2nd August 2016

It's been a cloudy day today. The crowds of people that were here for the last two days have packed up and gone home. It's peaceful. Calm.

I had an exciting trip to the laundromat! We have used the last of our underwear and socks so needs must. But it's another exciting American experience. Why do they have so many laundromats? Surely in a country where every need is met (even needs you didn't know you had) every household must have a washing machine? The very nice Mexican lady offered us a service wash that would be ready that evening, so we left her with the bags of laundry and headed towards Golf n' Stuff Adventure golf.

There is no other country that does Crazy golf like America. They do it so much bigger and better than anywhere else. It's a bit of a holiday tradition for me. When I first holidayed in Spain as a child, my mum and dad used to take us to them; and since then, most holidays that I have spent we have managed to find one. As I say, America totally knows how to do them well. Maintained and very much a family event, the course was 18 holes, and it was brilliant fun. The n' stuff part was a variety of rides and an amusement arcade. We bought a special deal that got us a round of golf, one ride and four arcade tokens. The rides were water dodgems, dodgem-cars, laser tag or go-carts.

We chose the go-carts as the track was empty. As I was wearing flip flops, I could only be a passenger, so Andrew took one car, and Oliver was driving me. Well, I have never laughed so much! Oliver put his pedal to the metal and we flew off around the track - hairpin bends and chicanes not slowing him down. It was brilliant. Oliver was quite the driver, and Andrew couldn't keep up!

The tokens were spent on pin ball and various driving games. Then we decided to head back to the hotel for a swim.

Wait ... I've not mentioned food have I? We have all downgraded our appetites to fruit for breakfast. We are stuffed. Really, the food in the morning is just layering on top of the food from the previous evening. Urgh.

However, what we did find on our way back was (drum roll) a In-n-Out Burger! At last, one that we could get in the door of. It's a simple idea. The ingredients are all fresh. The promise is that nothing is ever frozen, kept hot or microwaved. It was started in 1948 by a husband and wife team and is mainly found on the Pacific Coast and South West of America. The menu is super simple; hamburger, cheeseburger, double-double (double burger, double cheese), fries, milkshakes (3 flavours) and soft drinks. This way, they can take orders quickly, make the burgers quickly, and the customers are in-n-out (get it?) quickly. We loved it. The staff were so friendly and it was so clean. Delicious.

More food added onto that fruit then.

We took a drive back through Downtown Ventura to get some photos, and to book tickets for the cinema. We decided we couldn't not visit that amazing Art Deco cinema, so we booked tickets for 'The Secret Life of Pets' for that evening.

We had a dip in the pool, then went back to the laundromat to collect the washing. It was washed, dried and folded, all for 11 dollars. Which is actually embarrassingly cheap. Felt a little like slave labour, and the lady in there was so lovely. I felt like I'd exploited someone. We visited a local bar for a snack, then settled down in the cinema to watch the film. It was a nice way to spend the evening, and the film was good fun.

We have decided to make this our last night here, and are heading off in the morning to LA. A day earlier than planned, because we are getting itchy feet to be on the road to a new place. So we are all packed up again.

We are going to head for Hollywood via a shopping outlet, where Oliver is hoping to get some new trainers - he's saved his dollars and he's ready to spend!

Until tomorrow...

Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't; but keep on dreamin' — this is Hollywood. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin.' Pretty Woman 1990