Los Angeles and the like

This is probably my last post before leaving for NZ. I leave LAX at 7.30pm on Saturday LA time and get to Auckland at 5.15am NZtime, layover for a bit then finally get to chch at 9.10am where my amazing girlfriend will be waiting for me. I have a couple hours to chill out before class from 1-9pm. Just between you and me, I might skip the 1pm class, but i need to go to my 5-9pm class because thats a test. Nice welcome back isn't it, thank you very much CPIT.

Anyway, since last post we made it to LA. I'll try to remember everything.
From Cresent City we went down to LA. Stopped at Santa Cruz which was epic, I bought a new skate setup for less than half what I would have paid in NZ. Haven't really tried it out yet. But it is awesome.

We also went to Redwood National Park and Sequoia National Park and looked at some trees. They were pretty sweet although I am of the thinking that visiting two parks famous for massive tree's was a bit of overkill. But I still had fun.

We stayed a night at a place called Westport at a scum dog place. That was an adventure and a half. It was even smaller than NZ's Westport. Hard to believe but true.

We made it to LA on Friday October 31 - thats right, Halloween. People actually get into it here. Something we should adopt in NZ I say. I don't care if you think its over commercialised or whatever, the truth is that its a lot of fun that we could be having. Anyway, what I'm saying is I saw a lot of people dressed up in costumes and lots of these were hilarious. My cousin Paul wore a Jean Simmons mask, I wasn't there but I saw photo's.

With arrival in the general LA area came our first stop at an IN N OUT BURGER. That place is amazing! So sweet! 3 choices on the menu, but when they are Cheeseburger, Hamburger or Double Double, who needs more?

Saturday brought the event of the trip - the Sanchez - Jungwirth family reunion. I met so many relatives that I didn't even know existed and ate so much Italian food that I could have thrown up and still been ready to explode. Sooooo Gooood. The Sanchez's and Jungwirth's are good people, and it was cool to see so many people who are related to me who have a funny accent. Except by now the American accents sound normal to me so I know I'm the one with a funny accent.

Afterwards mum and her siblings got together at the Hilton in Universal City, where my Aunt Peggy and my Uncle John were staying (unfortunately their other halves couldn't make it). A few of us from the next generation went and had a look at City Walk which is pronounced like City Wok... Made me think of a Southpark episode every time I heard someone say the name City Walk. Anyways, that place is sweet. We had a good time checking out the sites and sounds.

Sunday we went to my mum's old school/church for church. It was ok. It was cool seeing mum's childhood places. We checked out:
- the Osmond Twins old house which was just around the corner from hers
- her old house
and a few cool things along the way

We went to Aunt Linda's house for a hang out that afternoon which was awesome.

On Monday we left for the Grand Canyon. Mum's cousin Gordon Sanchez came with us. He's awesome. We spent Monday travelling and so Tuesday was Grand Canyon day. It was a good day. But the wierd thing is that it was the desert, but it was freezing. I was so cold. But it was amazing. I highly recommend a visit there if you can make it.

Wednesday we went back to LA via Las Vegas. It was pretty cool. I just wanted to play some poker. So we stopped at Treasure Island and Dad and I went in for a gamble, he went with the intention to play on the pokies and I went with the intention to play a game of skill - Texas Hold 'Em. Unfortunately for me there were no people in the casino so there were no poker games on in the poker lounge. There was a tournament later on but we had to get on the road. So I chilled out with Dad on the pokies, tried a few out and left with 3 bux less than I came in with. Dad ended up with 20 cents more than he came in with.

Today we went to the NZ Consulate in Santa Monica to vote. It was so wierd hearing the NZ accent again. It sounds so yucky after only hearing American accents (apart from us) for the last ages. Afterwards we went to the Santa Monica Pier for a look around. I played at the arcade, won lots of tickets and got a couple lame prizes for my little brother.

It's now Thursday night, and we're hanging out at mum's cousin Liz's house where we're staying. It's been an awesome trip and I'm stoked on the last few weeks. I have school work to do before I get home but I have a 12 hour plane ride to endure so I'm sure I can do some then.

Thats all for now folks, this could be my last post before I get home.
Make sure you vote, let your voice be heard!
See you soon NZ :)