Ah Malibu. This place is truely a paradise. We awoke to the sound of the ocean waves (since the campground overlooked the coast, which was ALL beach). We had breakfast, then hopped in the Jeep and headed for Los Angeles.

Passing through Santa Monica, we stopped at Santa Monica Pier for some views of the beach. There were lots of fisherman on the pier too, which was neat to see. It wasn’t big though, so we were quickly back in the Jeep.

Our next stop, Hollywood Blvd. We passed by Beverly Hills (which we check out later) and park. As soon as we hit the main street, the people hit us. The walk of fame stars lines the sidewalks on either side of the busy street. We walked, checking out stores and hunting for our favourite stars on the sidewalk. Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and even Bugs Bunny were all seen, along with MANY more.

After Hollywood, we went on a hunt for the Hollywood sign in Hollywood Hills. Believe it or not, it took us over an hour to find it. It’s not as big as we thought it was, but in the end, we fullfilled our destiny and saw it.

Now on to Beverly Hills. Yes, the hills. Now, I used to live on Rideau Road in Calgary, which is one of the highest valued properties in the city. I’ll simply say this. Take any ritzy location you have ever been to, and times it by 1000. Beverly Hills was pure luxury. The 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee that we were driving was the junkiest car we saw the entire time in the hills. Cars that passed us consisted of Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Bently. It was very cool to see all of the homes with their large entrance gates. Something to note, there are no garages. They don’t need them. All cars are parked out front, as if the driveways were each homes’ individual showroom for their automobiles.

The most popular brand of car I saw in west Los Angeles was by far Mercedes, but seeing the Bentlys and the Lamborghinis was very cool. Oh and, Porsches are also a dime a dozen here. Now that I was seen it, I believe that this really is the land of the rich and famous.

We headed back to our campsite in Malibu and back to the beach. We relaxed for a bit, checked out a bust that went down (with guns and over 10 police cars AND a helicopter), and are now taking the time to update the site.

As a side note not to be forgotten, from Chris, Kelly, and myself to each of our dads… HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!

Today is mostly driving. We got up at 6:30am, as we barely slept, and Kelly lead off the driving. By 8:30am, the temperature was already 32 degrees. We stopped in Bristow for some groceries and a car wash, then Chris drove us for a while.

The speed limit in Arizona was 75mph, but here in Cali it’s 70mph. Every now and then you’ll see a state trooper, but mostly it’s just signs that say “Speed Monitored by Aircraft”.

At 1:00pm, we had our first scare. The Jeep picked up a very strong vibration from the pavement, and we thought (ok, I thought) we had blown a tire as the whole vehicle was shaking violently. Chris pulled over and everything appeared to be well. Onward.

Camping for evening is planned for Malibu, just outside of Santa Monica. All of these names I have only ever heard of are now being witnessed for the first time. The drive on highway 23 between Fillmore, California and Malibu is absolutely breathtaking. The roads are narrow and VERY windy, but very fun, with some great views of the hills of California. Before we knew it, we were back at the ocean, and within minutes, we were driving up a paved road to Malibu Beach RV Park where we got a campsite for two nights. Tomorrow will be spent browsing Los Angeles including Beverly Hills, Holleywood, and the famous Sunset Blvd.

Since we got to Malibu much earlier than we had planned, we headed straight for the beach after setting up camp. I haven’t swam in the ocean since going to the Dominican Republic for Spring Break back in College. Kelly had fun letting the waves get her wet, while Chris and myself attempted to attack them. Chris prevailed, however, the waves (of which were around 2-4 feet in height) got the best of me. A large one hit me, knocked me down, dragged me inland, and dumped me on shore with nothing but lungs full of sea water and sand. I gagged as I could feel the power of the wave force water into my nostrils and down my throat, filling my mouth along the way.

I went in once after that, only to clean myself of sand. We all had sand in places we never imagined could ever get sand. We’ll meet again ocean. Ocean, 1. Ian, 0.

Kelly lead of the driving day today. It was less than an hour before we got to the gates of Grand Canyon National Park. After looking at some insects in glass at the gift shop near the entrance, we headed for the first lookout.

If you have never seen the canyon, then think of how big YOU think it is. Now let me say, that it is MUCH bigger than you are thinking. It is one friggin’ big ditch in the ground. Averaging one mile deep, it was quite the view. We checked out various view points and took lots of photos. Some of Chris making his way to the edge too. At around 1:45pm we had lunch, then mapped out where we were planning to camp next.

Needles, California was our destination. Unfortunately for us, it was more desert camping. At 5:25pm we crossed the Colorado River back into California where the temperature officially rolled over to 39 degrees (102 ferenheit) which is officially the trip record for the hottest temperature. This would prove to be a “not-so-good” thing.

After setting up camp and having sausages for dinner, we desperately attempted to sleep in the Mojave heat. It was pure impossible. We all layed there, sweating, wide awake. Even after a swim in the pool and a cold drink, we couldn’t do it. In short only, except for Kelly of course, we all layed on top of our sleeping bags. The entire night was spent rolling around, watching the moon (as we had removed the tent cover in an attempt to allow air to flow more freely), and sipping water.

So much for Vegas. Time to move on. We had our fun, saw the sights, and are ready to head to our next destination, the Grand Canyon.

On our travels to the canyon, we passed Lake Mead and drove across Hoover Dam. It was really busy with traffic, so we never got a clear photo ‘op from the high-side. It was blistering hot too. Anyway, we stopped for a break and some sunscreen and then were back on the road.

We stopped for a break in Kingman, Arizona, then arrived at a KOA around 4:30pm. We had pasta for dinner, played some cribbage, and had a few arousing rounds of Mad Libs before going to bed.

Max temperature for todays drive = 37 degrees