After our trip to Korea we went back to the states. I figure since I’ve described all our travels around Asia I may as well describe our travels in the states. Most of the trip we didn’t do any sightseeing, it was travel based on visiting people. We went to Maryland to see Danny’s parents and some friends. We spent most of our time in Philly seeing my parent’s; Danny met his collaborators at Drexel, I went to my summer job once a week and we saw friends and family there. We also went to the Hamptons to see my sister and her family (with a stop in NYC to visit a friend), and San Jose to see Danny’s brother and his family (where we also got to meet up with a friend for a day). I also went to Pittsburgh to see friends after Danny had headed back. It was fun seeing people although being a house guest for an entire month started to be a little much.
The only part where we really did touristy stuff was in California. After we visited our family in San Jose we rented a car and did a road trip along PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) to LA. The drive was gorgeous. The best thing about traveling in America compared to Asia (besides seeing relatives) is how clean it is and the availability of foods I like everywhere we go. I felt like people weren’t trying to rip me off as much, but I think that is only because I know how things work in the states and speak the language. I also enjoyed the fact that drivers are not completely insane. The drive had amazing views of beaches and nature. We tried to stop at Hearst Castle but got there just after the last tour of the day. I thought it would be fun to be spontaneous and stop somewhere random between San Jose and LA but it ended up being a little stressful because Danny really doesn’t like when things aren’t planned ahead of time and Santa Barbara was way more expensive than I realized. We ended up finding a Motel 6 in Carpenteria, just outside Santa Barbara.
I’d never been to LA before and felt like it was necessary to check out at some point. Our first day we did the really Hollywoodish stuff. We went to Rodeo Drive, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, took a stars’ homes tour, and went to Madame Toussaud’s Wax Museum. We stayed at the Beverly Hilton which was on our stars’ homes tour because apparently Whitney Houston overdosed and died in a room there. After all you hear about the Hollywood Hills, I thought the celebrity homes were incredibly unimpressive. They were mostly just regular houses with an overinflated property value. There were a handful of actual mansions but mostly they were just large homes. I was sort of disgusted by the end of the tour, and not just because our guide was a bitter out of work actor type. I think our culture completely overvalues celebrities. I just don’t understand why as a culture we treat them like royalty and pay them more than lots of people who make contributions that are far more important to society. I mean, it is nice to see a movie now and then but they are actors, not gods.
I was pretty much over LA by the time we met our friends for dinner. My college roommate and her fiancé had been living in LA for around a year and she recommended alternatives for things to all the Hollywood stuff to do in LA. The next day we went to the Getty Museum and Santa Monica Pier. It made LA seem a lot more livable. I did enjoy all the veggie options out there and the yummy Mexican food.
Overall it was a nice trip home but I was really ready to be back in my own place by the end. Returning to Shanghai this year was much less overwhelming than last year, even with the airline losing my suitcase and the flight delay.
