Two trips of a lifetime in just over a month surely can’t be real but that is exactly what I did when I booked both of my trips to Jordan and the USA at the same time 15 years ago. Whilst the former was my first trip to the Middle East, the latter was my return to a place I first went to nine years earlier. On that occasion I was on my own at the end of a 15-month backpacking trip around the world that concluded in California but this time I was in the USA with my number one American friend Ethan for a road trip through four states.
Day 1: After a night flight from Tokyo, I was met at LAX by Ethan for our first adventure together in a few years. After renting a car we had a quick stop at the famed In ‘n Out Burger before embarking on a multitude of filming locations from the likes of Terminator, Back to the Future and the Karate Kid.
Day 2: Breakfast at an IHOP chain kicked things off before we visited a few more filming locations en-route to Universal Studios amid sweltering heat.
The Mummy and Jurassic Park rides on the lower lot were then followed by the disappointment of the Back to the Future ride no longer existing on the upper lot. It had been replaced by the Simpsons ride which was a thrilling virtual rollercoaster. As a fan of the show I was also excited to see reconstructions of Comic-Book guy’s shop and the Kwik-E-Mart.
After a long, long wait in burning sunshine we took the Studio Tour which lasted longer than normal as our train had some kind of problem so we had to wait for a replacement one.
We then saw sets from Jaws, Pyscho, Jurassic Park, The Mummy, Fast & the Furous, Desperate Housewives and the huge outdoor airplane crash set built for War of the Worlds.
Other parts of the studio tour included a flash flood, an 8.3 earthquake, an old west town (including a saloon and sheriff station) and King Kong 360 3-D which was really good fun. However, tiredness was catching up on me so I fell asleep in the Shrek 4-D ride but managed to recover in time for our final attraction which was the slightly outdated Terminator 2: 3-D ride. More details here.
Day 3: A more exhilarating theme park than the calmer rides of Universal Studios was on the horizon as we left our L.A. hostel at 7:30 am. We arrived at Six Flags Magic Mountain quicker than expected and later picked up our Premium VIP flash-passes (supposedly reduces waiting time for each ride by 90%) which we had to pay through-the-nose for but time is money! Ethan was given some kind of gadget for reserving the next ride and it beeped back saying when it was available which was almost always within seconds due to it not being the busiest of days!
Sadly, the pass didn’t include the then-new Green Lantern spinning coaster ride but it was possible to upgrade to get it for $15. To our annoyance we then found out we could only fast-track the lines on this ride once which hadn’t been mentioned in their spiel. They could be used to go on other rides twice in succession but that wasn’t always such a good thing as riding consecutively without pause makes you feel a bit sick. It was also confrontational as those expecting to take our places on the rides couldn’t which bemused them as they didn’t seem to be aware of such a rule.
We went on many thrilling rides with very little waiting, and my favourite had to be Tatsu, the world’s tallest, longest and fastest flying coaster according to their pamphlet. This was unique as you sat with your feet dangling before they rotated the seats so you were in a doggy-like position and we were then whizzed around the coaster in that position.
The park also included a ride called X2 which is identical to eejanaika at Fujiku Highland in Japan which we both rode on when we visited that park in 2006 and 2008. We left the park a little unsatisfied though as the money splashed out on the premium pass didn’t seem to be as fruitful as we’d hoped. More details here.
Day 4: Whilst having burgers at a roadside cafe further north in Death Valley the previous evening we made the decision to just sleep in the car overnight to save some money. This made us very giddy and really was one of the most memorable moments of the whole trip.
Our first three locations the next day (Stovepipe Wells, Desolation Canyon and Artist’s Palette) were all used for pickup shots in the original 1977 Star Wars movie. My first ever ‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983) locale followed that as the dirt road for Twenty Mule Team Canyon is where R2-D2 and C-3P0 approach Jabba’s Palace.
Dante’s Inferno was the final destination on our Star Wars tour and by far the easiest to track down as it’s a major sightseeing spot in its own right. It was the overlook where Ben Kenobi famously introduces Luke Skywalker to Mos Eisley spaceport by telling him “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy“. The views were naturally way more impressive than what was described by Ben Kenobi. More details here.
