Part two: Day one.

I woke the next morning feeling more jetlagged than the crew who had just spent the last 30 or so hours trying to get here from the other side of the globe. The room at the Newport Hyatt was nice, but smallish – especially for four adult sized people. I ended up kipping it up with my little bro Josh, who was for the most part quiet in his deep slumber during the night. My parents however were not nearly as peaceful. Both were snoring terribly, and in my despair I very nearly chose to grab a pillow and any available blanket, and just crash in the bathtub. Yet I chose to ride it out, and paid for it dearly in the morning. Enough.

Anyway, we set off at a reasonable hour, picked up Paul from Huntington, and headed for Laguna. I figured this would be a day of coastal sight-seeing. It was an easy and fun option, and indeed something that I would want to check out during my first expedition on US soil. Chilling down at the beach is always a winner, so we drove through the Laguna township initially, before parking up a few miles south at Monarch Beach. Paul and I had been here a few months earlier, when we were on our seemingly endless search for employment. The place is just breathtaking. We strolled through the undertunnel connecting the parking lot with the beach, encountering a broad park-like area buzzing with people entertained in basketball, baseball, laughing and other general banter as both kids and adults alike dance harmoniously under the rich California sun. At the base of the grassy area some 30 or so feet below lies the beach itself. We took the steep path down, lay down our towels in an orderly fashion and found a reasonably hard wetted section of sand which we thought would be best suited for cricket. We planted the unashamedly bold yellow ‘wickets’ down on the sand as Dad grabbed the ball and I reached for the bat. Ah, the feeling of bat in hand. In New Zealand, cricket is the summer pastime almost as much as baseball is here in the States – and it felt great to be playing again after about a year long hiatus. We laid down a couple of rules to accommodate the terrain and prevent the throngs of people from being blasted with a cricket ball, albeit a soft plastic one, and played for a solid hour before succumbing to the heat and jumping in the wonderfully cool ocean water.

After bathing and sunbathing, we figured we’d better get going and check out Laguna and the surrounding hills before the remaining daylight diminished. We grabbed an epic chipotle-doused Laguna Sub and cruised along the Laguna Beach boardwalk, people watching and snapping shots at every available moment. A brief while later, we figured that we’d try catch the sunset up the top of the Laguna Hills amidst the ritz and glamour of multi-million dollar homes and California dreamin’. Paul and I had randomly stumbled upon a nice viewing point earlier in our adventure, and we saw it as not a bad spot to take my family as they sought to be engrossed in the unique beauty of Southern California. We just missed the sunset, but still grabbed a few family photos while we could before jumping in the rental car and tailing it back to the Newport Hyatt, fresh with a sense of satisfaction and stoke with the success of the first day chilling with the fam in a year. Enough.

Coming up: Part 3: Return to Disneyland. Keep Checkin!

Day one highlights.

Family reunion in Laguna.

Stoked on beachcricket.

The boys on the bank.

In action.

Summer essentials.

Monarch Beach, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel chilling on the clifftops.

Return to the Laguna Hills.

Welcome to america. part one: the initial.

It’s been a fair while since I last posted on the blog. However, this time I have a legitimate excuse. A lot has happened. In between my parents and my little bro dotting down in LAX airport fourteen days ago and their departure last night, the days have truly been packed in with stuff. Lots of stuff. And, with little downtime to catch a breath to recollect it all, I have been unable to post for a bit. So, over the next week or so I will be posting regularly in an attempt to best depict exactly what has gone down over these past couple of weeks. Here goes nothing.

*Fourteen Days Earlier*

It’s weird. From the moment I knew that my parents were set to come and visit me over in the States, I was for the most part unphased. I mean, you would typically think otherwise, considering that apart from the odd ‘skype’ call, I have been out of contact with them for over a year. That may not sound like much, but for me, that’s sort of a big deal. Me and my family are, for the most part, a pretty tight bunch. I began wondering when – if at all – was I going to start eagerly anticipating their arrival, and maybe feel something similar to what every ten-year-old kid feels on the night before Christmas. That moment came on the day of their arrival, when the proverbial bells finally started to ring, singing:

‘My parents are coming today. This is a big deal. Hooray!’

