Back at the very start of October 2016, I jetsetted off to the glorius United States of America by myself for a 6 week adventure.
The tears were flowing as I said goodbye to my Mom and Dad at Sydney Airport and later boarded my flight to LA. Little did I know, the tears wouldn't really stop flowing for the next 24ish hours. I cried a lot on the plane, again during my 5hr stop over in San Francisco and then basically cried myself to sleep my very first night in LA. The reality had hit that I was out here in a big city, on the other side of the world all alone. Not to mention, I probably wouldn't be seeing family again for maybe the next 18+ months. To say the very least, I was bloody terrified. My anxiety was at an all time high, that was for sure.
I spent my very first day in LA locked up in my motel room on Hollywood Boulevard, dozing on and off (bloody jet lag) and watching crappy TV. I managed to work up the courage to order some pizza though. Thank goodness for online ordering. Technology is amazing.
As I was starting my Topdeck tour in a couple of days, a few of us on the tour had started a group chat through the Topdeck app (another win for technology) to see where everyone was and what we were all up to. That night one of the girls, Zoe, had landed in LA and we quickly made plans to meet up the next day and explore a little bit together. Little did I know, this amazing person would soon become one of the greatest friends I have ever made. I went to sleep that night a little easier as my anxiety about being all alone in the big bad world had eased some.
The next morning, Zoe walked from her place on Hollywood Blvd down to mine and picked me up. My first impression of her was dang, this chick seems super rad! She's too cool for me! We headed to Subway and grabbed a bite to eat and slowly got to know one another. We spent the day strolling up Hollywood Blvd and experiencing all the interesting people LA had to offer. We also did a tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills and planned to spend the following day at Disneyland. Not to mention, we had a killer dinner at Hooters and bought matching Hooters tank tops.
The next day we got up early and made our way to Disneyland! We were SO excited! It was definitely an adventure getting there, that's for sure! I think we spent nearly an hour on public transport trying to find our way there.
Once we arrived, we realised it was slightly busier than we expected (I think it was a Wednesday?). We later found out it was some Jewish holiday or something, so that explained the crazy amounts of kids that were there!
We spent the day adventuring and exploring the park. My favourite part of that day was when Zoe turns to me and says, "That chick over there looks a lot like Gwen Stefani" and so I turn to where Zoe is looking only to actually see Gwen Stefani AND Blake Shelton! I was so starstruck! I couldn't believe country legend Blake Shelton was just metres away from me! I definitely managed to get a few sneaky pics.
After a fun day, we headed back to good old Hollywood Blvd for dinner and then bed as the next day we started our tour and headed to Las Vegas!
LA was only the start to what I can safely say was the most amazing trip of my life. Stay tuned for our adventures in Vegas! X
NEXT POST : LAS VEGAS - My Amazing American Adventure
