the Becker's did not happen but maybe next time. At least there is something to look forward to. And when that happens, I think a hike is a must. right Kristine? We'll reach the Hollywood sign up close and Griffith observatory, visit Santa Monica Pier and do some other museums too.
departure at LAX
Looking forward to the things discussed during the get-together dinner! Haha! Feel free to watch the video version of this post below. Enjoy!
(If you cannot see the video above, click HERE for it )