After finishing work and going to the gym that day, I was at home, phone in hand - and hoping that it would not ring with my parents on the other line, panicking because they can’t find their bags at the airport, were detained, lost in the middle of downtown L.A or a number of other situations that I had hypothesized could potentially happen to naïve smalltown-New Zealanders as I waited nervously on the couch. I threw aside these seemingly ridiculous scenarios and became calmer as their ETA drew closer. That is, until the phone rang. I immediately answered. “Hello?” “Dad?” No answer. I was about to repeat myself, when a squeaky voice murmured “Hoe doo we gut to Huuu-nting-ton Beeech?” His accent was foreign, and so thick that I could barely distinguish it. Initially, I thought that it may in fact be my dad putting a voice on, as he is occasionally known to do – even though it would have been distasteful, even for him. But as the broken English continued through the other line, it became clear that this was no joke. “Who is this?” I commanded. “It ees a Taaxie drieveer!” the man proclaimed. “Now, hoe doo we gut to Huuu-nting-ton Beeech?” Oh no. Whats going on? Does he not have GPS in his taxi? Come on. My stomach churned as I realized the situation: I would have to direct them here, with my little knowledge of the freeway system, and a huge language barrier to contend with. Wahoo!

I immediately ran upstairs and booted the computer up. Thank God for google maps. I typed in the directions, and had the whole thing planned out, right in front of me. Luckily, they were already driving southbound on the 405, so were heading in the right direction. Still, my efforts to communicate were useless. “Take the Seal Beach exit, then head down Pacific Coast Highway” I said as clearly as possible. “yus, ummm, Oekay”, the man replied. “Noe, where du we go?” Are you kidding? I just told you! This wasn’t working. I asked if I could talk to David Thomson (my dad), and give him the directions instead. The man happily agreed. Being fresh into the country and having endured the best part of thirty or so hours without sleep, Dave wasn’t exactly in his top frame of mind for directions in LA, which in itself has the same population as the whole of New Zealand. So, I got him to grab a pen and some paper, and jot down the directions as I gave them. He seemed to get it all. I wished them the best of luck, hung up the phone, and hoped that it would all work out. Oh.

The taxi arrived about thirty minutes later. I peeped over from my balcony, to see a yellow taxi double-parked a few feet from my house. I couldn’t see anybody in the car. But as I panned to the right, the once-familiar face of the old man shot into view. “Dave!” I yelled (I often call him by his first name). Dave peers up at me from the balcony, his mouth morphing into a huge smile. They made it. Immediately, I ran down the stairs and out the door to greet them. Now Mum and my little bro josh are there too – apparently, they had been running about the apartment complex, trying to find where I lived. Buzzing with excitement, I charge up to them all and give them all huge hugs. “This is weird…my parents are in America!” I thought to myself. Mum looks great. Dave does too, apart from being a little more silver than when I saw him last. Josh is tall. Real tall. He’s only fifteen, and he is as tall as me – and I’m 6’1”. It feels a little weird as I wrap my arms him for a bro-hug. But good. We all jump in the taxi, and head for the final destination: the Newport Hyatt hotel.

The Newport Hyatt, really, is just down the road from where Paul and I live, so it doesn’t take long to get there. The taxi man turns out to be a little we man originally from Korea, and he is stoked to have finally made it. “Sank yuu soo much!” He said repeatedly. We thanked him for the wild ride, and prepared for check-in at the front desk. A nice guy name Chip greeted us, and I flipped out the Hyatt Huntington Beach employee-card to ensure my family was hooked-up for a cheap stay. All went well. We took the little elevator up to the third floor of the hotel, and swiped the key for ‘room 311’. The light went green, and the door swung open. “Yeah!” We yelled in unison. The room was pretty sweet. Smallish, but equipped with two double-beds, a nice TV and a balcony looking out onto the hotel courtyard. It’s nice hanging out in a hotel room – ironically, something that we are not able to do at work at the Huntington Beach Hyatt. Mum cranks out my favourite drink – a Bundaberg Ginger Beer – fresh from New Zealand, and something I haven’t tasted for about six months when Paul’s brother Jared brought us one over back in Canada. Delicious. We chill out on the beds, and recollect the past years’ happenings, stories and gossipings. Stoked.

