The sun shone against the orange sky in LA. We were on our black Ford Expeditioner. My sisters and I were draping on the windows of the car and groaned with hunger. Once we would get to our rented house, I would gobble up my chapati and go straight to bed. And that is exactly what I did. To my surprise, the kid's room had a bunk bed. That would mean that my sisters would sleep down and that I would sleep up. I closed my eyes and dreamed of the days ahead. As I opened my eyes hours later, the bright light shone through the blinds and on to my bed. I leaped out and got ready. Today we were going to go to.....Universal Studios!!!!!I was so psyched out about the fact that we were going to the Harry Potter ride!Trust me, no one in the world is a bigger Harry Potter fan than me! We all clambered onto our car and drove to Universal Studios. As soon as we got in, I could glimpse the great Hogwarts(castle of witchcraft and wizardry)!
We strode in to the castle. Inside, the pictures were talking just like the book explained. We went past Snape's(defense against the dark arts teacher) potions, defense against the dark arts(a class that teaches students how to defend themselves.) instruments, and most importantly, Dumbledore's(headmaster of Hogwarts) office. There, he greeted us and tolled us about a virtual ride we were going to go on. During the ride, it actually felt like we were playing Quidditch(a competitive and magical game that includes flying on brooms) and with Harry. All of a sudden, the game was interrupted by dementors(dark soul sucking creatures) and death eaters(followers of Lord Voldermort). Harry and we went into a cave and made Lord Voldemort( the most powerful dark wizard of all time)disappear. Once out, we helped harry get the golden snitch and we won the game.It ended with the Gryffindor(one of the houses at Hogwarts) common room cheering.
After this, we went to another show that showed stunts on water and fire. Famous serial actors showed what a day on board a ship would be like.Who ever thought that witnessing dry land would be really amazing? You get threatened if you know where certain treasures are.The water was real and the fire and smoke looked so realistic!
Then, we went to the newly opened minion ride. We had to wait in line for sooo long! But once we got in, I decided that the wait was worth. Gru, the boss of minions, was going to turn us into minions!
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| My grandparents with Stuart the minion |
During the ride, we got transformed and faced a day being like a minion. But in the end, a scientist pressed the wrong buttons and we were turned back into humans. What fun being a minion!
2 hours later- My mom, dad and I were on a Jurassic Park ride. We had gone up so high. That only meant one thing. We had to go down all that way! Second by second, we neared the top. ROOAAR!!! A huge T.Rex roared. It seemed as if it had eaten for days. Uh oh. We had two choices. Either we would have to get eaten by a starving T.Rex, or go down what felt like 70 feet!! We reached the top. I closed eyes and held my breath. WHEEEEEEEEE!!!! We zoomed down and water splashed onto us. It was horrifying, but at same time wonderful.
In addition, we were on a bus tour that showed most of the sets of famous movies. We also saw a 3d view of King Kong and Fast and Furious. This was also a good time to sit and relax our aching legs.The ride ended pretty late so we returned home after it. Bye Bye Universal Studios.
At home, we had hot dinner and watched some T.V. We had to go to bed soon because we had to wake up early in the morning. I headed to bed and wondered about what we were going to tomorrow.
11 hours later-DAY 2- We were on the car to visit the walk of fame. According to all the tourist sites, the walk of fame was very well recommended. we started walking around the area, looking for a huge arena that said THE WALK OF FAME. We kept walking and walking. My feet started paining because of my heels.On the way, we saw stars that had famous actors and directors. We thought that the stars were leading to the actual place. But we ended up making a circle.The walk of fame was just a bunch of stars on the sidewalk. We lost $20 for this. The morning started of really annoyingly!
We were on the car again and I hoped that at least this would be good.As I lifted my head from frustration, the huge Hollywood sign was visible. I gasped at the sight of it. Since we were at the view point, the sign was very close up.
