Falcon 9 Rocket & Dragon Capsule - Photo Credit SpaceX

We got to see what the future of space travel looks like when our friend Drew Hess took us on a private tour of the SpaceX hanger in L.A. Staying in L.A. at our friend Drew's place was a precursor to the rest of our journey. Traveling is something I've always enjoyed, especially when getting to experience new places, people, and things. Drew is one of those people I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and was the first of many people I'd meet along my way. Interestingly enough, I didn't actually meet Drew until the morning after my first night at his place.

You see, Drew is an engineer for SpaceX. If you haven't heard of SpaceX, you may have heard of another brilliant company, Tesla Motors - both run by Elon Musk. SpaceX is an amazing company, leading the way in space exploration. Many late nights have been spent trying to achieve the high goal of creating rockets that can land themselves and be reused over and over again.

A large airplane hanger right outside L.A. where SpaceX is headquartered. — A large airplane hanger right outside L.A. where SpaceX is headquartered.

This simple enough idea has the ability to save millions, possibly billions, of dollars in cost building new rockets every time someone wants to get to space. They're currently getting certified by the U.S. Air Force and will hopefully open the door for additional military contracts and funding.

Crs 4 Dragon Orbit 2 - Photo Credit SpaceX

Drew took us on a tour of the facilities giving us a brief history of SpaceX. I'm a huge fan of science fiction and getting to see the real thing was like going to Disney World! Needless to say I had an amazing time hearing about the things SpaceX has done and is trying to accomplish.

Let the new space age begin!

Chris & I outside SpaceX after our tour with Drew.

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.

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I've officially begun my journey to New Zealand. Flying out of Augusta, GA early in the morning yesterday at 7AM local time. It was quite the flight, ridding next to the propeller on our small prop plane was like flying in a massage chair. And I even managed to get a nice look at the Savannah River as we passed over, in the haze of sun rise.

It was a simple enough beginning for the first part of my travels as I landed in Los Angeles, my first time ever. My friend Chris picked me up from the airport and off we went. I'll outline how I decided to do this crazy trip later; but this is where I am now. Arriving in LA was a little underwhelming. LA, and California in general, have been suffering a major drought. Drought, that has left the land scorched and dry.

Even still the land is vibrate in other ways. The neighborhoods of Hermosa Beach I've been able to move through are alive with people. As the ocean breeze cools the air, the warm dry 82 degree heat is quite nice, especially when contrasted with the South's dripping humidity.

The first chore when arriving was a quick workout to prepare for our true adventure. Being physically fit for our journey is going to be especially important. After finishing our workout we headed to the beach, only blocks away, for a quick swim in the Pacific's refreshing water. We made time to grab a healthy lunch at a local eatery, Paradise Bowls. I've never enjoyed a bowl of fruit as much as I did here! Frozen acai berry covered with fruit and honey!

We spent the day planning and checking off our gear list, making sure we hadn't forgotten anything. I experienced for the first time watching the sun set into the Pacific atop my new friend Drew's apartment. Drew is a friend of Chris' he met on another trip - more on Drew later. The town of Hermosa Beach is compact and very community oriented. It has great locally owned shops and restaurants, all within walking distance of our location. I've only here a day and a half and would definitely want to come back for longer. California has started to call me home.

Next stop, Fiji.

On top of Drew's apartment just as the sun set into the Pacific

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SpaceX, the (New) Final Frontier

The Adventure Begins...