Last day in the USA

We slept in a little this morning and then breakfasted on Pine Avenue in Long Beach.  Yet another gorgeous day (we were very lucky with the weather) today, so we drove south down Long Beach, Seal Beach to Huntington Beach, where we walked down to the pier and watched a little of a surfing competition in action. The beach was wide and well populated, being a Saturday. The water was a little cool but very clear.

I was keen to go to Macy’s (a US department store) and when I asked the GPS, she directed us to one not far away. We arrived to a very large and attractive centre called South Beach Plaza, where we both found happy bargains.

It was a quick trip back to the hotel in easy traffic (weekends definitely the pick of travel times) for a dip in the hotel’s rooftop pool.

An early dinner at the Yard House again and it was time for me to pack and prepare to leave. The hotel booked a town car for me, as that seemed to be the easiest way for me to get to LAX. It cost no more than a cab, and was worth the money for the convenience. It was a fast trip and a quick check in for my Virgin Australia flight.

Unfortunately my lounge membership doesn’t work here, and there is not much to do here in Terminal 3. No duty free, limited restaurants, two newsagents and that’s all. Still, it does have free wi-fi and so I’ve finally written this blog. I have the best intention to write it every day, but this trip, like the last to Hawaii, were very busy.

We loved LA. We had a wonderful 4 days and are both very much looking forward to coming back as soon as we can. With our dollar so strong it’s a comfortable place to be – the taxes and tipping are all affordable  and not something to begrudge in addition to the listed prices. The people all seem pleasant and helpful. Staff actually want to help. The weather is incredible.

LA, Day 3



Inside California Adventure

It was an early start today to see G’s last performance and as we entered the parking garage to collect our car, we saw a film crew assembled. Someone clapped the board and shouted ‘Action’, then a car flew around the corner and into a parking spot, and out leapt Kiefer Sutherland! Seeing a star in action in LA – perfect!

G dancing with her troupe

Today G was performing at California Adventure Park, across the way from Disneyland. Same parking lot, same entrance fee. She danced under another hot blue sky at the Hollywood Backlot stage, watched by all of the families and friends of the dancers who had come from all over Australia. It was another excellent show and G did a fabulous job. We saw her afterwards to congratulate her, and left her with her sisters and friends to tackle the rides.

The transport from the carpark at Disney

We wandered back through the park and it does look like a great place to spend time. We’d agreed to see it all another visit, as we were so short on time this holiday and were more interested in seeing other parts of LA. I liked the look of California Adventure Park more than Disneyland, but I think that is because of my age. Both parks were full – it must be a sensational money maker. Parking costs $15 per car on entry, although we didn’t pay the first day when we arrived at 6pm. Disney closes around 7 or 8pm, but California Park stays open til around 11pm, so many of the people leaving Disney at night went straight across and into the other park.

The staff certainly know what to do and are friendly and efficient. It all works well.

We left just after noon and went in search of the Hollywood sign. We didn’t get as close as I’d hoped to, so I’ll have to investigate for our next visit. We drove through some fabulous neighborhoods, past beautiful houses and luxurious cars, up windy, narrow roads.

From there we started to encounter a little trouble with our navigation systems. I couldn’t get her to understand where we wanted to go and the map I had didn’t have sufficient detail to allow me to navigate without her. In frustration we stopped for coffee and came across ‘Five Guys Burger and Fries’. Dom had heard they made great burgers, and they really did. Highly recommended.

Fortified, we located Coldwater Canyon which led us to Mulholland Drive and some fabulous views both north and south. We drove down Benedict Canyon to Beverly Hills, admiring the beautiful houses along the way. It was a small and windy road, with a single house on each side wedged into the canyon walls.

We walked down Rodeo Drive and looked in the windows of the high end shops. There was not much there for people without Hollywood star bank balances, so we went back to Santa Monica to do a little more shopping, and have an early dinner at Trastavere, a restaurant I’d wanted to eat at since my first visit here in 1989.

We made our way down the coast road and found a carpark at Venice Beach in time to see the sun set on another glorious day. We watched the guys in the skate park for awhile with awe, and wandered the beach. The shops and stalls were all closing up for the day, so we didn’t stay long. There were no muscle men to be seen. Obviously it’s a place to visit during the day.

Continuing on down the coast we passed Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Rendondo Beach, which all had lovely ‘town’ centres with inviting restaurants and bars. All to be investigated at another time.