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| Me in front of the Hollywood sign |
Riding to the Santa Monica Beach was very scenic. As we neared the beach, we saw huge Ferris Wheels and roller coasters. Parallel to it, we saw the beach. A gush of happiness went up my spine and my smile stretched across my face, lips to ears. My cheeks puffed up and I jumped up and down with joy. I love the beach so much! Unfortunately. there aren't any beaches in Dallas. So whenever I get a chance to go to the beach, I spend all my time in the water. First, the water felt cold against my skin, but I got used to it. Once every 10 minutes, my dad and I would go out far into the water and stand still as the waves would dash against me. Sometimes, the water would go over my head and I would be drenched top to bottom! But I enjoy that!Since our house was close to the beach, we decided to have lunch at home. at 15 minuets to 12, we got out of the water and wrapped towels around us. We headed back to the car and drove home.
At home, hot lunch was served and I relaxed. My sisters, grandparents, and I watched some T.V and lay on the sofa.Meanwhile, my parents were talking about what place to go to next.After taking a break for an hour, we set off to a state park on top of hill. It was like coastal navigation. We had the pacific ocean on one side, and the hill view on the other. On top of the hill, we saw the state park and entered. Sadly, it was closed. But luckily, there was something else for us to do on the hill. There was a Malibu Temple. We crossed the road and entered the temple. Inside, Lord Vishnu Vishnu was decorated beautifully. He was the center of this part of the temple. Rama, and other such gods and goddesses were also simply extraordinary. Just as we were about to exit, the priest informed us that there are stairways leading to other gods/goddesses. Down, we saw Lord Shiva and his wife, Goddess Parvati. I did a last spin around the gods and joined my family outside. We zoomed back home, while my sisters and I broke our heads with answering riddles. The riddles kept us occupied and I didn't realize we reached home. I ran inside with hunger and sat at the table, waiting for dinner to be served.
Day 3:I was so exhilarated when I saw the sign of Disney World! Even the parking garages were named after Disney characters. We parked in Goofy,and headed to the trolley. It took us to the entrance of Disney Land. We got a map and strolled to Tomorrow land. There, we went on a Nemo ride! We got into a submarine and went looking for Nemo under water! The wonders of the "ocean" were amazing!
After that, we went to New Orleans Square and waited for nearly 40 minutes in the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. Once we got inside, I made up my mind that the waiting was worth it. I saw Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbarossa. There were other pirates lying on the shore. It felt like we had sailed to Tortuga(pirate haven). On one side, I saw a huge treasure box, on the other, I saw two pirates walking up to it. AS we passed that, we went up a slope. It was larger than the other ones. But the down hill was not long. Even though the inside creations were pretty, the ride could have been as thrilling as a pirates life.
Right next to this, there was a haunted house ride. As we entered the lights dimmed. We were strapped to our seats. A random voice yelled Beware, before the ride started.
We entered a pitch dark tunnel and the only source of light was an.......arm-less ghost! Many screams were heard from other seats. The first thing I saw was a grave yard! It had spiderwebs everywhere and crows sat on top of a stone dog. In the end of the cave, I could glimpse a blue light. It grew larger as we neared it. All of a sudden, the blue light charged towards my cart and roared. I gulped down my saliva and trembled.That was the end of it. The ride was over and we exited the house.
Outside, we headed to the next land, Critter land. During the ride of Splash Mountain, we went up and down many times and saw critters such as the bunny from Alice in the Wonderland and other bugs. Finally we went up really high. My palms got sweaty and I lost grip of the hand rail. AAAHHHH!!! We were zooming down at I don't know, 100 miles per hour! Even though it only lasted a mere second, it was the scariest and most fun part of the ride.
My stomach rumbled. I don't know if it is because of the ride, or because I was hungry. Still, we ambled to the picnic area and munched on our chapathis. Once we were all full, we went to Fantasy land. My sisters were really happy about this. They were going to meet their favorite fairy tale princesses. We explored sleeping beauty's castle. Then, we split up and waited in two different lines. While my sister went on the King Arthur Casserole, my dad, grandma, and I waited for the Flying Dumbo Ride. The wait was 30 minutes! During the ride, I was outraged! During this time, I could have enjoyed a better ride, like the Tarzan one. We joined the rest of the family and joined the cue for Peter Pan. We probably waited in line for this for about 45 minutes!The ride started out amazingly, the middle kept me engaged in the ride, but there was no end. As I was enjoying the ride, it just ended. I couldn't believe the wait time for that was so long, whilst the ride was a mere minute.
