Bye Bye M and Kadda

Today (Wednesday 8th September) was not such a happy day cause both M and Kadda were leaving today and that means that I'm the last one left!! OMG!!
I had promised to drive Kadda to the airport since her host family is on vacation, so I picked her up at and we packed all her HEAVY bags in my little SAAB. I wonder if she pass the weigh limit or not.
It wasn't so hard to leave her cause I know that we'll meet in Europe so it was: "See U later"
M wasn't going home to France right now but she's going to New York to attend a wedding.
On my way back I stopped at the South Center Mall and strolled around there and looked for souvenirs, gifts for the kids and stuff I wanted to have before I go home. Finally I bought a sweater from PINK by Victoria Secret. I have looked at them for a long time but always thought they were too expensive but now I found one on sale :) I also bought some new underware from them cause I love them!!! I also bought new earphones to my Ipod and the sound is so much better now. I don't have to have the volume on max anymore ;)
I also found what I wanted for the kids and I hope they'll like it. I'll tell U later ;)
Before I went home, I had lunch at the mall at Panda Express which is a chinese fast food place and it was really good. I never tried it before and I regret that!
Back home I went to the bank to close my account but instead we changed it so I can have it forever for when I come back! It didn't cost anything so why not?
Before Kadda left she gave me a package with stuff she couldn't fit in her suitcase and wanted me to send it for her. She gave me money and now I went to the post office and took care of it.
At around 4:30 I was done and could finally go home. I was really tired but after dinner I took a walk to Bartel Drugs to buys some candy for everyone back home and some small stuff that I needed.
Back home I had to work on my blogg and organize my pictures so I had to do the rest of the night.

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Seattle

Today (Tuesday 7th September) was our last day in San Francisco...well, we were flying home today so we couldn't really do much more than say goodbye while we walked down to the BART station again and it was a bit sad. San Francisco is a town I really like and to not know when or if I'll be back was not a happy thought.
We had to check out from the hostel at 9:30 and then we went to the airport where we had to wait for 2 1/2 hours for our flight. Then it's good to have a computer with U cause at there it's free WiFi.
For the first time I met a older lady with the name Sandra ;) She was behind me in the security line..so funny! She was around 50 sth and she said that Sandra was the most popular name when she was born, interesting!
The plane we were flying with was a Disney plane so it had Minnie Mouse all over the side. Really cute!
Once we were on the plane, it couldn't take off, cause of some strong wind, so we had to sit there for an hour and that was not so much fun. Good thing it's not such a long flight cause now I just wanted to get home.
It was really nice weather when we came over Seattle and we got a great view over downtown with the Space Needle and both of the fields...it's a really nice picture and it's hard to believe that I'm soon leaving.
We grabbed our bags and then went to the bus stop to get to Bellevue, but of course we just missed one and the next one was late as well so we also here had to wait for like an hour before we could get on a bus that would take us to Bellevue where the grandparents of Kadda's family waited and drove us to Kadda's place. It was already 6 when we came home and then Kadda drove me home and now she was really stressed cause she's leaving for Germany tomorrow and needs to pack and everything.
At home, I had a nice dinner with the family and I was really happy seeing them again. Both Sofia and Filip had missed me a lot and now I felt that I had missed them as well. I gave them some gifts from my trip, a giant deck of cards from Vegas and two glas with Spongebob on from Universal studios.
My day wasn't over yet cause we had decided to met at Starbucks one last time to say goodbye to Emilie who also was leaving tomorrow so at 8 I went there and it was so nice to see her again!
She gave me a little photo album and a devil bath duck, cause she knew I collect them, and I gave her a big, signed IDOL picture of me ;) I always wanted to give one to some one and M was the right person cause she understood that it was a joke and she laughed a lot over it. Now she wont be sad at the flight when she looks at it, she will just laugh ;)
Kadda didn't show up cause apparently she had too much to do to spare one hour to come and say goodbye to one of her friends...so bad of her. M was really sad and I understand her.
We weren't sad when we hugged eachother goodbye cause first we were so excited to see eachother again after two weeks and then we know we will meet again in Europe! But I sure will miss her, my little french girl...I love U M!!!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

Today (Monday 6 September) guess what we had for breakfast?....Pancakes!! ;) With maple syrup...jummy!
Now it's our last day here in San Francisco and also on our road trip cause tomorrow we are going back to Seattle. It's a bit sad cause I would like to stay here longer but also now I know that it's not long until I'll go back to Sweden so I'm also happy.

