Los Angeles

Hurray for Hollywood!  You have to sing that in your head, because I was singing it all week long.  I was in LA when I was 12, but I don't remember much about it.  We did a driving tour, so most of what I saw was from a car window.  This was my chance to really explore.

I had a car, which was a first for my sabbatical travels, but I'd been assured by, well, everyone that you needed a car in LA.  I was staying a few nights in Anaheim, and a few nights on the water in Long Beach by the cruise port.  I go where it's cheap, folks, and they ended up being lovely places to call home for a few days.

My first adventure was actually south, to San Juan de Campistrano.  When I said I was going to California, everyone said "you're going to a mission, right?"  They know this history teacher well.  My cousin's wife recommended this one, and it was spot-on.  The perfect mix of museum, ruins, and beautiful gardens, I spent a glorious few hours learning about the Spanish mission system in California and how it evolved through California's changing nationalitiy in the 1800s.  They had a fantastic audio guide included in the price.  Truly, this was a memorable visit.  Afterwards, I drove back up the Pacific Coast highway, blaring my reggaeton music with the windows down. I stopped at Long Beach just before sunset and watched the few brave surfers in the cold water for a while.

My foray into Downtown LA began at the Chinese Theater, which was nearly completely blocked by scaffolding for the Oscars the following weekend.  I walked the ENTIRE length of the Walk of Fame, down one side of the road and back the other.  It was a good day for a long walk.  I found the handprints and footprints in front of the theater and marveled at some, got teary at others.  RIP, Robin Williams.  You always made me laugh. 

After spending the morning in screentown, I headed to very old LA.  Very old.  La Brea tar pits old.  I'm not sure if it was My Girl 2 or something else that taught me about these, but they fascinated me.  I didn't go into the museum, just walked through the park and checked out the tar pits and the huge boxes of paleological remains that have been found in the region.  I finished my explorations with a trip down Rodeo Drive, playing "Pretty Woman" of course.

The next day, I made my way up to the Getty Museum.  It was a crazy set up.  You had to park and then take a monorail up to the actual museum, on a cliff overlooking the city.  The museum itself was gorgeous, all white buildings with lots of windows and terraces.  The art is spread through four buildings.   I'd gone for the Renaissance, but ended up loving a special exhibited on illuminated manuscripts and their depiction of marginalized people in medieval Europe.  The museum was full of school trips, which was a little overwhelming and crowded, but I love seeing kids in museums.  I finished my visit with a stroll through their new American photography exhibit. 

My last touristy stop in LA was the Aquarium of the Pacific.  I could walk there from my hotel, and March started Teacher Appreciation month, with a discounted admission.  It certainly wasn't the grandest aquarium I've been to, but it had a cute little collection, passionate employees, and a lot of information about the animals and their environment. 

By far the best part of LA was getting to see my cousin and his family, some of them meeting for the first time.  It's fun to have family spread out that you can visit, but hard to only see them once at year (at most!).  I was really happy to get to see them on THEIR turf for the first time, and they had great tips about enjoying my time in LA.

San Juan de Campistrano

San Juan de Campistrano bells

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Handprints at Chinese Theater.  Carpe Diem.

La Brea Tar Pits

Rodeo Drive

At the Getty Museum

Titian at the Getty Museum

Jellyfish at the Aquarium of the Paciifc

Jellyfish at the Aquarium of the Pacific

Coral Reef in Aquarium of the Pacific

Joshua Tree and Death Valley

In third grade, we did projects on the National Parks, and I got Joshua Tree.  I was really disappointed at the time, because everyone else had cool places like Yellowstone and Grand Canyon and I had a weird place that people only knew about because of a U2 Album (look it up, kids, it's one of the greatest recordings ever).  Pretty much all I remembered was little desert animals and funny trees.  When we did our Western trip in 1992, I hoped to go there but it just didn't fit into the route or itinerary. 

So this trip, I was determined to get to Joshua Tree.  And it was awesome.  I drove out from Temecula, listening to "This Podcast Will Kill You" along the way (which is also awesome, and everyone should listen).  I arrived from the South, checked in at the ranger station to get a map and guide, and paid my entrance fee.  The guide made it easy to plan out a route that included several short hikes (about a mile) through a variety of landscapes.  I'd expected funny trees- and there were plenty of them- but I hadn't anticipated the beautiful rock formations that dominated the park landscape.  This was childhood-me's dream- lots of things to crawl over!  I didn't do much climbing because I was alone, but it was tempting!  I ended up hiking about 5 miles total, which didn't feel like much until about the last half mile.  From one of the overlooks, you could see the San Andreas Fault.  I was determined to stay until dark, so I found a parking lot that didn't close at dusk, and I waited.  Luckily it was one of the few places in the park that got cell reception!  Once the sun went down, the starts came out.  Even though there was a quarter moon, there were still so many stars.  I was in heaven!  It was cold outside so I didn't stay too long, but I got to see so many stars!