Once we came out, we saw that everyone was starting to sit on the pathway. We too found a seats for the evening parade. We waited restlessly for Micky Mouse to be seen. Just as many kids started to wail, Micky strode in, on is float,which also bared Minnie and the rest of his friends. They were followed by the princesses. Their float had a tower(for Rapunzel). I noticed lion king and Peter Pan. The parade faded after we saw Alice in The Wonderland and we returned to the rides.
We skipped to Autopia, a self car driving place. Kids above 9 years were allowed to ride cars on their own. This was definitely going to be a cool experience because I have never rode a car before. As soon as I kicked the accelerator, the car moved maybe a yard or 2 and froze. I was so confused and had no one to help me. Pressing the accelerator was hard but steering was harder.Somehow, I got the hang of it and managed to get to the finish line. My fingers were hard to flex and I could barley stand.
Just then, we heard screaming. Screaming from the bobsledding ride. My dad glanced at me and my mom with a sly smile. Moments later, we found ourselves on a bobsled, sledding down the mountain. In the sharp turns, we saw the abominable snowman! It's claws were sharp and it drooled hungrily. We sped down. Once we got down, my head started spinning and I felt like I was about to puke. But I managed.
It felt like only 10 minutes ago people started lining up to watch the parade.And here they were again. This meant that it was time for the night parade. We hurried to the picnic area again and ate our dinner as quick as we could. Luckily, we got seats in at least the second row and waited rigorously. Since it was where the parade would end, we had to wait longer. But soon, the other lights dimmed. This was a sign that showed that the parade had neared us. And there it was. Micky Mouse and his friends again, but in a lighted up float.
The princesses waved from their lit up castle. Cinderella sat in her lighted up pumpkin carriage and the fairy godmother led behind,waving her wand. The Invisible Cat from Alice in the Wonderland was spotted after we saw Ariel and her mer-folk.The parade ended with a float that honored America. In addition, Fireworks started exploding in dark night sky. My sisters were both tired, so we couldn't stay and watch the entire fireworks show. But I still enjoyed the whole day. I was lingering in our car, just wanting to hit my head on my pillow.
Day4: The birds chirped and awoke. I brushed my teeth and helped Mum pack up. It was our last morning in California. We were going to go to a natural place called Rancho Palos Veredes. Once we reached there, we went up a hill to a view point. The view of the Pacific Ocean and Mountains were extraordinary. I could sit there all day just gazing out into the deep blue.
But I couldn't. There were flowers calling me to come and I couldn't resist them. So many varieties of pretty flowers.Their lovely aroma swayed into my nose as I inhaled.
We later went on a hike. It was all normal until my dad called me to come look at something.A brown bump lay there on the ground. It's movement was very slow,I trembled with fear. I mean, that's what anybody will do after they say a rattle snake!!I hated the hike so much and wanted to go sit in the car. But according to my parents,it wasn't an option. I had to keep walking. I moaned the whole way. I usually love looking at nature, but today, nature made me hate nature. I couldn't wait to sit back in my comfy seat in the car. Eventually, we got back to the car, but I still couldn't wipe off the picture of the snake. We moved to the next destination, a park. Much more peaceful and safe. I was calm and enjoyed my time.There was huge Korean Bell in the center as the main attraction.My sisters played in the park and I took photos of the bell.
3hours later: We were at the airport, waiting at our gate. Surprisingly, our gate was a separate room with all the things we acquire. My mom passed us all some chips to nibble on. In 30 minutes, different groups were called and we boarded the the plane. I felt sick as it ascended. I covered my ears and hoped I could just skip this part. Drinks and crackers were given. I dozed off after I drank my juice. My mom woke me up to eat our dinner. I ate sleepily and started looking over at the pictures I had taken. All of a sudden, the lights went off and the sign to fasten our seat belts turned on. We descended and went to collect our luggage. We were soon rolling in downtown on our Odyssey. We quickly reached home. No matter where you go, when you come back, home is really the sweetest and best place. I felt relaxed in my house and went straight to bed. I rolled up the covers to face and the fan blew my hair. It was good to be back home.
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