Not much to say about Anaheim, it felt like the town was all about Disneyland and not much else. But then again we did spend our three days there just going to Disneyland, so what can you do?
In LA we stayed in the Koreatown district, so everything felt weirdly Asian. Not Asian like living in Asia, but like Chinatown in any other city I guess? The city felt a bit dirty, I’m told the metro elevators smelled bad, and there was grafitti everywhere and a high incidence of homeless people. One time we took an elevator to get to the Metro and there was a homeless person smoking in the elevator. When he saw the kids, he promptly killed the cigarette and muttered apologetically “I don’t smoke near kids.” Hollywood was all ritz and glitter and tourist traps though.
We only spent a couple of nights and one full day in Las Vegas, but the heat was insufferable. And considering I’m from Manila, that’s saying something. It was hot too in LA and Anaheim, but LV had a weird sort of desert heat that seemed to linger on your skin. On our full day, we opted to spend most of daylight just hanging out in the hotel room, with the occasional outside forays for food. We spent the night on a short walking tour among the nearby hotels and the free shows like the Atlantis show at the forum or the fountain at Bellagio. Our LV-native cousin was our guide, and we (or they at least) took a lot of pictures.
We spent a few days in Houston, enough to bring the kids to attractions like the Space Center, Kemah Boardwalk, the Aquarium, and the Natural Science Museum. The kids enjoyed some of the rides; I tried one of the tamer ones at the Boardwalk, but still came away dizzy. I’m too old for these things. Science geek that I am, I most enjoyed the Space Center and the Natural Science Museum.
Houston felt like a large expanse where everything was so far away from each other. We were lucky to be visiting a cousin who could drive us around; it would have been impossible to live here without a car. There’s always so much room everywhere, even downtown Houston never felt congested or anything remotely like Metro Manila.
The trip is only halfway done, but I think the most exhausting days should be behind me. Famous last words?
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