Full Circle

Our last days were spent with Mommy La and Daddy Lo and the rest of the San Diego clan. Mamma Mimi took us to La Jolla (pronounced 'La Hoya') for a stroll and to check out the seals. Seals seem to be common all over the California coast. This stretch actually reminded us a lot of parts of Sydney.

On our way to cousin Hazel's place for lunch I noticed a sign on the highway to Van Nuys. This rang a bell and after a quick search, I realised this was the area where a well known American comedy is filmed. The location is actually very un-Hollywood, being in a semi industrial dead end street. Here's the picture:

Any guesses?

Beets, Bears, Battlestar Galactica.

Yes, the Office is filmed in the middle of LA and not in Scranton, PA. It's a strange thing to see a building you've seen hundreds of times on TV. Kind of familiar but different at the same time. We walked around the street and discovered the back lot and stages. The show is currently on holidays so there wasn't a lot happening but still interesting to poke around a little. The security guard was nice enough to let us take some photos as long as we didn't walk past the entrance.

Our trip went full circle with our final meal - we had checked in and had an hour until we had to go through security. Where could we eat? It seemed fitting that In & Out was conveniently located. In fact it was the same one we ate at in the beginning of our trip.

Its always a little sad to leave but happy to be going back to see everyone back home too. Too bad there's 14 hours between destinations. Thanks to all the family and everyone we could spend time with for a great trip! Hopefully we'll be back soon...

Stores We Dont Have in Australia Awards

Shopping is great in the USA compared to Australia. Most things are cheaper and the stores are super-stores. I guess when you are selling to 300 million people - things will be cheaper. Here's some observations from the many (many) hours we spent shopping...

Most Visited Store Award: Walmart - I guess Walmart isn't the most exciting store in the world but I love how its huge and stocks pretty much everything. Because of that - there was always an excuse to go back. Sweet Tarts for a dollar = bad idea. Go for Ice Breakers instead.

Award For Store Causing The Most Excitement For The Girls: Ross - 'Dress For Less'. Endless racks of end of season clothes at discount prices. It's like girls in a candy store, except the candy is clothes, shoes and handbags and the prices are comparable to candy. In many ways it like a treasure hunt where you can rummage through tons of rubbish for a few items of quality and the reward is the privilege of handing over your credit card. How come the guys section is like only 4 racks out of 100?

Ol' Favourite Award: Costco - We have Costco in Australia now so it doesn't technically qualify for these awards but its still a little different. Same same but cheaper. We just can't buy a lot from here because everything is in bulk.

I Wish I Had More Money Award: Frys - You know those competitions where you have one hour to fill up a shopping cart. I wish I could do that here. Like electronics much?

Same Same But Awesome Award: REI - Australian outdoors enthusiasts usually love Kathmandu. REI stores are about 4 times larger, cheaper and they deliver!

Honorable mentions:

Marshall's - this one is like Ross but messier.
Nordstrom Rack - Nordstrom is like Macy's but classier (the sales attendants wear suits) and Nordstrom Rack is the discount version. They have suits for guys!
Best Buy - someone say Harvey Norman?

This photo is completely unrelated to this post but I found it interesting...

One last national park...

We made the drive out to see one last national park 3 hours away from San Marcos: Joshua Tree National Park.

The distinctive trees which give the park its name are a type of yucca palm. As with so many things out here, travelling Mormons gave the trees the name Joshua trees as it was said to resemble Joshua with his arms outstretched in prayer.

While the Joshua trees give the landscape a unique look, the park also is a geologists paradise with many and varied rock formations dotting the park. An area called the Wonderland of Rocks resembles a child's playpen full of misshapen play-doh. The rock formations make for great places to climb around and explore. We encountered a few in the area bouldering around the rocks.

The Joshua trees seem to thrive in the desert heat.

Skull Rock

Food watch: Flat bread at Subway. You have to try it. Its like fluffy pita bread.

San Diego

Our last stop this trip is in San Diego. Spending some time in San Diego allowed us to catch up with some more of Love's family here. The Sorianos made us comfortable once again as we wound down our trip.

After a trip to REI (where Owen gave his credit card a workout) and a bit of fishing at Oceanside, it was off to the District Convention on Friday to Sunday. 37000 attended the Sunday sessions and Samuel Herd gave the concluding talks with the new releases. Friday was incredibly cold and windy. You know its really cold when even the inside of your mouth is cold. By contrast, Sunday was really hot in the sun. I'm glad we have our conventions indoors in Sydney where its just cold all the time. Even so, it was great to catch the convention in San Diego once again.

Owen won REI.

Sharissa caught 3 fish in one go. That was our entire catch.

Costco must be making a killing on these umbrellas.

Food watch: The Charger Burrito at Mr Taco. I was warned it was big but I still went for it. I almost finished it....