La La Land, Day 2

Hotel swimming pool on the roof

Driving in LA takes time. Time for the traffic and time for the vast distances this city covers. The traffic wasn’t tooooo bad. The GPS lady would sometimes note the heavy traffic ahead and recalculate a new route for us. We discovered that she didn’t take into account the fact that we could travel in the car pool lane, which was often much clearer that the main lanes. She would try to take us out into the city streets, which were very much stop and go, with heavy traffic. At least on the freeways we would be at a constant 40 miles per hour, even at the worst.

Some of the on and off ramps are a little confusing and a couple of times we had to backtrack. Sometimes we chose a different route to the one the GPS selected – sometimes to try a different road so that we’d see different parts of LA, and sometimes because I felt her plan was flawed (traffic). She would often say ‘recalculating’ so often that I thought she might give up completely! It was an asset to have a good map to give us a broader picture of where we were.

After sleeping very well last night (very tired after a Wednesday that seemed to go on forever), we set out for Santa Monica. We found a carpark and walked to 3^rd Street Promenade – I have been here twice previously and really enjoyed the restaurants and shopping. We ate at an outdoor café (America doesn’t seem to do breakfast very well) and then shopped a little. Our dollar is worth more than the US dollar at the moment, so it’s hard to ignore all of the fabulous stores. Their sale stuff is perfect for us as we’re a season behind, too.

View from the Santa Monica Pier

 
It was another spectacular day in LA – hot and blue. We wandered down to the Santa Monica Pier, already busy with tourists. There are souvenir and food stalls lining the pier, buskers, and a bar/restaurant at the end. We took photos and enjoyed the view and the people watching.

Under the pier

At 3.30pm we departed for Disneyland to see G dance prior to the Grand Parade at 6.40pm. We imagined that would be plenty of time, and that we’d have hours to look around. Wrong. It took til 6pm to get there (should have been a 1 hour trip) and then 30 minutes to park, take the shuttle, get tickets and get in. We made it in time, which was the important thing, and saw her dance brilliantly down the streets of Disney, with the biggest smile on her face.  Very proud and excited for her.

The trip back to the hotel was swift and we made it across the road to Hooters for a late dinner. The girls were decked out in teeny orange hotpants, long legs with white bubble socks (anyone who lived through the 80’s should know what I mean) and a variety of tight t-shirts. They were very friendly and efficient, and we ate wings (one of their specialties) and some very tasty nachos, whilst watching college football on the big screens.

Brisbane to LA

This was a very short holiday, organized specifically to see my Step-Daughter dance at Disneyland with her dance school. We weren’t able to get away from work for long due to it being school holidays, and we weren’t even sure that I could make it at all.

We booked Dom’s flight first, on Qantas, and by the time that we could guarantee my trip, that flight was too expensive for just a 4 day trip. I bought a ticket on Virgin Australia, and departed on Wednesday via Sydney, then onto a Delta operated flight.

The Sydney transit is something that I have purposefully avoided for at least a decade due to the hassle of changing terminals. I approached this trip with optimism, but found that the two hours allowed by the company was barely enough. There was a transit bus waiting as I disembarked my domestic flight, which took us onto the public road around to the international terminal. I checked in without hassle, but with just over one hour to go to departure. The immigration line was very long and very slow, so definitely no time for duty free shopping.

It was a very full B777, but the crew were friendly and efficient. We departed on time, and arrived at about 6.30am local time in LA. I made it quickly through the immigration process and wandered out into the airport to locate Dom. He had arrived earlier than me, but his terminal was very busy and therefor exited about 30 minutes after me. We were very happy to see eachother and relieved that we’d both arrived on time.

We caught a shuttle to the Alamo car rental place, where a very friendly attendant gave us a Cadillac SUV.

My cousin had recently introduced me to the benefits of having a GPS so we hired one this time, and were immediately glad. It made navigating very easy. I had been a little concerned about getting around in LA, but we really didn’t have any problems.

We found our way to the Hyatt The Pike at Long Beach http://thepikelongbeach.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels-thepikelongbeach/index.jsp?null through the cool and foggy LA morning. The traffic was mild at that time of day. They allowed us to check in at 9am without extra charge (impressive!) and so we elected to have a nap. There was a mild danger in this – would we want to get up again?! Luckily the threat of only having 4 days here had us up and into the car on our way to Ontario Mills, a huge outlet centre north east of Long Beach. The fog had dissipated and left a sparkling, hot blue sky. It was around 30 degrees.

The food court lunch was surprisingly excellent – I had the best chicken burrito I’ve ever tasted and Dom chose some very tasty blackened chicken.

After a couple of hours, we returned to the hotel (parking was only $7 a day) and then walked across to Shoreline Village where we ate at the Yard House. It was similar in all respects to the one we’d frequented in Hawaii. Great beers, friendly staff and tasty food. This one had a great view, right next to the marina.