A day in San Francisco

Sea lions basking in San Francisco harbour.

I spent the last night of this holiday in San Jose, which is about 50 miles south of San Francisco. I had to return the van to Fisherman's Wharf by 10 am, and it took nearly three hours in the traffic to get there. No comment!

Once I had dropped off the van, I took a 90-minute cruise on the harbour. We went under the Golden Gate Bridge and then a couple of times around Alcatraz Island before passing more than a hundred barking sea lions on our way back in.

One of the many Exploratorium exhibits

I then went to see the Exploratorium science museum. The museum has moved to a large warehouse building on Pier 15. It only took me about 30 minutes to walk around because there was little of interest inside that I hadn't seen before. Apparently the California Academy of Sciences is now the place to go for science in this city, but I didn't have time to check it out.

At the airport, United Airlines were offering all passengers a US$400 travel voucher to go on their flight the following day because they had over-booked. They kept increasing the offer to get more passengers to change. By the time we started to board, it had gone up to US$600 with a late check-out at the airport hotel and free meal vouchers all day. They sounded desperate, so I told them I would do it if they booked me in to first class, but they declined!

Pebble Beach and Carmel

Along the coast between Monterey and Carmel.

I drove along the coastal road between Monterey and Carmel and took lots of photos of the spectacular views. It was so beautiful and calming that I stopped to do some writing.

It was sunny like every other day on my trip, but quite windy; however, this was great because it really whipped up the waves on to the rocks.

The 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Club.

I drove along 17-mile Road, which was very scenic and full of amazing mansions. This is the place I would live if I had millions to spend. Not only because of the spectacular coastline, but because it runs through Pebble Beach Golf Club. The golf fans among you will know that this famous links golf course has hosted the U.S. Open five times. I had a beer in the club house as I looked out over the 18th green.

The Waterboys live on stage.

Do you remember the Irish folk/rock band, The Waterboys? Well, last night, I went to see them play in Carmel. It was an intimate venue with less than 1,000 seats. The last time I saw them live was in June 1986, when they and The Cult were supporting Simple Minds at the Milton Keynes Bowl. Totally different venue! They were just as good though, and it was a great way to cap my last evening in the States.

After the show, I drove up to San Francisco so that I could have a day of city sight-seeing before flying home.

Monterey Aquarium

Feeding the fish at Monterey Aquarium.

Monterey Aquarium was amazing! One of the best science centres I have visited in the world - and I have been to a lot! I was only there a couple of hours, but could easily have spent all day there.

I learnt so much about marine life, even though I am not particularly interested in the subject. I came away educated about which fish to eat and not - in terms of reducing pollution and helping with conservation, breeding, etc. I learned about jellyfish, sea otters, but more importantly, I came away wanting to know more!

The highlight was a talk about the fish that live out in the bay, which was given from inside a giant fish tank. As the presenter hand-fed fish, several sharks were circling her - see photo. Yes, that is right, she had a microphone inside her mask! As you can imagine, this talk drew a large crowd.

The place was massive, there must have been over a thousand people of all ages in there, and it was only a Monday lunchtime.

Next stop is Carmel - I just bought ticket to see a famous Irish folk/rock band, who are playing there tomorrow evening. Any guesses who they might be?

Big Sur and Hollister

The Waterfall Walk at Big Sur.

I drove up the Californian coastline with a mixture of cars, campervans and motorbikes from Morro Bay to the Big Sur. It was a beautiful day and one the most spectacular coastal drives I have ever done!

Just before I arrived here, the U.S. Federal Government ran out of money, and has sent all of its non-essential employees home without pay, so all of the National Parks are closed. This meant that I was unable to visit Yosemite National Park which was top of my sight-seeing list.

This did not apply to the state parks such as the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, where I went on the Waterfall Walk. If you look carefully enough at the photo, you can see the waterfall pouring onto the beach, just to the side of my left elbow. Thanks to Narelle for recommending this stop.

Johnny's Bar and Grill at Hollister.

I then cut inland to visit a friend in Hollister, who owns Johnny's Bar and Grill. This is where The Wild One was shot, the 1953 film about outlaw bikers starring Marlon Brando.

I have just arrived back at the coast because tomorrow, I plan to spend the day sight-seeing around the Monterey and Carmel area.

Santa Barbara and Morro Bay

Me with my campervan in front of the Morro Bay Rock.

I was trying to hire a motorbike or car to travel up the coastal road from LA to San Francisco when I came across this campervan. The company needed it taking up to San Francisco, so I was happy to oblige them. It comes with a double bed, fridge and sink in the back. I couldn't believe my luck - no more hotels for the rest of my trip!

I headed for Santa Barbara, which was very smart, but didn't stay too long, as I found it very pretentious and fake, so I moved on after only a couple of hours.

Next stop was Morro Bay, which I have fallen in love with. It reminds me a little of Byron Bay. It is very relaxing and I am getting lots of writing done, so I plan to stay here for a few days.

The Morro Bay Rock as seen from the Embarcadero.

The town of Morro Bay as seen from the rock.

On the set of the new TV show, 'Undateable'

Today, I took a break from working on my screenplay to go to an English pub in Hollywood for lunch, where I watched Manchester City get outclassed by Bayern Munich!

This evening, I went to the Warner Brothers Studios to be part of the audience for Undateable, a situation comedy coming soon to NBC TV. Chris D'Elia plays a confident slacker, who has inherited romantically challenged friends. It was extremely funny, and made me realise that I don't laugh enough in my life. There was a comedian in the audience, who kept us laughing in between the scenes. There was one scene that was so funny that it took about eight takes because the actors could not keep a straight face.

