For March Break, my mom and I went to Hollywood for a one week. I am going to be writing about my experience and what I saw on our trip. Ever since I was 7, I always dreamed about the day would I visit to Hollywood. Well, three years later, I got to go.

It all started three days after my birthday, when my mom said these simple words before she went to work: “Oh, Joanne, for March Break, me and you, we are going to go to Hollywood.” I replied “Ok”, and then I asked myself, “Did I reply to my mom in a simple way?” I answered myself, “What I meant was ‘Super-duper jumping off the walls words!’” But mom said it so simple; as usual she is a very simple lady. My mom kept on going and said “This is for your birthday present, and since you are the only one in this family who has never been on a plane, we are going to Hollywood so you can experience the plane ride; no driving down there.” I had so many questions to ask but she had to go.

I couldn’t tell my brothers yet so I had to keep it in. My mom said that she would tell my brothers herself. I was so happy and I felt like I should share my joy with someone when I got to school. I told two of my good friends at school. Since our flight was at 7am and Toronto is two hours away, I had to wake up at 12.00 pm. I usually go to bed at 9:00pm and I told my mom I would be sitting there in my bed for three hours before I could fall asleep, but she just gave me that look that I know means go to bed go to bed. Well, my theory was right! I was sitting there in my bed listen to my audio book and repeated it over 6 times and tried to read my book too, while mom and dad were sleeping like Aurora from sleeping beauty. Finally, I fell asleep, but soon I had to wake up. I was very grumpy.

After getting ready, dad drove mom and I to the Toronto airport. It was my first time to be at the airport and it was awesome. The Toronto Pearson airport was huge but I thought about how big Hollywood LAX would be. It was three in the morning and I was tired. I hugged dad so much I felt like crying, but I stayed strong.

At 4:40am, we stared boarding on the plane; it was a long process. I thought I was going to meet Obama on the plane. We landed in Chicago and what was really cool is that there were these moving floors and above the moving floors were cool multi-colour lights fading into different colours. It was like a mini show while you stand there moving for 30 seconds. At 8:30am, we went on another flight to Los Anglos and it was HOT! Later, my dad’s brother-in-law picked us up and drove us around Hollywood.

I got to visit and see the superstars’ mansions in Beverly Hills in LA they were so beautiful. Also, we walked on the street called Highlands Star Street where we got to see the Kodak Theatre where there is a venue for Stars Academy Awards. We went to Rodeo Drive, one of the wealthiest and most famous shopping places in the world. One store called Bijan you can’t go into and shop just like that. You must make an appointment in advance just to shop. It is here that the rich & famous do their shopping, and where tourists window-shop while trying to spot movie stars on the fabled street. So, if you are planning a visit to Rodeo Drive, I would suggest that you make it an evening trip; the street looks better at night than during the day. If you prefer the daytime, come on a weekday; do not go on a Sunday if you want to shop. Most of the shops on Rodeo Drive close on Sunday, and the usual crowd of sophisticated shoppers are replaced by hordes of tourists gawking in the windows of the shuttered stores! My mom was saying it’s good to see what is going on in these store, but she don’t think it is wise to buy a simple pair of socks for $50 were we can get some from my favourite shop Winners located back in Canada as well as Ross here in Hollywood for a much cheaper price.

I would recommend you to try plan a visit to Hollywood; it’s a nice tourist place. I was surprised to meet many people from many different parts of the world. That’s all for my first part of my trip to Hollywood, but be sure to read next week’s post for the part about when I went to Universal Studios, my dream place for a visit, Beverly Hills, and the beaches.

Joanne K.