Four Days In SOCAL

Well I've had almost as much time off work as on this year due to some health issues so I'll try to catch up as best I can. 

    Knowing that I was going to have an extra long time in LA (four days) I set out to make some plans to occupy myself and prevent cabin fever.  I had hoped to visit an old friend in Sacramento however the flights were very expensive compared to usual which means high loads which means not only wasn't I going to pay north of $400 USD for tickets but I wasn't going to risk staff travel either so that idea is scrubbed. 

    Something else I have wanted to do in the US is do a rail journey so I looked at travelling to Sacramento that way but it was far from direct and very time consuming with multiple chances for me to be caught out of station for the flight home.  So it was decided that three of us would hire a car and go for a drive.  

Here's some cherry blossoms in Pasadena

First stop was the Ronald Reagan Memorial Library and there was a lot to see there so I will put that in a separate blog entry.  Suffice to say here that it was very well done with some amazing exhibits and is located on the ranch where Ronald and Nancy are now laid to rest.  There is a memorial site but that is separate from the burial site and I'm not sure if that is accessible. 

Next stop after that was Malibu - somewhere I had heard a lot about and never been.  Getting there was very scenic - driving from the edge of the Simi valley through the canyons to arrive at the coast. 

This area was part of the wildfires that went through earlier in the year and although it looked scorched there was intense green regrowth and it looked quite spectacular. 

Next stop Malibu Beach.  The word 'underwhelming' doesn't come close to an apt description.  If it is on your 'to visit' list then I encourage you to remove it. 

Expensive properties either above or below the road level, mostly gated and private.  We had to pay $6 in order to drive in to the carpark at the beach and it was average.  Long Beach is far better IMHO.  Moving on...

Time to head back to Pasadena with one more stop on the way.  Griffith Observatory.  It was busy so we had to park a long way down the hill and walk up - upside is we saw a woodpecker on the way.  

The Focault Pendulum was interesting.  

Once dark, it was a great view over Los Angeles and a good end to the day .  We headed back to the hotel via Gus' BBQ in South Pasadena for some brisket and ribs. Overall a long but good day.