Young World Travellers: Day Ten

Today we woke up in time for breakfast and the first job after that was to visit a local laundrette to wash our clothes. We didn't really have a clue what we were doing but we managed to eventually get them all washed and dried.

Once we'd got that sorted we headed towards the Hollywood sign for a hike. We chose the shortest but steepest one which was 3.5 miles long and in the near 30 degree heat it was pretty tough going. On our way up we had to stop for a moment, along with plenty of other hikers while a rattlesnake crossed the road. Snakes are some people's worst nightmare but for us it was really cool to see and he wasn't bothered by any of us gawping at him. I managed to get a little video on snapchat but sadly no pictures. We saw plenty of little lizards on the way too and we eventually reached the top which was just behind the Hollywood sign. The view of the city was well worth the climb and it was something we were really glad we did.

When we got back to the car, we noticed one of the rear tyres was quite flat. We had parked on the road on a housing estate and whether a local was unhappy that a tourist had parked near his house or not, we don't know, but we did suspect foulplay as we've had no issues whatsoever until then. We also needed fuel so we headed to a garage (going the wrong way twice on the way there) and got the tyre reinflated before getting fuel. The machine at the pump didn't accept either my debit card or my travel money card so we had to go in and pay cash - not realising you have to pay before you fill up in the States. After about ten minutes trying to achieve what should have been a simple exercise, we finally got sorted and were on our way.

We got back to the hotel around 8pm after a quick stop in Walmart, which literally sells everything including a plug adaptor after ours broke and we also made a quick stop by the biggest Krispy Kreme store known to man. Inside, hot doughnuts were on offer as the doughnuts were being made in a mini factory in front of our eyes and the queue was literally out the door. We didn't buy any as we were hungry for dinner (pizza) and didn't have the time to wait, but we aren't ruling out going back!

Day Ten Highlight - View from the Hollywood Sign