This is the route we have heard so many good things so we
wanted to check it out ourselves and I am so glad we did. Not the most amazing scenery
we have seen in the past 4 months but it was still well worth the drive. The
drive from San Diego to LA was probably less scenic but we enjoyed driving
through all the little villages and towns. Saw some lovely beaches on our way
too. We stopped at the famous Huntington Beach which was nice and not too touristy.
It did have a great surfer feel to it and not just on the beach but we liked
all the surf shops and cafes there too.
After lunch and little play on the
beach we carried on driving to LA, past Long beach and stopped to take few
photos of The RMS Queen Mary.
As we were approaching Manhattan Beach the sun was setting
so we quickly parked the car and jumped out to the beach to enjoy this
beautiful view, stunning and lovely beach too.
We decided to return here couple days later to have a little play on the sand… or for some a snooze!!! I wish we didn’t return though as Emmi would have not buried her brand new flip flop (thong/jandal) in the sand!!! Didn’t see the funny side at the time at all and our beach fun did end right there.
We decided to return here couple days later to have a little play on the sand… or for some a snooze!!! I wish we didn’t return though as Emmi would have not buried her brand new flip flop (thong/jandal) in the sand!!! Didn’t see the funny side at the time at all and our beach fun did end right there.
From Manhattan to our LA base in Marina Del Rey was a nice drive
along the beach and harbour side. This is nice area and especially Marina Del
Rey, probably our favourite area of LA. Nice and quiet with clean and not as
tacky as it’s next door neighbour Venice Beach!!!
Which is an experience on its own and good to see once, but I wouldn’t like to return there. We prefer quieter, less touristy places. Well those who have been there know exactly what I mean, and for those who haven’t …I don’t even know how to describe it! Beach was ok, with couple of play areas for the children, Skate Park, outdoor gym, beach volley ball etc… you could basically do anything here. But having hundreds of people walking and cycling along there makes it a very busy area. The street is full of cafes, restaurants, tacky shops and stalls, walk-in cannabis prescription places and lots of homeless people around. Just not a nice place.
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Which is an experience on its own and good to see once, but I wouldn’t like to return there. We prefer quieter, less touristy places. Well those who have been there know exactly what I mean, and for those who haven’t …I don’t even know how to describe it! Beach was ok, with couple of play areas for the children, Skate Park, outdoor gym, beach volley ball etc… you could basically do anything here. But having hundreds of people walking and cycling along there makes it a very busy area. The street is full of cafes, restaurants, tacky shops and stalls, walk-in cannabis prescription places and lots of homeless people around. Just not a nice place.
The girls did spot a fire-engine there and went to talk to
them.
When they heard about Steve been a firefighter too they invited us to their station 63 (Venice). We popped in there couple days later and were blown away by their hospitality. Coffee followed by a full tour of the station and Steve talking shop! Suddenly we were pretty much bundled in to their fire appliance, which was one of the really long ones where someone has to sit at the back and steer. Then they announce we are going for a drive! Couldn’t believe it! Even the girls got to wear headsets so we could all talk to each other and even the guy steering at the back. Steve sat in the front with the driver and loved it! Had a good cruise around the block grinning all the way! Once we were back and they had reversed this great big thing in, they received a firecall. Time for us to go! So we said our goodbyes and watched them turnout.
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There is a clear boarder between The Venice Beach and Santa Monica when you driving / walking there. We visited Santa Monica couple times. Again the beach and the pier is so touristy and full of all the same stuff we have seen everywhere that we only walked right to the end of the pier. Watch a little seal down there and walked as fast as we could past all the tacky shops and homeless people. We did like the 3rd street though, nice shopping street!
When they heard about Steve been a firefighter too they invited us to their station 63 (Venice). We popped in there couple days later and were blown away by their hospitality. Coffee followed by a full tour of the station and Steve talking shop! Suddenly we were pretty much bundled in to their fire appliance, which was one of the really long ones where someone has to sit at the back and steer. Then they announce we are going for a drive! Couldn’t believe it! Even the girls got to wear headsets so we could all talk to each other and even the guy steering at the back. Steve sat in the front with the driver and loved it! Had a good cruise around the block grinning all the way! Once we were back and they had reversed this great big thing in, they received a firecall. Time for us to go! So we said our goodbyes and watched them turnout.
There is a clear boarder between The Venice Beach and Santa Monica when you driving / walking there. We visited Santa Monica couple times. Again the beach and the pier is so touristy and full of all the same stuff we have seen everywhere that we only walked right to the end of the pier. Watch a little seal down there and walked as fast as we could past all the tacky shops and homeless people. We did like the 3rd street though, nice shopping street!
From LA we drove route 1 to the San Francisco. This was a lovely route but unfortunately the road was closed just after Malibu Beach so we had to join the 101 until Santa Barbara.
We really like the Santa Barbara’s Spanish feel and the town
was beautiful. Really nice cafes, restaurants and shops. We quickly popped in a
Danish town called Solvang. It was late afternoon when we arrived there so only
stopped for little walk around and to buy some delicious Danish goodies and
Finnish Salmiak (salty liquorice)!
We were thinking about going to the Hearst castle but there was a 45min wait just to get on the bus ride up to the mountain, followed by a 1,5h guided tour around the castle so decided to give it a miss knowing our Emmi would not last that long without touching something or running around the place!!!
We stopped at a nearby beach instead to watch the elephant seals. These were huge and amazing creatures. We were for treat as it was their mating and baby season!
We also stopped for a coffee in a pretty village called Carmel-by-the-Sea before stopping for a night in Santa Cruz. It was another interesting place. Lot of history but quite a dump now. We did explore the pier and Santa Cruz boardwalk which was fun for few hours.
We were thinking about going to the Hearst castle but there was a 45min wait just to get on the bus ride up to the mountain, followed by a 1,5h guided tour around the castle so decided to give it a miss knowing our Emmi would not last that long without touching something or running around the place!!!
We stopped at a nearby beach instead to watch the elephant seals. These were huge and amazing creatures. We were for treat as it was their mating and baby season!
We also stopped for a coffee in a pretty village called Carmel-by-the-Sea before stopping for a night in Santa Cruz. It was another interesting place. Lot of history but quite a dump now. We did explore the pier and Santa Cruz boardwalk which was fun for few hours.
Our favourite place in California will still remain San Francisco
where we finished our route1 but here are some nice views on our ways...
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