We took the cable car to the piers, it's always nice and U get to see a lot of the city in a fun way when U go up and down the hills. We didn't pay anything for our ride cause no one asked us for money and we didn't ask ;) We thought of going back and pay when we jumped off but no...

We had decided that we wanted to do sth that we didn't do last time so we went to a bike store and rented two bikes. There was a great bike path that went along the water all the way to the bridge and on the way we stopped at many great lookouts and took gorgeous pictures with the bridge in the background. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm. At one place, a guy just got up a sea star with a hot dog as bate ;) He was so happy!! Good job!

It was a unreal feeling going over the bridge..I mean, Hello!! I'm riding a bike across the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco!!! How many can say they've done that??? ;) Just incredible!

It was a narrow bike lane over the bridge and it was a two way lane so U had to look out for bikes coming the other way but also fast bikers that drove past U.

On the other side we stopped and took some nice pictures with the city and the bridge in the background...well we didn't look so nice after that long and warm bike ride but the bridge was nice ;)

We didn't stress back cause we had already passed the two hours limit and had to pay for three any way so we stopped at a Safeway that we saw on our way down and Kadda ran in and bought some stuff while I stayed outside and guarded the bikes. One thing that I discovered during this trip is the new M&M Prezel....I think that's the best thing they've made this far...OMG, it's heavenly. I think I could eat them all the time ;) Too bad they are so expensive.

We returned the bikes and then went down to Pier 39 and Fisherman Warf and walked in all the stores and just strolled around. It was hot and there were a lot of people! Today was Labor day so maybe that increased the number of people even more. We saw the sea lions again and I bought some souvenirs for people back home, it's so hard!!! But now I think I know what I want for every body and that's a good start.

We saw a famous cable car turn, where they have to turn the car by hand and as always are there musicians that played and wanted money. One guy, who played the trumpet, had a little rabbit as a pet and he jumped around and was so cute!!

We went back home and this time we paid ;) I wanted to eat out since it was the last night but Kadda didn't want to so I had noodles at the hostel instead, very fancy! But we had the dessert at Cheese Cake Factory and our German room mate Eve joined us and it was really nice. We had our last cheese cake :( I had one with chocolate chip cokkie dough (as American it can be ;)) and it was good but as always too much.

The location of the restaurant is so nice here in San Francisco. It's on the roof of a store so we had a great view over Union Square. A great evening to end this incredible trip and I'm glad that I got the chance to experience all the things I've done.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Alamo Square & Ocean Beach

Today (Sunday 5 September) we had, once again, pancakes for breakfast and I'm strarting to get sick of it ;) But I can do it, it's for free ;)

When we were ready, we jumped on a bus and went to Alamo Square where the famous Victorian houses are. The weather was sunny but a bit windy so we laid down in the grass and sucked in the sun then it got really warm and cozy. The houses are so beautiful and it's amazing how someone can build like that. Impressive! This time we couldn't go in as last time but we were OK just admireing them from the outside.

I had brought a bag of chips and a coke so I had a nice picnic next to the playground! Kadda needed to be close to kids cause she missed her own so much...bla bla

When we felt warm and happy enough, and before the bus ticket expired ;), we jumped back on the bus and continued all the way out to the west and the ocean beach. It was HUGE!!! The water is not swim proof but good for surfers and the beach was full of people and kites! The sand was really hot so it burned under our feet....but who's complaining? ;)

After a short walk on the beach we walked back to the bus stop throgh the Golden Gate Park and there we passed the wind mill...thought we were in Holland ;) It's a HUGE park and we just saw a small part but it's so beautiful with all the big trees and plants. There are great paths all over the park and we met a lot of joggers and walkers, I think it's a perfect place to do your work out.

Back at the hostel we had lunch, noodles and bread, and then we took a 2 hours nap again ;) That's the best with this trip, we are not stressed and don't feel like we have to do anything special so we have time to take a nap.

