Some of the good stuff

Hey guys,

I am having a totally boring time in Palm Spring hoping to hear from Greyhound about my luggage.  I wrote the following to the family about a week ago.  It's a bit more of and insight as to what my trip has been like...

"I have had a fantastic day today.  I went for a hike for about two and a half hours in Runyon Canyon (that doesn't include the 45 minutes walk each way from my hostel).  It was really tough in parts but very rewarding.  From the top, well actually from about half way up initially I could see the Hollywood sign and another hill in the distance.  Unfortunately there is so much haze in LA the photos of views and anything in the distance don't seem to come out.  It might be different when I get them on the computer but on the camera screen I could hardly make out the sign at all.  The views over the city were incredible, as were the views into the canyon and at the surrounding slopes.

"I had bought my lunch from this awesome supermarket (but mostly food so not really a proper supermarket) called Wholefoods.  They have a good ratio of organic and local fruit and veg.  Most of the canned goods etc are either organic or "health conscious" so low fat or sodium or sugar.  Then they have this amazing salad bar, with a huge array of pre-made salads, and salad ingredients, and things like frittata, and chicken wings and antipasto and soup and a million other things it seems.  So you can get a container of salad to take home for a few people for dinner or you can make a little mixed box and assemble your own meal.  I had 2 kinds of tabouleh, a wild rice salad with craisins and pecans, a pasta salad with chopped fresh tomato and capers, some tuna, some grated carrot, some chopped cos lettuce, some corn and some hummus.  It was a delicious little sample box and just what I need after my big hike, I also had and apple and a nectarine.  I sat in a green little park at the bottom of the trail, champion lunch.

"After I walked back to my hostel I had a shower and washed my hair and headed out again.  I caught the buss to the LA farmers market which I think was a farmers market in the 70s or something but now it's mostly little eateries and some touristy shops.  The farmers market is near a shopping centre I think called the Grove which is quite trendy.  It's sort of like fake little streets on a big block that are all nicely paved and planned and there's music playing and people shopping.  It was also quite touristy but worth a look.

"By this stage it was about 4-4:30 and I headed down to the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  It's supposed to be the best modern art museum in the country.  I saw a couple of interesting exhibitions there but one particularly good one.  It was a celebration of 50 years of acquisitions so it was like the best moat impressive and most important pieces that the museum has.  There were quite a few Picasso's and Andy Warhol's.

"That museum is next to the La Brea tar pits.  I was really into seeing these tar pits in the middle of a city.  They have pulled so many ice age fossils from the pits and one of them still is excavated, dad would've loved it.  You guys should read about it on Wikipedia, it's so interesting.  It's amazing to see the methane still bubbling away, did I mention IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY!!!  The museum for the tar pits was shut by the time I get there at about 7pm so I might have to squeeze another visit in.

"Yesterday I hung out with 3 girls I've met at the hostel.  We caught the bus to Santa Monica to lounge on the beach for a while and then we walked to Venice beach.  I hadn't got around to seeing Venice beach while I was in that part of town so I was keen to go along.  I really liked it, very bohemian with heaps of hippie type stalls and shops and heaps of rastas.  There were allot of shops selling medical marijuana: my favourite one was next to the beachside botox shop, I took a photo of these two because it was like something from another planet.  We also walked around the Venice canals, there were quite lovely.  The town was built on marshland and these fake canals were constructed as a sort of theme for the city which was then called "Venice of America" or something like that.  It was a beatnik town but when prohibition came in it killed the feel of the city, eventually the canals were all filled in and paved because the beatniks and tourists weren't coming anymore.  Then about 20 years ago they restored 3 miles of the canals and now you can walk along them, envying all the pretty houses that back onto them and their little boats they float around to their neighbours on.

"It was quite a big couple of days really - shitloads of walking.  Tomorrow I'm going on the tour of movie stars homes and must see LA sights, kodak theatre etc.

"Missing you heaps and wish you were with me!"