In my previous post, I mentioned how unsure I was with how I would react when my parents arrived over here. And, upon seeing them or the first time in over a year, I can tell you that it felt good. Really good. It’s uncanny how you can have such a connection with a group of people – of whom can be taken for granted when you see them all the time, but missed dearly when you are over the other side of the world fending for yourself. Family bonding in Sourhern California. It’s great to have them here.

Next post… Part two: day one. Stay tuned.

hotel balcony.

A hint of huntington beach.

Check it.

Incohesive Ramblings.

Okay, time for a quick update on life. I have been pondering as to when to write the next blog, but have neglected to post - based on my notion that every little article needs to be based on a specific 'event' or activity undertaken on this adventure to have any readability or meaning. To be honest, I have have failed to identify anything recently that has been actually worth writing about. However, I have come to realise that both myself and Paul's personal thoughts and opinions are indeed relevant to this journey, and are sometimes worth sharing with you. So bare with me.

My parents and my little bro are coming to visit me in exactly a week. 7 days to the day. For the first time in over a year since leaving New Zealand in May 2008, I will see them - face to face. They will be staying here in Southern California for about two weeks, at both the Newport Beach Hyatt and the Huntington Beach Hyatt, where we work. It's their first time travelling to the States, and thus will be their first time driving on the right side of the road, hanging out at the pier, and munching down on some Reeces' peanut butter cups (we don't get them back in New Zealand - a travesty I know!). I'm not sure what to expect. I mean, I have been away from my family for the best part of four years now, having gone through university and all, but never without direct contact for such a long period of time. I still can't fathom that they are coming all this way just to see me. I think that somewhere in between camp, skateboarding down parking lots in Vancouver and carving fresh powder tracks in Fernie they realised that I'm just having too much fun over here to be coming home anytime soon. I guess they figured they'd better book it over here asap - before I had claimed another visa, packed my bags and shot off to another part of the globe. What will it be like to see them? Normal? Weird? I dunno. But I will keep you updated as best I can.

...On another note, Paul and I have realised that we are about at the halfway stage of our summers' job working as Recreation Attendants at the Hyatt. In other words, we are about 2 months away from being out of a job. It's a scary thought, really. Ideally, we'd love to continue working here. It's just down the road from our house, and to be frank, handing out towels and building intricate sandcastles for a living isn't such a bad occupation. The fact is, however, there may not be any jobs after the summer. With the recession in full-effect around the globe - let alone California - people just aren't spending like they used to. The Hospitality business, needless to say, is heavily dependant upon big-spending excursionists to help keep the industry afloat. Without them, profit is lost, and jobs are cut. The outcome? ShaunPaul on the proverbial chopping-block. Yippee.

What could this mean for our adventures then? Well, it may spell the end of our time in California, for one. We may have to look for work elsewhere in the US, where the effects of the recession are less-rampant. Additionally, we are without a car at the moment. If we were to stay in California and look for employment, we would need to purchase a car immediately to find work. That would be costly, and a possible alternative could be to locate to a city with a better public transportation system so we could at least look for jobs without being too strapped for cash. Either way, we will be really back to the drawing board. That's cool - we will just have to further rely on God for Direction and wisdom. And I kinda like that.

Anyway, that's it from me. I'm sorry if my thoughts and ramblings lacked any form of cohesion - I promise that there will be more adventures and shenanigans in this part of the world soon. Next week in fact. It's gonna be the fourth of July this saturday, ShaunPauls' first encounter with Independance Day in the US. Wahoo! So keep reading, and keep in touch. Love.