It’s Sunday, and our friend Jay Patel is off work. He’d asked the day before if we had anything planned and if we’d like to hang out; I suggested he be up early and join us for something crazy. We are on that crazy trip, and you are about to go along with us.

If we are in Cabazon, we are either here because Pee-wee Herman is filming a new installment to his Big Adventure, or we are heading into Los Angeles on our own big adventure. The latter is the case today.

First, we head into Chinatown and hit the bargain stalls, looking for anything that might be appealing. Jay starts with a vendor we’d never have considered stopping at; the guy is running sugar cane stalks through a crusher that makes fresh sugar cane juice. He’s not had a glass of this since leaving India, where it’s a popular drink.

The next stop is Little Tokyo for the chance to try imagawayaki, a favorite of ours and a new flavor for Jay. On this perfect day, we stop in various shops, check the sights, and strive for a different experience than hanging out in Phoenix.

A quick tour of downtown L.A. and soon we are moving down the freeway towards Orange County.

We were looking for Artesia, also known as Little India. Besides some shopping and hanging out with the other Gujus and various other Hindus, we were aiming for the Jay Bharat restaurant for a Gujarati Thali. A Thali is an assortment of dishes and translates to a “full plate meal.” This type of traditional meal is not found in any Arizona restaurants, though we have experienced some of the flavors at Sonal’s, Anju’s, and Jay’s place.

After about seven hours in the Los Angeles area and getting a cultural taste of China, Japan, India, and some Spanish influence, it was time to head right back to Arizona. Who could argue that 11 hours of driving is not worth half a day of big adventure doing things that take us out of our ordinary?