Los Angeles

"Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement"
- Red Hot Chili Peppers

By the time we arrived in Los Angeles, we were hot, dusty and all in desperate need of a shower. The desert had worn us down, but the figurative (and literal) lights of LA ushered us onward.

The first thing we did was hike the Hollywood hills - up towards the iconic Hollywood sign. Cliche? Yes. But in a way I think we were all feeling a little jaded, and the sign and the hills somehow verified that we were really there. It was a hot hike: we left our hydration packs in the car and by the time we reached the summit I was sunburned and thirsty. But the view over LA made it worth it. What a sprawling city - glittering in the midday sun it seemed to go on for miles in every direction.

That night we got dressed up and headed to Venice Beach in Santa Monica. It was the last night of my twenty-fourth year and I couldn't have dreamed of a better way to spend it. We walked along the beach in bare feet - I dipped my feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. As the sun set over the water we settled onto a patio on the boardwalk - the Venice Beach Ale House - and toasted to birthdays, travel and adventure.

The next day I woke up in Hollywood.