When we woke up, we went out and took a "walking" dinner on Subway...really good. That's something I'm going to miss when I'm back home.

Today was movie time again and now we saw "Eat Pray Love" with Julia Roberts and also the Swedish wonder Tuva Novotny. It was a good movie, a bit long but sweet and it was really fun to see a Swedish star doing a great job next to a super star as Roberts. I give it 3 of 5 Trolleys ;)

Back at the hostel we had a new room mate, a French girl and still our German friend Eve.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Just walking in San Francisco

Today (Saturday 4 September) I woke up with a headache cause of all the noice during the night.

Kadda tried her card again but of course it didn't work now either. Come on!! So frustraiting and irritating. We had until 11 to figure sth out and Kadda tried everything and I talked with my mum....I hate this!!

At 11 I went downstairs and paid my bed myself cause I wanted to be sure that I had somewhere to sleep! Kadda still tried to get in contact with her bank so I went across the street to the little food shop where I bought some noodles, fruit and other supplies that would be good.

Back in the room Kadda started to get everything clear...they could make it so her dad paid her room over the Internet and tomorrow he and their bank women will go to the bank and see what the problem is and maybe they can fix it.

Now I didn't want to stay in the room anymore..I mean, I don't wanna see my favourite city from inside a hostel! So we went out and walked first to Union Square and looked in some of the shops, we went to Wallgreens cause we needed to print some pictures and I needed to buy ear plugs. It was really nice weather and to just feel the smell of the city and the ocean got me in a better mood.

Kadda was tired and wanted to go back to sleep but I wanted to enjoy the city so while she returned to the hostel, I took a walk down to the water front and the ferry building.

There was a farmers market and I talked with a photographer who was really nice, and good. His pictures of the city was beautiful and we talked about all the beautiful things in the world ;)

I had a nice walk along the water and I just enjoyed being in a big city I love. I could definately live here!

One funny and nice thing was when I went to the public rest room, some one had left a flower there. Fresh and beautiful!

At the hostel there was a party tonight, with free alcohol!!! So me and Kadda had planned to go there so when I came home I also went to bed to get some rest before it all started.

We got ready but it didn't start until 11 so we were in the room and talked with our nice room mate who also was from Germany, same area as Kadda, but she lived and worked in New York and was here on vacation.

As it got late, we got more and more tired and of course Kadda fell asleep when it was time to go so I sneaked down my self but I was a bit afraid and not so social and there everyone already had grouped up so I went back upstairs and then Kadda woke up but we went to bed instead...pretty boring but I wasn't in a mood for party anymore.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

