A DAY IN LA

It was our first day in LA this morning and it got off to a great start. A walk all the way along the beach to Santa Monica as the sun was rising. It was beautiful.

 

We'd booked to go on the Reggae Reggae LA Bus Tour {the mini bus is painted like the Jamaican flag, but that's about as Reggae as it gets!}, so I was quite thankful that I didn't have to come up with an itinerary for once and could rely on someone else to take us around.

 

We had a great day {if you are ever in LA and want to catch all the sights, I'd definitely recommend it}.

 

Walking along the pier in Malibu, driving around spotting celebrity homes, Bel Air, a shopping stop on Rodeo Drive {all we could afford were brownies!}, the Farmers Market, Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood Sign, seeing stars on the Walk of Fame - we really did manage to cram it all in!

Afterwards we walked back along the wacky Venice Beach and saw the sundown drum circle growing on the beach, ready for sunset.

 

And now that we have a kitchen in our tiny beach-side apartment I was able to cook!

AND TODAY WE GOT ENGAGED ON CATALINA ISLAND

 

Oh my, a 5.45am wake up call on holiday! But we managed to drive to Log Island and check in with plenty of time for the first ferry of the morning.

Now this is the only day out of the whole holiday that Dan had planned, and he had a strict itinerary. The moment we stepped off the ferry in Avalon we headed straight for Island Rentals to pick up our golf buggy. Dan had lots of fun driving around, as I tried to follow the map and not get lost!

We drove right to the top looking down on the pier, and he made me get out {we only had 5 minutes left to return it within the hour, so I was worrying about having to pay for more time!} and that's where we got engaged.

 With my new ring on we returned the buggy and went to the boardwalk for lunch - fish and chips for me and a burger for him - and then played a round of mini golf. We were not great at all {20 over par was the result}.

We then headed over to Lovers Cove, got out our snorkels and went in the {quite chilly} sea. There were loads of fish in there - blue ones, orange ones, zebra ones...

There was just enough time afterwards to go get ice cream and get back to the ferry terminal in time for the trip back to the mainland, engaged.

We put the top down and drove to our apartment. I don't think Dan's too impressed with the shabby-chic beach house decor, but I think it's cute. At least it has a washing machine and wi-fi!

DISNEYLAND TODAY...NO MICKEY SIGHTINGS THOUGH

We spent the day in Disneyland, went on all the rides and have very tired legs right now.

We're off to bed as we need to be up early for our ferry to Catalina Island.

DRIVING UP TO ANAHEIM

So the day started with perhaps the highlight of the holiday for Dan: we picked up the Ford Mustang. A bright red convertible. He loves it.

We drove around with the top down for a bit and had a quick stop to pick up a San Diego Chargers top and some snorkels ready for Catalina Island.

Now, I love National Parks. I mean LOVE. So our stop at Point Loma was a highlight for me. I love the combination of museum and trails and the old lighthouse. It was so much fun!

After that we went on to Huntington Beach to see the International Surfing Museum, then down to the beach and onto the pier. There were surfers practicing for an American Tour competition at the weekend {I really would have loved to come back and watch them compete}. We also saw the Surfer's Walk of Fame and I put my hands in Kelly Slater's hand prints.

We maybe should have thought about the next bit a little more than we did, but we left at rush hour heading to Anaheim and our expected one hour journey doubled with all the traffic {although that carpool lane really did come in handy}. It was so bad we almost turned back, but we both really wanted to go to Ontario Mills Mall {and we are really glad we did}.

The Abercrombie store there has to have been the best one I have ever been to {and I am one very experienced A&F shopper}. The t-shirts were $4 and I bout a dress for $5. I think we blew our budget, but we came away with the equivalent of hundreds of pounds worth for under $100.

After Panda Express {I think our 3rd in a week} it was closing time, so we went to our hotel and settled in for the night {Dan was impressed that I'd booked a suite!}.

Disney tomorrow.

WE SPENT THE DAY AT THE BEACH

Today was our last day in San Diego and we spent most of it at the beach in Coronado.

After a bit of deliberation we bought a boogie board which Dan snapped it in two places after his first go - possibly because we bought the $16 one with a sunset scene instead of the professional-looking one for $40.

But even with a broken board I was still great...must be all those summers on the beach in Worthing!

We're now packing our suitcases ready to hit the road and travel back up north. I'm excited because we'll finally get to go to Point Loma tomorrow on the way to Anaheim.

OOH, SHAMU

How did I never know about Panera Bread? I think I had the best cinnamon raisin bagel ever for breakfast this morning.

Today we visited Sea World, and just getting there was an adventure in itself! We had to use three of San Diego's finest public buses.

The park was quiet which was amazing as it meant there were no queues for anything. We managed to get on every ride without really having to queue and caught the Shamu and dolphin shows.

The animals we saw today include; a killer whale, dolphin, pilot whale, beluga whale, polar bear, walrus, penguin, puffin, otter, seal, parrot, vulture, nemo, octopus, sharks, dogfish, human face fish, wolf eel, turtle, terrapin, and seagulls.

Dan's highlight: stroking a dolphin.

DING, DING, DING, GOES THE TROLLEY

It sure was a long day today. We left the hotel at 8.20am and returned exactly 12 hours later!

After French toast and pancakes at Clayton's {a little diner with juke boxes on the counter tops} we boarded the San Diego trolley.

Our first stop was Balboa Park where we had a guided tram tour, walked up the Prado, saw the Spreckles Organ Pavilion, found the House of England at the International Cottages and walked the Palm Canyon {this was my favourite bit}.

We boarded the trolley again and headed to Old Town. Oh wow, I think I could have spent all day here. We wandered the Mexican market, had a guided tour of the Mormon Battalion, visited a Victorian village, saw some donkeys and went into museums at the State Park.

I really would have loved more time, but we still had things to see!

We then headed to Seaport Village to have a look around the marina and have an ice cream {we really needed it, it was so hot out}, and finally to Horton Plaza mall.

Chinese at Panda Express {Can you believe Dan had never been before?}, 10$ DVDs and $2 t-shirts - we couldn't have asked for a better end to the day!

We managed to find our way back to the hotel in time for a midnight swim. Well, 9 o'clock actually.