I’m staying now in cute little one bedroom beach house, just down from Venice beach! Kirsty & I are taking friendship to the next level & sharing the little couch. I’ve been trying to pick what the unique smell of the air was & I’ve come to conclusion, the air near Venice Beach is a combination of greasy food, marajuana, pollution & salt water.
Surprisingly we’re we are staying just off “Abbot Kinney road” is a lot cleaner than anywhere closer to Venice Beach – it was a great http://www.airbnb.com find by Captain Carter!

Abbot kinney road is a hipster back st with a whole heap of trendy shops, dim light bars, restaurants that are fairy lighten & vegan ice cream delights! It’s amazing to find somewhere finally with fresh food in America! California has been great for that! Last night we shared a quinoa salad & a spicy buckwheat salad which was delicious!
I would definately reccommend if your going to stay around the Santa Monica/Venice area – anywhere near Abbotkinney road is a great idea! The area feels very safe & the street is super cool, as well as being only ten minutes walk from the beach which is a bonus!

Today we went to Universal Studios in Hollywood, which was AWESOME! I must say it definately rains all over the Orlando one!
Apart from the fact that Harry Potter world hasn’t arrived there yet, it was amazing! The stunt show, studio tour, rides were so good. Kirsty & I also found the love of our lives at the stunt show. Even after going on the transformers ride 3 times I still enjoyed every second. I’m so happy with how well I’ve jumped out of my comfort zone on this trip. Up until now, I never would have been keen to go on every single ride! & I’m so happy that the little voice in my head telling me ‘no’ has decided to go away.

The second place I stayed in the area was in Santa Monica, at a camper’s house (the summer camp I worked at in Maine, America). The house was beautiful & her family even more so! They were generous enough to give me my own king size bed & ensuite – which was absolutely amazing for a struggling backpacker like me!
Santa Monica is absolutely beautiful. The promenade, Montana st, the pier, the beach… It all makes you feel like your in Paradise!

.. Until you head down to Hollywood. You feel as if you are in a totally different city! I personally wasn’t a fan of Hollywood that much because it was quite touristy & not as nice as it is by the beach.
Although it is wonderful to walk down the Hollywood walk of fame & see all the stars names. It makes you feel as if the world is a whole lot smaller.
One thing that was my favourite memory of being in Hollywood was the fact that I was able to get a tattoo at my favourite tattoo parlour in the world – Shamrock Social Club!! I have been following there work on Instagram for about two years & always have been so amazed at their artwork! I’d never seen designs like it in my life!
In July this year I called up requesting to get an appointment with “Dr Woo” and was told that they had nothing until next year, but call again when I’m in town in case of cancellations. I was totally bummed because it was on my bucket list of things to do in America! .. Until on this day, I casually wandered into the shop & asked if they would do a walk in – right there & then! Max said yes!!!! I was so surprised & taken back that I could get an appointment, I had no idea what I even wanted! I explained that I was from Australia & just wanted a memory of being here and showed him some ideas of things I liked!
Max Hanson went into the back, worked his magic and drew up a design!
In the meantime I admired the huge pool table in the middle of the tattooist and the astounding collection of inspiration books on the shelf. The tattoo books were better than any other tattoo shop, they didn’t just have photos. They had books of geometric meanings, American Indian designs, traditional artwork, along with the normal books on tattoos. It showed a lot about the place that their inspiration books were based on art, history & culture. Rather than just photo copies of previous tattoos.
In this short waiting period I got to watch “Dr Woo” do his thang! He was nothing short of amazing! I decided to introduce myself & told him I was a huge fan of his work, he was lovely!
Max came out with a beautiful sketch of three Palm trees. It was perfect.
We started straight away. His attention to detail was crazily good, & his concentration! His lines were so perfect & he was as gentle as a feather. Although it might be cost me a little more than I would pay at home, it was worth it!
Even though I was slightly confused on how I was going to avoid the sun & water for the next ten days when travelling in California, I left feeling so happy with my new tattoo, & so happy i pursued in doing something I really wanted to do in America, of which I didn’t think was possible!

And lastly, Laguna Beach was BEAUTIFUL! We drove past Newport Beach on the way – home of the OC! We stopped at an interactive restaurant called Crab Shack, which was a very fun time! We got bibbs, crab cutters, the whole kit & kaboodle!
We also found an amazing rooftop bar looking out to Laguna Beach at sunset! It was exactly how we had imagined it from MTV☀️

San Fran, Yosemite, LA.. So far it’s looking like its up there to be one of my favourite States in the United States!

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them!” – Walt Disney