San Francisco

Today (Friday 3rd September) we woke up at 6 am cause we needed to return the car in San Francisco at 8 am and we had almost an hour to drive from San Jose. It was good that we had packed all our things yesterday so it was just to put it in the car and go.
I was really nervous, when we came to Enterprise at the airport, that they would notice the scratch on the bumper from when I hit the pole. There were a lot of returning cars and the guy seemed a bit stressed so he walked around the car and didn't look so careful so we hurried from there ;) I'm also getting some money back cause apparently, I had paid too much...Thank U!!
We had to take the air train to the airport and then take the BART in to San Francisco and then we had to find our hostel. A guy saw that we were looking on a map so he asked and explained the way. We had to walk about 7 blocks and it was up hill in the end so we were sweating when we came to USA hostels.
Check in wasn't until 11 but we could put our bags in the storage room and then go down to the kitchen and have breakfast. The hostel made mixture for panncakes every morning and then we could make and eat as many as we wanted. It was really good and perfect cause then we didn't have to spend money on breakfast.
At 11 when we wanted to check in, Kadda's credit card didn't work....OMG!! PANIC!! I didn't have so much money left since I had to pay the car and I had paid a lot of other stuff and now it was her turn. She knew that she had money on it so that wasn't the problem. We had to take out our bags and then we sat in the lobby for like an hour and she tried to call home, her bank, use the computer but since it was Friday evening in Germany the bank wasn't open and her parents couldn't do anything.
When she tried to pay for only one night, it worked so we could at least move in to our room but there she had to try to figure out what was wrong. It was really frustraiting cause this was the part of the trip that was supposed to be the most relaxing and now we were just stressed.
She came to the soulution that maybe some kind of limit was reached and hopefully just the daily so maybe it'll work tomorrow again. Of course this was the only card she had and not a ATM card so she couldn't get money anywhere. Just crap!!
We went out for lunch and it was really nice being in San Francisco again, even though the weather was not so good this time. Now I understand what people mean when they say that it's foggy in San Francisco...we couldn't see the roof tops ;)
We went to California Pizza kitchen and now we had 10 % of since we had the lottery ticket from our last visit. I had a chicken sandwich and a asparagus soup that was really jummy. When we wanted to pay, all the computers were down in the restaurant so the waiter had to write everything by hand and it seemed to be hard for him but after a while we walked back to the hostel and took a 2 hour nap ;) I was really tired cause we had gone up early this morning and the problem with the money took a lot of energy. I'm glad that I have my mum and dad who could give me some money so I could pay my room tomorrow in case Kadda's card doesn't work. Love U!
After the nap we went out again and walked to the movie theater. There are so many good movies we want to see and this time we saw the romantic movie called "Going the distance" with Drew Berrymore and Justin Long who try to work out a long distance relation ship. It was really cute and sweet and also funny sometimes. I give it 4 out of 5 Trolleys ;)
It was a bit scary to walk home but we tried to keep up with other people that looked safe so we survived ;)
Our room was in a tower so we had a oriel where our windows were facing the street. There were two bunk beds but when we checked in there were no one else. We had also a sink and big lockers for everyone.
When we came back from the movie we had two room mates and they were already sleeping so we had to be quite when we got ready for bed. The beds were really comfy but I had problem sleeping cause it was so loud on the street. There were cars, people partying and other noices, I think I'll buy ear plugs tomorrow.

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Santa Cruz & San Jose

Today ( 2 September) there was a a lot of fog when we woke up and the tent was all wet after the cold night air.
I was really pissed when I woke up cause some damn trucks and tractors started driving by our tent at around 6 and they made such an awful noise that I couldn't sleep plus the ground was a bit too hard so it hurt every time I moved. We didn't see a reason to stay long at the camp ground so we quickly packed our stuff and headed towards Santa Cruz.
We were 4 hours on highway 1 and it was so beautiful! In the beginning it was too foggy to see anything but when we came further away from the coast it cleared up and we got to see a different nature than we were used to. Here it was more desert with not so many houses or comunities. When it was time to fill up the car with gas we got a bit panic cause it never came a gas station...there was just nothing!! But finally we came to a truck stop where we could get some gas and then we were good to go again.
At lunch, we stopped in Santa Cruz where the weather was wonderful. The sun was shining from a blue sky and it was really hot.
We went down to the waterfront and the beachwalk where they had a huge, white beach with a lot of people playing in the sun. There was also a pier with restaurants and small stores and a small amusement park as in Santa Monica, but now at the beach and not on the pier. I loved this place!! It was too bad that we couldn't stay there longer than 2 hours. We had lunch at the Bowling Alley, maybe a weird place to have lunch but we were recommended to eat there and it was really good! I had a teriyaki chicken sandwich with pineapple and it was jummy! The waiter was really nice and helpful, he recommended some stuff we could do here and he told us about the Winchesters house which belonged to one of the founders of the Winchester rifles. After he died, his wife believed that she was hunted by the ghosts of the individuals that was killed by her husbands rifles. This is why the house always was under construction and there are stairs that end up nowhere, doors that doesn't lead anywhere and other weird stuff. We wanted to visit but of course it was closed today!
We came to San Jose around 3 pm and we went direct to a outlet mall and this time we were sure they had Abercombie & Fitch ;) It was HUGE so they had a lot of other brands and stores as well. It was really great and we spend a couple of hours there and I found a DKNY dress and a pair of shorts at A&F.
At the mall, Enterprise called me and wanted more money for the car! I was like, OK??!! So now I have paid the whole car and don't have any money left....nice!
Here we had planned to sleep at a camp ground as well but we didn't find any. We were at Starbucks, where they have free WiFi, and I tried for over 30 minutes but finally I was so sick of it that we called a motell instead. They had room and we could come imidiately so that was good. It was called Motel 6 and was only 10 minutes from the mall so we didn't have to drive so long which was nice for me who had been the driver for the whole trip.
The room was not anything special but it was good to have a room where we could repack our bags since we are returning the car tomorrow. Boy, did we have a lot of stuff!! The whole room was filled with the contents of our suitcases ;)
I had these vacum bags where we could put our sleeping bags and then take out the air so they didn't take so much space. But the easiest way is if there is a vaccum cleaner to suck out the air with, so I went to the office and told the story about the bags and asked if they had a vaccum cleaner we could borrow. They didn't, but they had a broom???!! Hahaha...yes, I think I can suck out the air with it ;) We rolled out the air instead.
Tomorrow we are going to San Francisco and our trip is going to a end. It doesn't feel like we already been away for over a week and that we have done so much!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

