Hola everybody
Well...we're here in sunny southern California (but we can't see the sun at the moment because of the fog, but more of that later...) and are already a day into our tour.
We arrived at Los Angeles airport around 1pm local time on Thursday after a very long and fairly boring journey. But these facts do not convey the sheer length of the day we experienced! We got up at home around 3.30am to make sure we got to Manchester airport by 5.15am after dropping the car at an airport long stay car park. We took the 7.15am shuttle to Heathrow airport and then our main flight to Los Angeles following a 1 hour wait. As I said, the journey was uneventful but the flight from Heathrow took 11 hours - talk about aching buttocks! We both managed to watch 3 films, several episodes of Black Books and a bit of news and weather; had a few naps; ate a meal and a later snack; and STILL had loads of time to kill - 11 hours is a long time in a metal tube with not much space to move around!
Anyway...enough of the whinging...we're in California! We picked up a hire car and found our hotel which was quite close to the airport as we were only planning to relax for the rest of the day and to start our journey proper the next morning. The hotel was the Embassy Suites hotel - we had booked a suite (the clue was in the name of the hotel, I guess, but they only had suites so hey ho...) and our room was HUGE! It was actually 2 rooms, both of which were much bigger than many hotel rooms we've stayed in before. I've taken some pics but they really don't do the rooms any justice - but we were definitely impressed! The hotel had a strange look about it in the main atrium - a sort of outdoors-but-indoors look which I can't really explain but have tried to photograph...probably unsuccessfully! A bit of a stroll and some pizza later and we were ready for bed. Although we were going to bed at 9pm it was actually 5am the next morning on our body clocks...we had been up and on the go for over 25 hours and we were shattered!
Friday
Breakfast was one of those help-yourself-to-loads-of-everything affairs - fruit, cereal, yoghurt, bacon, sausages, pastries, etc., etc. - but with the added bonus of a chef cooking omlettes to order - yummy!
We left the hotel around 9.30am (hoping to miss the rush hour traffic) and headed for the coast. We planned to follow the coast roads north as we were aiming for a town called Pismo Beach, around 200 miles away from LA.
We stopped off at Santa Monica and had a stroll on the beach and the famous pier. It was around 80 degrees but a little bit misty but still very nice. Whilst strolling on the sand Martin managed to find a lethal weapon - bloomin' typical! He almost stood on the most wicked looking knife I've seen! It was like a type of Stanley knife with several blades, some of which looked just like big razor blades! We handed it over to the local lifeguard....at least no-one else could stand on it and kids couldn't get their hands on it - job done. We now just have to hope the knife hadn't been used in any nefarious goings-on - Martin's fingerprints are on it! It wouldn't look good for a visiting Brit to be linked to a dodgy crime after only being in the country for less than a day! Guess we'll find out when we try to leave the US in a couple of weeks time....!
We continued on along the coast road as far as Santa Barbara, all the while noticing the mist and fog creeping in from the sea. Santa Barbara was a really lovely little town with another pier and a great beach (some photos attached). Lots of surfers, skaters, cyclists and joggers put us to shame with their energy whilst we were just strolling around in the sun getting in their way, but we had a decent walk followed by lunch and another walk. The town was getting ready for a fair sized music festival over the weekend and the sound checks just added to the atmosphere - great!
We drove on towards Pismo Beach. We were still following the coast road and noticed the mist getting even thicker. The road wandered a little and occasionally moved inland where the mist immediately disappeared and revealed bright blue skies with temperatures almost hitting 100 degrees but, when we headed back to the coast, the mist/fog reappeared, blocking out the sun and creating a really weird atmosphere.
We checked in to our hotel (another suite; another 2 huge rooms and 2 bathrooms; another couple of impressed tourists; more photos attached!) and then drove into Pismo itself for a bit of a walk around the town/beach and an evening meal. Pismo is a nice enough town which seems to focus on sports, particularly surfing. Even though it was 7pm, foggy and night was creeping in, there were still 20 - 30 surfing enthusiasts bobbing about in the sea waiting for some decent waves. We joined the audience watching the surfing for a while and then headed off to Brad's Restaurant for steak(me) and chicken (Martin) meals done on a charcoal BBQ, served with salad, baked potatoes and loads of sauces, etc. - delicious! When we came out of the restaurant the fog had come in even thicker, giving a really spooky vibe to the town - it was a bit like something out of a Stephen King novel or a scary film - but it was really entertaining!
We're now back at the hotel and are ready to sleep again. Its just turned 10pm here but that means it's now 6am at home. Our body clocks haven't quite caught up yet but another earlyish night should do the trick.
Off to San Francisco tomorrow - another 250 mile drive - but a bit of a lazy morning and a nice breakfast is on the cards first!
More to come tomorrow (if you're still reading....!)
Take care
D&M
xx
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