Day 5 Los Angeles

Well a bit of good fortune this morning at breakfast as one of the guests called Bonnie overheard me asking directions to Venice Beach. Bonnie was here on a family matter with her friend Mac and they kindly undertook to show the lost Scotsman the way. I was liking LA straight away. It was hot and sunny as we took the bus and got chatting. Turns out Bonnie was part of one of the original haulage companies in the US and Mac is on his way to his pharmacy degree.

I got the feeling as we sat outside the transfer bus stop by a Taco Bell that all was not as it should be after thirty minutes and obviously so did the Taco Bell Manager. He came out to scare us off...only kidding...to tell us the bus no longer came this way. Good on you Taco Bell Manger have some karma. So we got the taxi and I checked into the hostel.

Bonnie and Mac had been to the beach the day before and as I stood in pea soup fog it was hard to hide my dissapointment as they described the miles of beach, palm trees and mountain scenery from the day before. We walked the strip and laughed at the T shirts on sale. I posed at muscle beach and made the body builders envious. After a loveley lunch and a beer..(thanks Mac for picking up the tab that was very kind) we said our cherios and I hit the hostel.

My roommates were Bruno from France who has been travelling fifteen years and works in between for the world wildlife fund and Meghan from Canada who after finishing studying went travelling and now works with the airlines. Meghan told me about the limo tour that night laid on by the hostel and at fifteen bucks looked a good way to see LA. Bruno was having an early one as his camper van was due to arrive by container on a ship from somewhere I had not even heard off.

Limo did not show so Meghan and myself had a beer next door and hit it off with the locals. We were invited to meet them at the strangest of named clubs called the "AC Club" and given its architecture later transpired to resemble a shoe box I can only imagine the deigner was also given the job of picking its name too. In fairness it looked good inside or at least from what we could see when the doorman would not let us in because I had shorts on.

Leading up to this Meghan and myself agreed that after a three mile walk to try and find the place it probably went against all the safe travel rules for two complete strangers geting lost in the third largest city in the world in one of its less secure neighbourhoods ...but we lived. Not to be put off we trekked another three miles and got lost again...ending up in Santa Monica. (Meghan you never complained once that you were in flip flops..made of strong stuff the Canadians). Still we got to see the next Jim Morrison perform in an Irish Bar and he made the best stage departure ever falling backwards through the fire exit door. He then walked in the front door as we were leaving oblivious to the crowd. See there still are rock n roll stars out there everyone.