San Luis

Today (1 September) I woke up after a good night sleep in a nice, soft bed!! I had a wonderful breakfast at the motel, Kadda wanted to sleep instead so she missed it. They had everything U could want for breakfast. Cereals, yogurt, bagels, waffles, eggs, fruit etc...it was jummy!

I took a shower and then we packed up and checked out to continue our journey north. Our next goal was San Luis but first we put some gas in the car and went up the city's court house from where we had a great view over the city. By the way, I rock at parallel parking ;) I've done it a lot this far and they are almost in the same class as M's ;) Anyway, the view was great from the clock tower and it was surprising how big the city was. We couldn't see the ocean cause it was too foggy. It was sun and clear in all directions but when U looked towards the water there was this fog rolling in over the shore...like "The Mist" ;)

We drove to San Luis where they had a outlet mall ;) I didn't have any plans of buying anything cause I have a money situation now so I need to think twice before I buy anything, but U can always look!

We thought here would be a Abercrombie & Fitch outlet but apparently we had seen wrong cause here was nothing! We were a bit disappointed but we found some stuff anyway. There was a great sale at Tommy Hilfiger so I got a new bikini, which I needed, for only $6!! I also bought two t-shirts at VANS where they had bye one and get one for free so I think it was OK, or? ;)

When we were done, we went to VONS (Safeway, just another name) and bought some stuff for our camping tonight and then went to the campground we looked up. Of course they only took cash there so we needed to drive back to the center to get money but then we could check in and put up the tent, this time in daylight ;)

It was a nice campground called Oceano Camping which was just behind the sand dunes to the ocean.

I bought fire woods and then we started the fire. We felt like real campers and were so proud when we got the fire going ;)

I went to check the surroundings and next to us was a river or a lake (didn't see the end ;)) and it looked like a real swamp in Brazil or sth, I was expecting a crocodile to jump up and eat me ;)

I grilled hot dogs over the fire and then we both did corn which were hard to get out of the fire pitch but so good! I tried Nutella on it and I'll tell U this, Nutella goes with everything ;)

Kadda tried to make a oven baked potato by wrapping a potato with a chips bag...donno if t was a success ;)

Of course we did smores also but with LU crackers and Lindt chocolate so a bit fancier than usual.

It was nice and really cozy but when it got dark we didn't have anything to do so we went to bed....at 8 pm!!

When I got back from brushing my teeth there was a deer family walking bye just outside our site. I watched them for a while before they were all gone and they didn't seem scared at all. Maybe they are used to be around people.

I noticed another thing I forgot today...my shampoo, conditioner and soap that I bought new in Santa Monice...AArrrgghh...I'm so mad at myself right now. I mean, it's not a big deal to buy new stuff again but it's the principle....why can't I just look after my things?

Today I also got a email from the ski resort I applied for and they want me to come on a interview the day after I'm back in Sweden. I'm so excited cause this is the first thing that responded my applications for work so I've send a email to my parents to see if they are up to driving back to Gothenburg the day after they pick me up there ;) But I also send a email to McDonald's so we'll see what they'll say.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Santa Barbara

Today (Tuesday 31 August) I woke up with a pretty sore back but not that bad as I thought it would be after sleeping a night on the ground. The sun was out and the camping was really beautiful! Our site was kind of private in between some bushes but behind us we had a big, open area with a lot of site. It was very open and U could tell we were close to the water cause there were a lot of beach sand on the ground and seagulls in the air.

