So here we are. Papa Mike and myself...
After saying goodbye to the beautiful people in Raglan, having one of my best surfs at Raglan ever (I love The Valley), and having one last drucken adventure out at the bay with many an old friend and a groovey skate ramp... we left (albeit slightly hungover) the magical land of Raglan.
Grins were planted frimly on our heads within the first 2 hours of deaparture from Raglan as we discovered Dads friends had hooked us up with a business class up grade. It is sooo nice being able to lie down on a 12 hour flight... and drink champagne.. and have as much food as one wants. Our steward was a Maori that surfed, with Tatts like me... lovely guy took a liking to us, and with a complimentary bottle of french champagne under our arms, we arrived into the waiting arms of Vicky, Gary and Ollie Rascal at LAX!
And here we are in the concrete jungle. The contrast from flying out of Auckland with a full moon rising over the city, to flying into a hazy mid day concrete LA was phenominal. We are really so lucky NZ / Australia with the natural world being enjoyed and not paved over... it is such a different way of life...
Highlights and events of the not much longer than 24 hours since we arrived...
Chillin with the Greetis clan... fish burritos for our first dinner (and Dahl and rotis for our second! So yum!)... have a crazy older (read filthy rich coked up late 50's woman. Possibly famous actress or stripper from the glory days), first tell us that a truck we were looking at would never make it to mexico, then invite us in to look around her multi million dollar mansion on the cliffs, and give us ice cream (America you never cease to amaze me)... surf in the warm water - which gave me a very warm fuzzy feeling inside when I realised thats where I will be spending a large majority of my waking hours the next 5 months... ah the good life.
And that my friends, is probably enough for now. The next few days will be spent buying a truck, sorting out papers, and then we shall depart across the border... to the land of corrupt police, donkey shows... and what we came for... cheap drugs (read long right hand points, fish tacos, warm sunshine and cervaza)...
