Lauren, her mum Cindy , and Kate (my first flatmate from Canterbury) picked me up from LAX and brought me to their home in Arrowhead (about an hour 40 from LAX with minimal traffic). Kate was making a pit stop to see Lauren on her way home to England. It was her frist time in America and shes gets to experience the 4th of July...
When we arrived to the house, Cindy and her husband Robert were over the top welcoming; bringing my bags in with me and showing me around. Sadie, their English Sheep dog, was not. Those of you who know me know how much I love dogs, so it hurt a little. Fortunately, I was able to win her heart and we are now pretty much bestfriends. As well as Tilly the cat, who reminded me so much of Kitty Kitty in Mason who I get to see soon, just not as fat.
Cindy made some home made pizza for us, while Robert cracked open one of his homebrew stouts. I don't know if it was the lack of good beer in NZ, the fact that it was free, that it was 11:00 pm after 12 hours of flying, nonsense, and driving, or just a really, really good beer, but I am not sure if I have tasted such a good brew. Cancelled flight stranded at LAX to this...seriously, can a situation possibly turn around that drastically? I vote no.
The next day consisted of hanging out on the dock or on the boat on Lake Arrowhead in the 92 degree California sun. We ate some great food, met some great people, tie dyed some shirts for the 4th of July, saw some celebrity houses on the lake (Sammay Hagar, Dorris Day, Andre Agassi, Axle Rose, Jay Leno, and heaps more), and ended the night with some S'mores and a IBC Root Beer (NZ doesn't have root beer, probably their biggest flaw). Incredible day, amazing people, and absolutely a hand of God on the entire situation.
The next morning, Kate and Lo Lo got up with me at 4am to take me to the airport. I said my goodbyes to the animals, then to Rob and Cindy, and we took off. It wokred out perfectly for Lauren and Kate because they were able to beat the traffic in, drop me off, then hang out on the beaches, see some friends, and show Kate around Santa Monica and LA. This was the second time I had to say bye to Kate and the third to Lauren. Man, it hurts more and more every time.
It honestly blows my mind how blessed I am, and how wonderful people are. One of my fears coming back to the US was the culture shock I would experience from the crazy as Kiwi hospitality to the pretty common selfish American. It was so nice to have loving people take me in and care for me like that. I am so thankful.
Time to head home to he East Coast! See you all soon =]
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