It took about four hours to film all the scenes of one 30-minute episode. What I found interesting was that the actors followed the script on the first take of each scene, but then started to ad-lib in the second or third takes, which was often very funny. Watch out for the show in your part of the world next season. It is a great way to spend an evening in L.A. because it is totally free and they even give you food!

Paramount Pictures Studio Tour

On the studio tour at Paramount Pictures.

I went on the 11 am studio tour at Paramount Pictures. Of the three studio tours that I have done so far, this was the least exciting. We drove around in a golf cart passing one big building after another being told that inside was where they shot some American TV show or other. The only part that was vaguely interesting was the car park that they occasionally fill with water to make into a giant pool of water in which they can make waves, so they can shoot scenes at sea; however, all we saw was a car park!

This evening, I met Suzanne de Passe, the former president of Motown Productions, who has won multiple Emmys and has been nominated for an Academy Award. It was fascinating to hear about her life, which all came down to being in the right place at the right time. Los Angeles has so many opportunities to meet interesting and influential people!

Warner Brothers Studio Tour

On the set of Friends with some new friends!

I went on a tour at Warner Brothers Studios this morning. They were busy setting up all over the place for a day of filming for the movie Jersey Boys directed by Clint Eastwood.

Ellen Degeneras' crew were setting up in the adjacent lot for her talk show. See this funny video clip of her trying annoy Clint outside the lot next door!

I then went over for a tour of the Los Angeles Campus of the New York Film Academy to check out their post-grad courses in scriptwriting, before spending some time working on my script.

Screenwriters World Conference 2013

Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles

I have just  spent the last three days at the Screenwriters World Conference 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. It was nice to stay at a luxury hotel for a couple of nights and mingle with lots of budding screenwriters from all around the world.

I attended some great talks and got plenty of feedback on the structure of my story. I have started a screenwriting blog, which I will keep separate from my travel blog. The plan is to record the trials and tribulations that will take me, a rookie screenwriter, from the first draft to the final draft of my first ever screenplay!

I must get some sleep now, because I have to be up early tomorrow as I am going on a VIP tour of the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, and then I am going for a tour of one of the film schools nearby.

California ScienCentre and Sony Pictures Studios

This morning, I went down to the California ScienCentre, and the highlight was getting close-up to the space shuttle, Endeavour.

In Los Angeles, it sometimes feels more like a Spanish holiday resort than America, as most of the signs are in English and Spanish, and many of the large billboard adverts are in Spanish only; but what is really weird is every now and then, someone approaches me in American English just as I am about to talk using my best Spanish!

Today, I found some traffic lights with beeps, except they sounded more like a bird tweeting, which took me by surprise at first!

This afternoon, I went on a two-hour tour of the Sony Pictures Studios, which was really cool. The part that I enjoyed most was not what I was expecting... As part of the Drive Around The World documentary series, Buzz Aldrin (Apollo astronaut) and Steve Wozniak (Apple co-founder) will be filmed driving to the South Pole in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and for a short while, we got to watch their vehicles being assembled!

My screenwriters' conference begins tomorrow at midday, so there will be no more tourist updates until Monday.

Hollywood

I took a tourist bus around the sites and up to the hills.

This morning, I caught a public bus from Santa Monica Beach to Hollywood, which took about an hour through the traffic!

I found a great little hotel only a few blocks from the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.

I took a two-hour tourist bus tour of the Beverly Hills mansions, which were fascinating. Bernie Ecclestone's daughter had the largest mansion, but I like the Beckham's one the best.

I couldn't resist seeing a psychic: She told me that this trip would be very successful and that she could see me settling in L.A. and having a very successful career in films. I bet she says that to all the guys!

Tomorrow, is my last free day before my screenwriters' conference, and I plan to visit one or two of the film studios.

Santa Monica

Where the Santa Monica Blvd meets the beach.

When I arrived in Los Angeles, I took a bus from the airport to Santa Monica beach, where I had lunch at an English pub, while watching a Chelsea game live!

I walked around the town and then towards Venice Beach looking for a motel, which I eventually found.

My biggest obstacle was the traffic lights. It is illegal to jay walk in the US, which I knew, so had to wait for sign. However, there are no beeps here, so if you are distracted and not continuously starring at the sign, you can miss your turn to cross!

I thought the place would be wealthy and conservative, which it was, but there were also a lot of hippie new age shops, vegan cafes, psychic readers - a bit like Byron Bay I suppose.

The motel was cheap and nasty, and also very noisy, so I decided to relocate to Hollywood.

Why start this leg of the trip in L.A.?

Hyatt Regency Century Plaza,
Avenue of the Stars, L.A.

I will be attending the Screenwriters' World Conference in Los Angeles, a high-level networking and educational summit designed by The Writers Store to help budding writers learn how to write and sell a screenplay. They can then put those skills into action during networking events that directly connect themselves with key executives in the movie and television Industry who can help move their writing career forward. The diverse schedule offers a wide variety of topics and tactics for screenwriters at every career and skill level, so they can design a track for themselves with useable information on everything from the latest screenwriting trends to finding representation to selling that spec!

After a break, the blog continues...

Last year, I travelled from the Antarctic Circle through Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Panama and Cuba in a six-week trip. After some time back in Australia to finish my PhD and save up some money, I am now ready to continue where I left off. Next week, I am flying from Sydney into Los Angeles International Airport for the next stage of my journey from the tip to the top of the Americas!

After a couple of days to acclimatise, I am going to attend the Screenwriters World Conference West 2013, which I am really looking forward to. Then, the plan is hire a motorbike and travel up the coast to San Francisco, but really anything could happen!