A few days later, I headed north from LA to my second national park, Death Valley.  I decided that since I'd been at the lowest place on Earth last fall at the Dead Sea, I should go to the lowest point in the US. It was a long ride- five hours up there- but it passed quickly.  I drove into the park from the south again, and I was in the middle of NOWHERE.  There was no one around, not another human in site, for about an hour of the ride.  Then suddenly, there were cars and we were approaching the Badwater Basin, aka, the lowest point.  I parked and walked out to the middle of the flats, taking in all the beautiful scenery.  The mountains in the distance beyond the salt flats were just majestic. 

There definitely wasn't as much to do here as in Joshua Tree.  I drove the Artist's Point loop, enjoying the colorful mountains (not as good as Argentina!).  I also stopped in at the Furnace Creek visitor's center to pay my user fee and check out some of the displays there.  Honestly, just the drive through was magical.  I left via the Western road, going over some towering mountains, again alone in the world.  Once I left the park, I was driving down between Death Valley and the back side of King's Canyon/Sequoia, and the mountains to my right were almost too big to believe.   The drive home was long- it felt much longer than the drive there. But overall, it was a day filled with the beauty of nature.

I'm so grateful for our National Parks here in the US.  We have such vast natural resources and beauty, and the nation has been great about preserving that for visitors.  I think getting to every park might be my next checklist, since I've been to all the Wonders of the World now (clearly writing this from the future.  Stay tuned). 

San Diego

When I was 12, my family took a big trip to the Western US.  We drove around for a month, seeing many of the famous American sights- Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, Hollywood and the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.  It was a great trip.  While we were in Southern California, I fell in love with San Diego.  I decided that I was going to live there.  I want to be a Marine Biologist, so I could work at Sea World. I came home committed to learning Spanish.  I dreamed of Palm Trees.

Alas, that wasn't meant to be, but San Diego will always have a special place in my heart.  I just never got back there, until now.  What a shame, because my memories were correct- it is a really awesome place.

My friend Kim and I had four days to enjoy the San Diego sunshine.  We started in the best possible way- breakfast at Breakfast Republic.  They had pancake flights!  Can't decide what kind of pancake you want, no problem- get sample of three different kinds.  Though choosing just three was equally challenging... We then walked around the Liberty Square area for a while, seeing the High Tech High that my school keeps talking about, then meandered into Stone Brewing for a sample of their products.

In the afternoon we went to Old Town, which is a section of the city that keeps the California mission frontier feeling alive.  You can visit a preserved hacienda, and walk to the blacksmith shop, the old church, and several other historical sites.  It's also home to some amazing Mexican restaurants.  We ate on the patio at Cafe Coyote, HUGE servings of tacos and enchiladas.  It was DELICIOUS!  We finished in the area in early evening, so we took a Lyft up to La Jolla, to see the Sea Lions and the sunset.  There were so many people out walking around. 

On day 2, we had another amazing breakfast, sharing the chicken and waffle tower at Hash House A Go Go. This town takes breakfast serious, and I love it!  Then we walked to the Zoo, and spent the day with the animals!  It had definitely expanded a lot from what I remembered! I loved the koalas, and even though we had to wait in a long line to see them, the pandas were adorable.  We walked until we were exhausted, then rode the narrated bus around for a while.  From the park, we walked down through the Artists Village at Balboa park and into the Gaslamp District for some beer tastings and dinner.   It was a lot of walking but terrific day.

Our third day, we both agreed that less walking was the goal.  We Ubered to Devil's Dozen donuts and ate on their awesome rooftop terrace.  The view was great, but it was really cold and windy!  Then we walked along the harbor checking out the old boats, submarine, and the huge air craft carriers that were in port.  We shopped in the Seaport Village for a while and had a great lunch on the water.  Sick of walking, we had a chill afternoon and then went to Ocean Beach for some brewery hopping.  We met up with Kim's cousin for a late dinner in town.

Our last day together, it was all about Sea World. I'm well aware of the controversy about the treatment of animals there, but I am so appreciative of all that I've learned from the parks and their outreach work.  I wanted to be one of those trainers when I was a kid, and I still marvel at the orcas every time I see them.  It was a very relaxed day, but lots of fun. We ended up back at Pizza Port for dinner, and went to Modern Times brewery to finish out the night.

Kim had to leave early the next morning, and I picked up a rental car and drove over the huge bridge to Coronado. I walked around the famous Hotel grounds for a while, then hit the road to Temecula, where I was staying the next few nights.  I had to do mundane things like buy new sneakers (mine totally wore out in these four days).

San Diego as an adult far surpassed San Diego as a kid.  I couldn't have asked for more.  We relied on Lyft and Uber exclusively to get around, which worked out great.  The city had plenty to entertain, an amazing beer scene, and beautiful sunshine, just what was needed after the winter blahs at home. 

pancake sampler- cinnamon role, strawberry cheesecake, and pineapple upside-down cake

Old Town

Sunset at La Jolla

Chicken and Waffle Tower

Koala at San Diego Zoo

Panda at San Diego Zoo

Giraffes at San Diego Zoo

Artists' Village in Balboa Park

Donuts from Devil's Dozen

Star of India, in port

One of the brewery flights we tried

Sea Lion at Sea World

Penguin showdown

Love this flying dolphin!

Hotel Coronado