Wednesday 17 July
This morning started with breakfast in the hotel lobby and Tim throwing up in the garden. Yes, despite a good night’s sleep for everyone, Tim was sick this morning and Belle is still burning up. Ross drove all the way to LA without stopping while I held sick bags for Tim (who even had a Zofran pill this morning) and the others played or dozed. At one point I realised we were near Calabasas, and suggested we stop there to see if we could see some Kardashians, but surprisingly no one was keen…
Once we arrived in Hollywood at 12.30pm, we went straight to the hotels in the area to check prices and find accommodation. The ones I spoke to only had one or two rooms left to sell, so I settled on Days Inn on Sunset Boulevard which had a room big enough for us all. Check-in was not available until 3pm, so I asked if there was a doctor nearby. A strong recommendation came for the Hollywood walk-in clinic two blocks away, at a cost of $69, so Ross dropped Tim, Belle and I there and took the healthy children out for lunch.
We saw a fantastic doctor and were not hurried by the clinic at all. The kids were given excellent attention. Tim nearly passed out, so we were moved to a room with a bed for him. He was given another Zofran and told he had a stomach bug. Belle was examined and we learned her virus has turned into pharangytis and severe tonsillitis. Poor baby, no wonder I cannot get her temperature down! She was tested for strep throat and prescribed antibiotics. Ross then picked us up and we drove to a pharmacy to fill the prescription, where I had a Jersey Mike sub for lunch at 3pm (a competitor to Subway). The pharmacy was on the Walk of Fame so we checked out a few stars while we waited for it. Belle had been begging all morning for a milkshake, so we then bought frappucinos at Starbucks – even for Tim who should have been on clear fluids, but was starving and sure he could manage one! (And he did – not a proud parenting moment as I should have given him a clear diet to start with after no eating for 24 hours, but he was happy).
What a way to kill time waiting for check in. We returned to the hotel, and Ross took my washing down to the coin laundry around the corner while I took the kids for a swim in the hotel pool. I was happy to do the washing myself but Ross didn’t feel confident enough about the neighbourhood to let me walk it alone. So chivalrous that husband of mine – remember the injury he sustained last time he tried to do a good deed and look after me? He did say he was approached by a couple of homeless men while walking back to the hotel, so we were both glad I had stayed with the kids.
At 6.30pm once the washing was finished, we drove up to the Hollywood sign, and then around Mullholland Drive to a lookout over the city and the Hollywood Bowl. We could hear an orchestra and loud clapping from the crowd which looked like a full house, I later looked it up and Sergio Mendes was performing there with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. We were thankful at that point we had looked for accommodation as soon as we arrived rather than do touristy things first as the Hollywood Bowl program over the next few days is probably responsible for the hotels in the area being close to booked out.
Being 9pm by then, we drove back to our hotel and walked across the road to a restaurant called iHop, which we learned stands for International House of Pancakes. Pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner, and we returned to our room to pack – lamenting all the way that it was our LAST night in the US!!