It was onto Las Vegas after that, a place I never really expected to visit. I never really had any desire to go there but Ethan suggested it, and I was ultimately very happy to have gone along with it. We checked into a huge twin room at MGM Grand on arrival for only $40 each which surprised me as I was expecting to pay far more. It was admittedly a little more than I usually paid back then. Besides, you don’t go to Vegas with the intention of not spending much money!
Day 5: Vegas may be basically just one very long street but it packs a lot into that area. One doesn’t even need to leave their hotel complex given the number of amenities inside or maybe that’s the idea! It took us a good 15 minutes just to get from our room to the strip or the hotel pool given the vastness of the hotel. We began the day by the pool with a yard of pina colada which was consumed as if it was a smoothie. No effect was felt and back in the room I said we should hit the strip right away but Ethan suggested a quick 30-minute powernap. Over three hours later we both woke up!!
We then went about seeing the bright lights of Vegas with visits to the likes of Hard Rock Cafe, Riviera, Harley Davidson Cafe, The Bellagio, New York New York, Tropicana, Paris, Imperial Palace, Caesars Palace, The Mirage, Circus Circus and many more.
As we walked up and down the strip, we were drinking, going in and out of the casinos and it really was quite refreshing to be in a place where there weren’t too many rules regarding alcohol, smoking and so on. Where else can you just wander from casino to casino (via a bar or two) with a can of supermarket beer in your hand and not have any problems with the authorities?!
The place really takes it out of you though and I’m not just talking about the contents of your wallet! We both tried our hand at blackjack with mixed fortunes but overall we were both quite cautious, especially myself who soon realised I wasn’t going to win big having not done any research on how to play the game well.
Day 6: With not much to do before our night flight to Texas we thought it’d be a relaxing day. It started off that way but soon turned into an all-day drinking session! Once we were bored of looking around the shops and casinos on the strip, we decided to have an early afternoon beer at an Irish bar where a musical comedy duo were just getting ready to perform on-stage. Wary of them at first we soon got into it which probably had something to do with the alcohol! Having consumed enough to fill the whole table within a few hours, we finally left and went back to the hotel to collect our luggage.
There was a Star Wars photo opportunity on the way back (which Ethan had no recollection of the following day!) and we then decided to walk to the airport which was over an hour away. More details here.
Day 7: In some ways I was actually most looking forward to this part of the trip as it would be far more relaxing than all the other places and give me a taste of American home life. Despite having never met her, Ethan’s daughter was very excited by my arrival and had a host of games and things ready to play with me. We had a great time messing around together and as tiring as it was, it really was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole trip.
Day 8: Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico were a couple of hours away by car and it was a nice trip.
Some of the scenery on the way there and back was absolutely spectacular. On the return journey the heavens opened up, and the road became flooded in no-time which caused one accident on the other side of the road.
We stopped for late lunch at a delightful area called White City which played up to my stereotypical image of New Mexico in its appearance. Presumably the aliens are something to do with Roswell. More details here.
Back at the house, Ethan got out the water sliding mat thing in the garden for us to all play with which was more enjoyable than anticipated!
Day 9: My final day in the States was a fairly relaxed one in El Paso and I passed out on the sofa and had no idea that funnyman Ethan had balanced a load of toys on my chest!
It was my first time to have lunch at Hooters, the chain famed for its large chested waitresses. The beer and food was good but the service did annoy me a bit with all the constant questions and checking-up. That’s the way it is the US though and it is of course all in the name of getting a tip! After that we drove up to a lookout point which offered views of Mexico to the south, and then back at the house I tried on a US Army uniform which was a very early childhood dream of mine! I soon realised though that being a soldier was not for due to the dangers involved!
The climax of my nine-day American trip was a rather cheesy photo of us in our green Chang beer t-shirts bought on our trip to Thailand in 2008.
At that time, I’d been tracking down the shooting locations from a wide range of films and though I was fairly content with what I’d done in Tunisia, Italy, Japan, Thailand, England and so on I felt there was a big hole in my research. Thanks to Ethan, I managed to cover some pivotal locales from my favourite film franchises whilst having a wild time with my number one American friend. Oh, and there were also some thrilling rides, large-sized food, the glitz and glamour of Vegas and some quality family time. Unforgettable.
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