We ate breakfast and then packed our stuff and hit the road again with destination Santa Barbara on the GPS. It's a little town next to the water and we didn't know what U could do there but we had heard the name before so we wanted to be able to say that we'd been there ;)

We went to a visitor information where we got some information about the city and a recommendation where we could stay the night. We didn't find a good camping site so we choose to stay at a motel. It was called Quality Inn and was on the main street but pretty far away but since we had a car that was no problem.

As soon as we were checked in and everything was in the room, we took our swim suit and went to the best beach in the area called Arroyo Burro Beach. It was a long, stretched, white beach that had steep cliffs behind. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! The sun was shining and it was really hot but the water was cold so we stayed warm, sunbathing on the beach.

Here I also got to see pelicans for the first time. There was a whole flock flying past us and it was so cool!

We had some magazines and snacks to eat and it was so peaceful just laying there with no stress in mind.

Back at the motel, we jumped in the pool just because we could ;) It was nice and we swam around there like two kids before we got ready and took the bus in to center. I didn't want to drive cause I didn't want to look for a parking and the bus was just outside on the street and was cheap so I didn't mind.

The first thing we did was to look for a movie theater and get tickets for tonight showing of "Vampires Suck" Since we both are big Twilight fans we had to see it ;)

We went strolling along State St and then we found a little back street that lead to a square with a lot of stores and restaurants around and it looked like we had transported to Italy. It was so beautiful and in the middle of the square was a fountain and there were flowers everywhere. So nice!

We had dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen where they now have a event where U get a lottery ticket after every meal U eat there but U can't open it until U eat there the next time to see if U won or not. The prices are like 10% of the dinner, a frozen pizza for a whole year and also a lot of money. So of course we are gonna eat here again ;)

The movie was great, a bit silly but really funny. The actors had captures the characters features so good and exaggerated them so it was hilarious. The Jacob guy is also much hotter than the real one ;) I'm glad we saw this movie and I hope they'll make one about the last two movies also.

I realized that I forgot my book at the hostel in L.A. Of course I did!! I SUCK!! Whatever!

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Six Flags

Today (Monday 30 August) I had to go up at 5:30 to re park the car so that we didn't have to pay that much and the gates were open so I sneaked out of the parking garage without paying ;) Then I drove around the neighbourhood until it was after 6 and then went back in the garage....hahha we are so smart ;)

Then I went back to bed for an hour but one of the girls were REALLY loud when she was packing her stuff so we were pretty pissed that we couldn't sleep as long as we wanted cause we had a long day a head of us.

We had breakfast and then grabbed all our stuff and checked out from our fine hostel. It has been a great stay for us and I totally recommend it for all future traveler.

First we drove to another lookout where M was when she was here and U was supposed to see the sign better but I don't think we found the right place cause the sign was still far away, but whatever!

The big adventure of today was a visit on the famous amusement park Six Flags at the Magic Mountain. It took us about 40 min to drive there and it just got warmer and warmer outside.

I was so excited when we drove through the gates and we could see the rides. I felt like a little kid again ;)

We parked the car and then went inside. It was HUGE!!! We got a map and then started to go through the park. We started with a roller coaster called "The Revolution" and funny was that this was the parks first roller coaster ;) It was fun..no loops and not that fast but still better than in Sweden ;)

Our next drive was called X2 and I think this was the most popular and the most incredible one. Here we rotated 360 degrees all the time ;) We didn't have anything under our feet and we went backward, forward, up and down...it was a bit scary but also wonderful ;) It really gave us a taste of the American fine art of construction ;)

Since it was almost noon when we arrived, we had lunch after just these two rides and with one of the tickets was a meal included so I stood in line for a long time to get a huge burger. Me and Kadda were joined at the table bye Wile E. Coyote (Gråben) and he took my Fanta ;) But our food didn't look as good as a Roadrunner (Hjulben) so he joined Sylvester (the cat that chases the yellow bird Tweety) trying to win a girls heart at another table ;) So funny!

