Day 157: California: Venice Beach

Today was pretty cool! I started my new road trip, and woke up to the super interesting Venice Beach. 

The hostel I stayed at was like an old-school beach house, decked out with an old van and everything.  

Venice Beach was half tourist trap, but also full of locals just hanging out at the beach and working out. There was a huge skate park with guys doing done really amazing trips.  

I think I was there a little bit earlyhigh because it was a little bit empty, and most  the "medical" marijuana stores were closed. 

Traffic out of the city was intense, but I made it to the Arizona border just in time to set up my van and check out all of the features before dark.  

Tomorrow, Phoenix xx

Day 156: California: Hollywood

Today I got into LAX in the early morning, and just napped and hung out until my friend from Australia arrived. We both just so happened to get into LA on the same day!

We planned on just having breakfast, but ended up spending the day together in Hollywood. My favourite thing was where the Star Wars droids had signed and handprinted. 

Unfortunately, the most annoying superhero "Mr Muscles" whose superpower seemed to just be yelling "Mr Muscles" repeatedly blocked part of my photo with his shadow. 

The first star I recognised was Shakira, and for some reason I thought that was funny enough to take a photo...

After seeing all the stars, I went to go pick up my new van. Las Angeles really needs to pick up their public transport game because it took me almost 3 how to go 20km, and I almost missed the closing time.  

After getting the van, we went for a drive up Hollywood Hills, and other than the amazing letters up on the hill, which are more iconic than interesting, the houses were crazy. I wouldn't mind being a big shot app designer with one of those houses someday!! 

Tomorrow, Venice Beach xx

Day 155: Vancouver: Goodbye Car, Hello Plane

Today was a sad day, as I had to say goodbye to my good travel companion, Baxter, my rental car (BZAX606 number plate, if you're wondering where the name comes from).

I had a bit of a wander around Vancouver, but it was a little bit drizzly, so I didn't venture too far. It had a very "Melbourne" vibe, with business people and hipsters, so that was nice.

I'm currently sitting in the airport after going through security - I'm sure taking off your shoes is good for something, but the stench can barely be worth it!!

Tomorrow, Los Angeles xx

Day 154: Vancouver: Park and Ferries

Today I headed back to mainland Canada, but not before having a good explore of the island.

I really like the the main cities I spent time in there were Sidney and Victoria, which was a nice sense of home. The traffic was horrible though. I don't understand how such an idyllic island home can be so bumper to bumper for so much of the day!!

Most of the camping tracks were closed because I was there quite early, but I ended up getting a coffee and having a walk down the foreshore which was really nice. They had some cool sculptures. And the seagulls here are HUGE.

I caught the ferry back to the mainland (a complete ripoff price-wise by the way. It is a ridiculously expensive way to travel!)

Once on the mainland, I headed to Stanley Park. It was free, and actually much bigger than I was expecting, and was great to stroll around in for a few hours. There were some great views of the main city across the river, too.

I then headed to the Capilano Suspension Bridge which have a summer special for after 5pm, and I ended up spending a couple of hours there, as they had a treetop walk and heaps of other stuff. The suspension bridge was built over a hundred years ago, and was moderately steady.

Tomorrow, returning the car and headed to LA xx

Day 153: Vancouver Island: Back in Canada

Today I made the last trip back into Canada. Seeing as I still have a few more days, I decided to go to Vancouver Island.

Yesterday I tried to book ferry tickets online, and their system is just completely useless, so I had to risk it and just turn up today. Luckily, they weren't even half full!

The trip was almost 2 hours on the ferry, so by the time I got on the island, traffic was a real issue. I decided to just chill around the island, and found a little swimming hole (it's an island, yet people swim in the river???) and just chatted to some of the locals.

I also noticed that I may have single-handedly taken out 2/3 of the entire bug population with the bonnet of my car over the last month.

Tomorrow, Vancouver Island xx

Day 152: Washington: Grand Coulee Dam

Today was a really interesting day in terms of seeing how American's see themselves, along with seeing some amazing things.

I visited the Grand Coulee Dam. HIstorically, it was the largest concrete structure, even now only really beaten by a Chinese dam, built in a time where it seemed to be so far beyond the technology of it's time.

Initially started in 1934, the final parts were still being put into action in the late 1970s, but the majority of the work was done during the Great Depression and the Cold War (the main extension came when rumours of Russia building a bigger dam came through)

The dam itself is honestly a little bit ugly, but the sheer size of it, and the idea of how much manpower and initiative went into it went a long way to redeeming it. The Dam Tour was also really informative for something that was free!

The drive on to the west was also really nice, and I stopped a few times to just look at the river and massive cliffs that lined it and the road.

Tomorrow, headed back towards Canada xx

Day 151: Washington: Spokane

Today I planned on doing a long drive, but then realised that I have an extra day, so I backtracked past Flathead Lake. It is amazing how much nicer things look with a bit of good weather!!

I eventually decided to stop in Spokane. It's a reasonably small-sih city, but had a wonderful waterfront area with waterfalls, farmers markets, carnival rides and vintage cars.

They have been harvesting the power of the river for over 100 years to create electricity, which I thought was pretty incredible.

Tomorrow, the Dam xx

Day 150: Montana: Glacier National Park

Today the weather was still fairly terrible, but I have wasted enough time, so I headed to Glacier National Park.

On the way, I stopped by Flathead Lake which was other than its size, was a bit of a let down. I think the weather just wasn't right for it, but I was a bit disappointed with it, compared to the photos they use to advertise it.

From there, I headed to Glacier National Park. Compared to other parks, this one seemed to be a bit of a cash grab, with every mode of transport costing money to use, including the busses, and the ferries across the Lake McDonald. 

I didn't use either of these services because it was still quite overcast, but most of the road was closed, and a lot of the hikes had "WARNING: BEARS CURRENTLY IN THIS AREA" flagging them.

The multi-coloured stones were pretty though!! And I saw a cow moose from afar. It ran away before I could get my zoom lens connected.

The day wasn't a total loss though, because the weather did pick up considerably, and I went for a lovely walk around Kalispell and went shopping. I bought a new pair of converse to replace the trashed pair from 6 year ago, and had some Applebees for dinner.

I do not understand tipping. America, pay your employees properly so I don't have to. Please, it's so confusing and annoying.

Tomorrow, west xx