After arriving back in San Bernadino after our trip up the west coast, we had a few days of down time before we headed back to the Grand canyon to hike down into the belly of the beast! It gave it a completely different perspective from inside the canyon, you could start to grasp the enormity of it all better. As soon as we returned from our trip to the grand canyon we were off to Vegas for the bachelor party. It was an epic weekend! And lets just leave it at that. The wedding was about one week away and Newton and Ranj had a few things left to sort. So in the mean time, Matt, Josh and myself drove to San Diego to check out what it had to offer. It was such a young and vibrant city from what we saw with our one evening there. The people were all super cool, we checked out a club on the main strip or the Gaslamp, and it was just like walking back in time to something in the 70’s. Needless to say I was in my element! All the girls and guys were dressed and acted like they were in the 70’s David Bowie, Kc and the Sunshine band, Carly Simon, Hot Chocolate it was all playing there that night. After talking to some people they said there are plenty of places like that in San Diego. People listening to actual good music I mean. We stayed until the place closed and headed on our way.

Tijuana is literally just down the road from San Diego, and why wouldn’t you go to visit Mexico if you were that close. We talked to quite a wide range of people to assess if it was dangerous or not. Movies like Sicario kind of put the fear of God into you, but it turns out it is perfectly fine. Locals from San Diego would pop over the boarder for the day to see the dentist, or a doctor as it was much cheaper than seeing one in the US.

The change we saw crossing a, let’s be fair, invisible line was incredible. The infrastructure, lay out of the roads, type of cars even changed drastically. It was amazing to see. I would assume a place like Tijuana is quite heavily influenced by the US more  so than other areas further south, how ever it was a really nice place to see. I’m sure I’ll be back to see more of the country. The three of us walked the main street called “Revolution” which I thought was awesome, we were offered tequila like it was going out of fashion, (in a strong Mexican accent) “free shot of tequila to come see my shop bro”. We only spent a few hours there before heading back over the boarder. Then it was back to San Bernadino.

The wedding seemed to come up really fast after all our tripping around, there was a family dinner on the Friday night with about 150 of Newton and Ranj’s family who had come from all over the world, followed by church the next day and a quick run through of the ceremony to be performed the following day. On the day of the wedding everyone seemed very cool, calm and collected. Newton was very relaxed and ready to get things underway. The ceremony went well, short and sweet, and the reception was also a great success. The place was decked out with food and tables, family and friends. Speeches, food, music, it was extremely well done. We all got to catch up with boys from school that we hadn’t seen in years which made the event all the more special. I don’t have many photos but I’m sure they will be on the interwebs somewhere. The entire weekend was an incredible experience and I am very happy to have been able to share it with Newton and Ranj.

(thanks for the picture Johnny)

We all went our separate ways the following morning, uncertain of when we would see each other again, it was a very heartfelt goodbye to everyone, and to all the new people we had met during our time in the states. Matt and I were off to Hollywood to meet my parents who I hadn’t seen in 18 months! Its funny, after about 5 minutes of being back with people you love it seems like you have always been together no matter how much time has passed. We all went too universal studios the next day, it’s been a dream of mine for a  long time to go there as my dream job has always been to be an actor. It was amazing seeing some of these movie sets from iconic films such as “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock,  or War of the Worlds, back to the future, Jurassic park.

We also got to check out Santa Monica and Venice beach together, still my favourite place to go in the states, the vibes and the people there are the best. Another dream came through when we were in the states. My mother, my father and I are huge Pink Floyd fans, to the extent where it was the only thing I listened to for about a year. We all got the chance to see David Gilmour (one of the lead Singers) play live in the Hollywood bowl.  A truly epic performance! Mind shattering, the sound, the lights, the songs!! It was all too much!

(That green light is what pure awesomeness looks like)

It was a sad day when we once again had to say goodbye, this time to my parents. I am very familiar with saying my goodbyes to people as it has been something I do on a very regular occurrence  when traveling, but it is never easy saying goodbye to those you love. I do miss my parents and family often when traveling, but I’m sure I’ll see them again sometime soon.

6 weeks flew by so quickly while we were in the states, but I loved every minute of it, I would say it was one of the best short trips I’ve done. Id just like to say a huge thank you to all the people who made it even better by sharing experiences with us!