Day 19: San Diego to Las Vegas

Had a lovely brunch with Eveline this morning at a nearby place called the Mission. I managed to get on the road by about 1:00pm which was actually on time. Yay.


I did very little stopping today, so most of the photos are driving photos. I saw this cool looking bridge as I was leaving town. The scenery on I-15 from San Diego to Temecula was very pretty but sadly I was not able to get any photos. I stopped in Barstow for a truck stop dinner at Subway so no photo ops there either.


The cacti in Mojave National Preserve are neat looking but hard to photograph at 70 mph.


Most of the guidebooks make it sound like the drive from LA to Las Vegas is desolate and boring but I thought the geology was pretty neato.


Stopped at Buffalo Bills in Primm (Cal-Neva border town) to donate some money to the owners. At least I was up $15.00 for a little while, I just forgot to leave at that particular moment...

Tomorrow: Trying to track down some tickets to Beatles LOVE, seeing what's new on The Strip, laundry, and trivia.

Day 18: San Diego Zoo

I spent 6.5 hours at the Zoo today and still did not see it all. That place is massive. One of the first photos I got was probably my favorite so far- a baby orangutang dive bombing his dad:


It was just dumb luck that I got it while he was still mid-air. All of the 'tangs were very active and entertaining.

The pandas were actually visible, a first for me. Every other time I've had a chance to see them they were hiding in their dens.


R.O.U.S.s!! aka capybaras.


This was also the first time I've seen an active Koala.


Apparently someone dropped their phone into the meerkat exhibit so this keeper retrieved it for them, then the meerkats decided they wanted to be petted.

It was pretty amazing to me just how many different species the zoo has. They even have Kiwis, which they keep in a darkly lit house during the day to simulate nighttime because they are nocturnal (so zoo patrons might have a chance to see them while they are active). Unfortunately I couldn't find any of them in the exhibit. I also couldn't spot any of the Bonobos. That was dissapointing. But overall it is definitely worth the $40.00 admission. I just wish they had longer business hours, I still haven't seen the whole place after two visits.

After the zoo I met up with Eveline and some of her classmates for drinks, then on to a Japanese place for some ramen for dinner. It was very yummy!

Tomorrow: Brunch, then on to Las Vegas!

Day 17: Errands and Balboa Park

I started out the day running some errands, like getting a copy of Eveline's key made, and then drove to Balboa Park. Then I noticed that the little door to where I fill the car with gas was open. I checked it out and realized I had forgotten to put the gas cap back on or even close the door waay back in Newport Beach when I filled up (I had a feeling at the time this might happen soon). So I had driven about 100 miles with no gas cap. I decided I should get that taken care of, so I called AAA and asked them for the nearest car part store (because I was not internet connected at the time). Turns out there is an Auto Zone near the park and they had my model in stock so that was that. Crisis(?) averted. Back to the park:


The park is filled with all kinds of photogenic architecture. That's the botanical garden building in the background. I spent a good three or four hours just wandering the grounds looking at everything, I didn't actually visit any of the handful of museums.


This is the California Tower which is the centerpiece of the complex. It houses the Museum of Man.

Some giggle-worthy architectural detailing.


There are also several gardens, this was a cool plant in the desert garden.


Once Eveline got back from the lab we went out to Tre Porcellini, a place I had bought a groupon for. It was very delicious and not too crazy expensive (even without the groupon). Back at home we broke into the white wine I bought for myself in Napa, it was just as good as in the tasting room!

Tomorrow (well, technically today because I'm a day behind with this post): San Diego Zoo

Day 16: Culver City to San Diego

Leaving town took a lot longer than I thought it would. This shouldn't surprise me by now but it still does. I stopped but a nearby farmers market which was very inconveniently located in a hospital that charges for parking. I ended up with some nice dried fruit and navel oranges as well as some tangerines that, unfortunately, are gross. I drove down highway 1 through some fun looking beach towns but didn't really get to check them out because of the late start. I did stop to take some pictures in Palos Verde Estates:



I stopped here to eat my lunch, it looked like an enjoyable resort town.

One of the many hotels/condos by the water.


After an inland stretch of highway one that goes through the foreign planet/industrial area of Long Beach, it finally get scenic again around Huntington Beach.


Right around sunset I detoured through Balboa Island in Newport Beach to check out the yachts. I did not get the greatest views nor did I really spend enough time there, but I had another 80 miles to go yet so I didn't want to dawdle. It was dark once I reached Laguna Beach but from what I could see it looked like a nice place to visit as well.

Once I made it to Eveline's we went to In N Out burger for a rather late dinner. I got the cheeseburger with grilled onions. I'd do that again.

Tomorrow: most likely Balboa Park and/or The Zoo.

