23rd April and Beyond
From Wd
Gavin's diary—8.40am 24th April 2007, Room 1444, La Hacienda Hotel, LA
So we finished the trek! We had had one or two low moments—particularly when James wanted to leave the trek and go home after Yosemite Day #2—but there were many more highs. And getting through the lows was an improving experience for all of us.
Yesterday James and I went on the Universal Studios tour, via VIP Tours. In total, there's slightly less to do than at Universal, Florida, but we didn't mind, and the Tram Tour is a unique that you don't get in Florida, as far as I can remember. (It had also been updated considerably since my DK guide was published.) I last did this tour 30 years ago, when I believe it was called the MGM Studios Tour, or something similar, and the only elements remaining that I can recall are the Psycho house and motel rooms, and the Jaws scenario. They've also kept the rotating cylinder which surrounds the tram; in 1977 this was positioned as part of the Earthquake movie; now they say it's a feature of the Mummy films.
Other highlights of Universal Studios included:
- Revenge of the Mummy, a rollercoaster ride which spends the entire second half taking you backwards,
- Animal Attractions, which James has enjoyed at every age,
- Waiting for considerably less than 15 minutes for almost every attraction. (Monday mornings in April are clearly slow periods.)
- Being picked up by VIP Tours at 3.30-ish. We were glad we took the 3/4-day option, despite the price difference of only $3 ($81 versus $84). The full-day people were due to be picked up at 6.30pm.
In the hotel room, James and I are getting into The Sopranos, though it seems little more than a well-executed soap opera with menace. Neither of us could be bothered to finish watching an episode from the new series of 24.
Today we face two challenges:
- Occupying our time before the 8.00pm flight, and
- Squeezing all our stuff into our luggage.
Yesterday I got up at 7.30am to watch another TrekAmerica group depart from La Hacienda. They had piled into an identical minibus, with an identical trailer, and were ready to go by 7.55am. I walked up to the driver's door, half-expecting to see Ron at the helm. It wasn't. He'd been replaced. We'd been replaced. It was time to move on to the next phase of our lives.
It was time to buy a scrapbook to contain all those American brochures, receipts and ticket stubs. It was time to start organising all those photos. It was time to write the blog of my record of the story of the trip...
Postscript: In the Virgin Atlantic departure lounge at LAX airport, James thought he spotted Chris Martin, lead singer with a pop group called Coldplay. After some dithering, he plucked up the courage to ask him for his autograph, and got one, although Martin was none too pleased about the approach. I was tempted to ask him myself if he could get Gwyneth Paltrow's autograph, but I thought the better of it.
Dodgy Video Footage
- Universal Studios, LA (Duration 6:47)