We continued through the park and went on almost every ride. We went on Batman, The Riddle, Goliat among others. There were also some water rides with a warning that U might get wet....we got soaking wet! Good thing that it was hot so that we could dry off but it was hilarious. On one, Kadda got a couple of waves over her and that was so funny. I was opposite of her and saw the wave rise behind her and then flooded over her ;)

In the late afternoon, when we were done and tired, we went to find a campground where we could stay the night. I had looked up one that was near but we drove and drove and didn't find it, even though we had the GPS. We tried 3 times and then we stopped at a gas station to ask and with the directions we finally found the small road that lead to the campground. It was really late, we were just 30 min from when the gate would close, so there were no one working so we had to check in and pay by ourselves, in the dark! It didn't start so good...I almost drove in to a swamp ;) There was a sign that said: "Might be flooded" so I thought it was OK, but then we realized that it was more than flooded and then we saw the right way ;) Would have been funny if we drove all in and got water all in the car ;)

We had to put up our tent in the dark but we had the lights on on the car and there were people next to us with a fire so it was OK, and we were quick so in 30 minutes we were in the tent saying goodnight. We didn't have any sleeping mattresses, just the sleeping bags, so it was a bit hard but we were so tired and I fell asleep almost immediately.

Today was also Filip's 9th birthday so Happy Birthday to U Filip!!

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Rental Car

Today (Sunday 29 August) we had to wake up early, again!!! to get with the shuttle to the airport. No, we were not flying home already, we went to pick up our rental car ;) At the airport we had to take another shuttle that took us out to where Enterprise was located. With us on the shuttle was a group of cowboys!! They had the special boots, the hats and the saddle ;) They were in our age and really HOT!! And I love the accent, like they were from Texas ;)

There were a lot of people at the office and only one cashier so we had to wait for a while but then we got our car. A small, dark blue/purple Hyundai ;) It seemed good and there were no bigger scratch on it so after just a couple of minutes we were on the road!

I had to be the driver cause if Kadda, who's only 20, would do it, it would have been more expensive. I wish she could have driven cause I'm not such a big fan of it here....and I felt like a taxi driver. But at least I can say I have driven in L.A California ;)

We didn't really have a plan of this day so first we went to a supermarket, with the help of my GPS ;), and bought some snack and then we just drove around. We went to Beverly Hills and first we drove on Rodeo Drive and then we parked the car and walked around, window shopping. We didn't go in to any of the stores cause it's not really our price class ;) We should have brought a brand bag from home so that people would think we were rich ;)

We tried to find a lookout where we could see the Hollywood sign good so we drove on the famous Muholland Dr which goes higher up on the hills so U have a great view over L.A. Many celebrities have their homes among this road also so there were a lot of beautiful houses.

We stopped at nearly all of the lookouts we came to but we never saw the sign. "Where is this damn sign?" was a sentence we used a lot ;)

I did sth I never did ever before while driving, I reversed in to a fence pole!!! Of course when it's a rental car I have to crash! We wanted to stop at a lookout but there was a huge edge between the road and the lookout so I wanted to reverse close to the end so the bump wouldn't be so hard...but there was the fence I didn't see and we got a more violent bump. There was a scratch but hopefully they won't see it, let's pray!!!

We finally found the park where we could see the sign but it was far away so we couldn't really take good pictures but whatever, everyone knows what it says ;)

We drove back to the Beverly Hills area, via Sunset Boulevard ;) and there we bought a Star Map that showed us where all the celebrities houses were and were we should drive. I felt kind of uncomfortable with it but we drove to a couple of houses. We didn't really see that much but we were outside Michael Jackson's house, Mariah Carey, The Playboy Mansion and the place where they filmed Fresh Prince in Bel Air and some more before we got tired and went back to the hostel.

There is a parking garage just across the street, very convenient, and it was cheap also and for that we are thankful!

We made dinner quickly, some pasta dish, and then we went down to the beach and the pier. We felt like we had to visit it before we left Santa Monica cause the beach is like the most famous thing here. Sadly, it was dark now so we couldn't really enjoy the beach and the water but we walked along the pier which has a little amusement park which would be perfect for a first date ;) I played a game where U had to throw rings on bottles but it was impossible to get the rings to stuck so I didn't win. F*** that game...;)

It was really cozy to stroll around on the pier and inhale all the smells and take in all the colourful impressions, and we also went down on the beach and put our feet in the water, but it was freezing cold!! I had only shorts and t-shirt cause I thought it was still summer but apparently not! So it was nice to be back at the hostel and cuddle up in my warm bed ;)

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Universal Studios

Today (Saturday 28 August) we had to wake up early to eat some breakfast and then catch our bus that would take us to West Hollywood and Universal Studios. Here U can learn about movie making and U get to see sets and other cool stuff from famous movies and TV series. We had to be there early cause it's a really popular attraction and it's Saturday so I guess that brings even more people.