Day 15: Griffith Park and Beverly Hills

Started the day off at Griffith Observatory which, unfortunately, is closed on Tuesdays. But the view is still worth the visit. There were no hiking maps to be seen so I chose the closest path I could find that went uphill (so my hike back would be downhill). I was rewarded by some amazing views:

This lookout had about a 200 degree view of the area, basically everything south of the Hollywood Sign (which I did not end up hiking to).


I made it all the way to a place called Dante's View which had views of Downtown as well as a bit of the San Fernando Valley/Burbank? I'm still a little fuzzy on the geography of the area...


After the hike I moved on to Beverly Hills via Hollywood and did some drive-by sightseeing of the landmarks as well as a little bit of the fancy houses on the hill (I have a feeling I just saw the modest sized places though). Then I parked near Rodeo Drive and stopped at Coupa Cafe to try their appetizer sampler. It was several mini versions of their Venezuelan specialties. It was a lot of fried dough and cheese, which you really can't go wrong with.

After dinner I wandered through Rodeo Drive which had closed up at 5, so the people watching was limited. But on the walk back to my car I did get to see some funky mini-mansions like the one above. I liked how each street was thickly lined by one type of tree. One street was all magnolias, another with palm trees, etc.

Once I got home I joined Brandi for dinner (my second!) at Tender Greens, which was a pretty neat cafe. For $5.00 I ended up with a massive salad which nicely balanced out all the fried food from earlier.

Tomorrow: On to San Diego!

Day 14: Venice and Santa Monica

Started the day off with a car wash for my poor salty car, it looks much better now. Then I drove to Venice.

I parked at the south end of Venice Beach and started my visit on the fishing pier. It had a nice view of the area (that's Venice and Santa Monica in the background). As I made my way down the pier a lifeguard truck whizzed by me and rescued someone in the water. I really didn't get much info but the guy was brought safely ashore.


Venice itself was quite a strange mix of body builders, seemingly homeless people, pot dealing doctors, food vendors, and glass shops. It's also funny how suddenly that mix disappears and turns into wall to wall ocean-view condos and vacation homes.


I stopped for a while and watched the guys at the skate park. They were not bad, but no especially fancy skills were on display. I felt a little like an anthropologist studying a foreign culture, trying to figure out their customs and etiquette.


On the walk back to the car I finally had some shoe free quality time with the ocean. The water a lot warmer than I was expecting.


Then I went up to Santa Monica Pier which is the terminus of Route 66. It was very windy and, dare I say, cold so I did not stay very long. If it had been warmer I might have ridden the Ferris Wheel.

We went out for dinner with one of Phillipe's co-workers, Stacy, to a vegan restaurant called Native Foods Cafe. It was really good, I had sweet potato taquitos and a tasty salad. We were supposed to have Korean BBQ tonight but when we arrived the restaurant was gone and replaced by a fancier and more expensive place (in the span of two weeks, apparently). So that was disappointing. But I liked where we ended up just fine. Oh and just because I washed my car today it was raining on our walk home from dinner. That was unexpected!

Tomorrow: change of plans, I'll be in LA a day longer than I thought! So tomorrow I'll check out Griffith Park and Beverly Hills.

Day 13: Getty Center and Arclight Theaters

The Getty Malibu Villa, which houses Greek and Roman antiquities, requires reservation which I did was not able to get so we went to the Getty Center instead. Brandi drove - it was nice not having to drive today! It is a rather large complex with seven buildings full of mostly European art from the 12th to the 19th centuries. It was a lot like the Legion of Honor except bigger and with more views. And a garden/installation piece:


The garden was a little like a labyrinth except not confusing, just limited pathways. It also had many flowers I've never seen before.


You can see the people on the labyrinthine pathway here as well as the ingenious bougainvillea trellises made out of rebar.


I enjoyed how many different viewpoints the whole place had, every building had several terraces so there wasn't just one view.


Due to less than average traffic we made it to the movie theater with time to spare so we popped into Amoeba Music which is the largest music store I've ever seen. We saw Thor (in 2D!) at the Arclight in Hollywood. It is a great theater, you can buy your ticket online and reserve specific seats which are very comfortable. And they have a strict no talking and no cell phone rule so you wont be distracted. Oh, but the ticket is $16.00. I bought some crazy expensive carmel corn that I immediately dropped and lost most of which made me very sad. But it was probably the universe telling me I didn't need to eat it I guess... Anyway, the movie was ok, about on par with Iron Man 2 maybe? I always derive enjoyment out of Marvel movies but I was not blown away by it.

I finally got to try some Taco Truck tacos for dinner tonight, that hit the spot. And the price was right ($1 per taco). So I can check that off my list.

Tomorrow: Venice beach and Santa Monica. And perhaps The Museum of Jurassic Technology if my day hasn't been weird enough yet.