DAY 32 - Los Angeles, CA

LA has everything. This is my first time to the west coast and it exceeded my expectations. First of all I didn't know how many Israelis live in the metropolitan, and was shocked to hear that there are more than 100 thousand. We are staying with an Israeli who has been living here for years and know a lot about the large community here. It is very interesting to learn about this whole situation, but in the other hand hard to comprehend how many people want and are eager to leave Israel for the life here in the States.

We left for town before noon right after rush hour, and enjoyed the beautiful ride on Topanga road south towards the beach. On the way down I noticed my speedometer wasn't working and my auto cancel for my signal lights stopped working too, odd. It wasn't an issue that delayed us but I will have to fix it very soon. Luckily traffic was very light and we got all the way to our first destination, Venice beach. The beach is known for it's unique aspects, like shops and interesting people which we noticed right away. We parked our bikes and spent an hour or so just absorbing the whole scene. It was nice that even on a Monday afternoon the place was hopping, and we got to experience it the correct way. There were people on roller blades, segways, bicycles and more, the whole boardwalk was full of a large crowd. Music everywhere and men and women in all colors and races. We weren't the only tourists there and when we sat down to eat we noticed the price for food was according the the crowd, expensive. The weather was perfect and I had a great time on the shore. It is odd to think about the fact that on the other side of the Pacific Russia and China reside.

Our next stop was Beverly Hills. I have heard a lot about the area and as we got closer all what i've heard was right. It is an extremely wealthy city and people are not ashamed to show it. We parked on Rodeo drive and walked around the expensive and posh stores. They had every designer out there, from Louis Vuitton to Gucci and Ralph Lauren. There even was this one designer, Bijan, that you need to have an appointment just to enter the store. I walked around and took some pictures. We got back on our bikes and headed back to beat the traffic. On our way back we stopped for an early dinner at the Aroma cafe. I felt like I was back at home, we ordered Hummus and pita and I drank an ice coffee like we have back at home.

I feel there is a lot more to do in LA but we sure did a lot in less than 12 hours. If I ever return to the west I would be interested in seeing Hollywood and the whole scene there and tour downtown too. Tomorrow we will head north on the PCH, highway 1, which is known to be a perfect ride for bikers.

DAY 29/31 - Las Vegas, Nevada - Los Angeles, California

The ride was long and hot and after a few stops on the way to cool off we arrived in Las Vegas. We all agreed that till now Nevada is definitely the hottest state and motorcycle riding isn't the most pleasant activity to do. We arrived before dark and went to find a hotel. I was in Vegas previously around two months ago, and when I heard the price for a room for the weekend I was shocked. Even though we are now in off-season the prices for the rooms are outrageous, so we went to look for a cheaper option. We found a traveler's motel which was also cheap and was a lot more convenient to park our bikes and unload our gear. We planned to stay in town for the weekend, and that was enough for three of us.

We had a lot of fun in this bustling city and enjoyed spending it together. Before we arrived we decided to try to do Vegas on a budget, but after being there a few hours we understood that with no money there is nothing to do in this city. Even though you receive free drinks if you gamble, it doesn't pay off, because you waste more money on the machines than the price of all the free alcohol you get. Overall we agreed that no one comes here to make money, rather just enjoy the experience and pay and arm and a leg for it. We had fun gambling and won some money at the beginning, but like everyone else left with a loss. We both agreed that Vegas is a place you don't need to visit more than one time, and I'm happy we got that out of the way. Our nights out were fun and the rush from the whole scene was great. Except for the whole usual happening, we were lucky to see the city in different lights too.

Beni and Michal Perry invited us for Friday night meal, and as we were pulling out with our bikes to drive to Henderson it got extremely windy. Uri and I looked around and saw boards and trash flying in the air and assumed it would be safe to drive. Dovid got off the bike abruptly and went to check the weather report. It was before Shabbat came in and the sun was still out, and there were no special reports on the news. We stood outside for a few moments and wondered how bad it would get. Right then Beni called me and I asked him what we should do. From the short conversation we concluded that we can't drive our bikes because it would get worse. Well, lo and behold, right as Beni pulled into the motel parking lot to pick us up, The clouds moved in and it began to pour. Thunder and lightening added to the effect of a storm, and after ten minutes on the road we felt like we were on a boat. The roads were flooded with streaming water and the hail pounded the car like bb pellets. We were so glad Beni saved us and enjoyed the fact we could get from A to B without minding the weather. We arrived at the Perry's house and had a wonderful Friday night meal. Michal made delicious food and we felt as if we were at home.

The next day we walked around the main strip and toured the city a bit. After a day or two in town we understood the scene doesn't change much and noticed how people get sucked into the whole system. It was so hot that after we returned to our motel so we jumped into the pool with all our clothes on. It was the most refreshing thing ever, and after hanging our clothes out for an hour they were dry. We took a small nap and and rested so we won't be tired for the ride the next day down to Cali.

We woke up early enough Sunday morning to check out from the motel and headed on I 15 south to leave the city. Uri and I agreed without hesitation that we have no need to return to this city, and gambling is never a way to make money. We hadn't considered the fact that all of Vegas just emptied and everyone were on their way home. The traffic was just terrible! There were so many cars on the road that our bikes were overheating from the bumper to bumper traffic. We pulled off at the near gas station to rest and wait for the traffic to dwindle, but the wait to enter the line to fuel up was ridiculous too. We ate lunch and after an hour or so we hopped back on the highway. The traffic was no better than before, and we both decided to drive on the shoulder at low speeds to skip it all. We weren't the only ones doing so, and felt it was safe enough to continue. I warned Uri to watch out for cops and as long as we were following someone else I felt it was okay. After a few miles down the highway we noticed the traffic was thinning out so we entered the lane again. No more than 30 seconds past and we saw a police officer signaling to specific cars to pull over. I hoped and hoped he didn't notice us but I was wrong. The cop pulled both of us over and asked for license and registration. I had a good friend in Vail who gave me tips on American laws and rules, and he told me that when an officer pulls you over you should stay polite, turn off your engine and wait till he comes to you. I briefed Uri about that and we waited for the verdict. As we were waiting on our bikes the people on the road were laughing at us, they got a kick from the fact that we got caught for our wrong actions and were amused from the situation. I was very calm and just soaked it all in. I have a positive attitude about most things in life and was sure everything would work out. Uri didn't think the same and was ready to pay the fine. The cop came to us and gave us the whole shpiel on what we did wrong. Very politely we agreed with him and said sorry for our actions. After the 40 minute delay he told us he is 28 years on the road with his Harley and let us go with no warning or fine. I was very happy and we both learned our lesson.

The weather got cool as we entered California and the roads got a lot wider. The most noticeable thing here in the LA area is the amount of palm trees they have, just so many. We pulled into the driveway of one of Dovid's friends who welcomed us for the night's stay.