We had to be on the bus for a while and we also had to take the subway which was fun. The park is on a hill so there is a steep road going the last way to the gates, but luckily there is a shuttle that takes U from the bottom all the way up...so we didn't have to walk ;)

It was so cool being there and just take a picture in front of the famous globe and the entrance was a big thing for me. Here I am again, doing sth I never thought I would.

The first thing we did was to go through the "House of Horror" which was loaded with a lot of scary things and "monsters" walking around and jumping from back of a curtain to scare U. It wasn't that scary and I thought there would be more from horror movies but I barely recognized anything.

There was a group of girls and boys, in our ages I think, who walked in front of us and they were so scared. They screamed and run back all the time. Once, they stepped on my foot and that hurt really bad...silly!!

After that we came out to the Fast and Furious part where we could see some of the cars they actually used in the movies. Pretty cool!

We came to the animated area where we met Spongebob and Curious George...of course we took a picture with them ;)

Here we did the Shrek 4D adventure and it was a 3D movie where the chairs were moving and they splashed water on us ;) It was really cool and felt really alive.

Next we went to stand in line for the famous Studio tour that takes U down among the studio hangars and the screen sets. U don't see when they're making a movie but U get to see set pieces and all different kind of fronts. For example we went down Wisteria Lane where they play Desperate Housewives, we saw the Whoville city from the Grinch, a set from World of Wars and when we came to the set of Jaws we were attacked by the mechanical shark they were using in the movies. We also got to experience a flood and we almost got attacked by the guy from Phsyco. When we were in a tunnel, and in the middle of a earthquake with the roof falling in, water rush down towards us and a train crashing next to us, our train broke. There were some electrical device that had broke cause of all the shaking with the train so it didn't want to start again. So we had to sit there in the dark tunnel until the mechanics came and fixed it so that we could drive out of the tunnel and then change train in case it would collapse again. Some extra excitement to our tour ;)

The coolest thing on the whole ride was the "360 3D King Kong" experience. We drove in to a giant globe and then stopped in there. All around us was canvas where they showed a 3D clip of King Kong saving us from two T-Rex. At the same time the tracks were moving, there were air and water coming at us when the moment was right and there were the coolest sound system ever. There were things going on everywhere so it really felt like being in the middle of the action. I mean, while King Kong took care of one of the T-Rex on one side, the other one would prepare to attack us on the other side, they were on top of the train and pulled away (a virtual) cart of the train. So cool! One of the most incredible things I've ever experienced.

When the tour was over, we went to see the Water world show which was awesome!! The story is that the world was flooded and now the humans live on floating forts and tries to find the last reminding piece of land. Of course there is one good side and one evil so they are fighting about it. During this they make all different kinds of cool water stunts like going on waterskiis after a jet ski, jumps from high heights, going on small boats and get set on fire and dive in. There were also a plane that came from nowhere and just crashed in the pool. Really cool!

Before the show started, three of the actors had the job of getting the audience ready for the show....so they threw water at us. There were these certain splashing zones and those people got really wet. Me and Kadda were just in the end of one so we didn't got so wet, but there were people who got soaked ;)

They had some rides at the park as well, we only went on The Mummy and Jurassic Park. It was fun and that made us really looking forward to our visit at the amusement park 6 flags in a couple of days.

After a long day with a lot of fun and cool stuff we left the park and before we took the bus home we checked all the stores and bought some souvenirs.

It was late when we came home and we just grabbed a sandwich at Subway and then I tried to be on my computer for a while but it doesn't want to connect to the Internet at the hostel so it's not so much fun.

Kadda thought we could do the Universal Studios in half a day, pfew what was she thinking? Now it was nice to say goodnight cause I felt in my legs that they had done a lot of walking today ;)

Miss U all!

Love Sandra