Howdy! It seems appropriate to open with a local phrase! We’ve just arrived in Richmond, Virginia, a trip which is shaping up to be quite incredible and we’ll blog about soon enough. This entry is about the awesome time we’ve just had in Sunny California (Hint: They call it that because it is ALWAYS sunny!)
Basically, we landed in LAX, which is a much smaller airport than you might imagine, and, having been sufficiently interrogated about our trip we were welcomed by one of the nicest individuals, either of us have ever met! Gary Rybold is a lecturer in communication at Irvine Valley California, which is a community college that hosted us while we were there. We were staying in a hotel on the immaculate Laguna Beach, which made for an incredible view, where we relaxed in the day, reading and taking in the sun (#winning).
In between preparing for our big debate (THB that free societies should not block the free flow of information) and chilling on Laguna Beach, our gracious host inducted us to the severe body blow that is American food. The portions were gargantuan and, being polite Brits, we’ve done our best to oblige the challenge represented by mass quantities of incredible seafood, cheeseburgers, and some of the tastiest Chinese food we’ve ever eaten.
We met our debate opponents (Ray and Jack) two insanely intelligent and pleasant students at the college, the night before the debate, and having discussed the burning questions of the day, most notably the best place to meet your partner (they settled on World of Warcraft) we were ready to lock horns. We were typically rusty during the debate but managed to secure a narrow victory against the home team, winning over the audience with our British charm (Apparently our accent rocks!).
On our final day in California we went to Newport Beach, which you may know as the setting for the hit American drama, The OC (#ourlivesareboss). Newport is as fantastic as you might have dreamed, with opulent homes; each individually designed to suit its millionaire owner. We opted to take a narrated boat tour across the river, having done some reading on the beach. The local resident’s were literally dripping in the heat, which only momentarily distracted from their well-chiselled, presumably expensive, bodies! In fact, Newport has its very own, worryingly large plastic surgery practice right next to the newsagents, so local residents are never too far from a top-up.
All in all, we had absolutely brilliant time, and can’t thank our hosts enough for making our first trip in the US an unforgettable one. We are uploading some pictures of the splendid California on the blog for you to be jealous of.
