Blogs from Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles, California, United States, North America

Luke turned 12 today, so after picking up greetings from family via text and on our blog we set off on the freeways to Sherman Oaks Castle Park and the baseball batting cages. Wow doesn'e even a 40 mph baseball seem very fast and hard to hit. We all had a go with our supplied helmets and bats, then after a few root beers and pink lemonades we headed for the DASH boutique, of Kardashian family fame, in Calabasas which fortunately was closed Sunday but gave opportunities for photos outside. We then toured over the scenic Mulholland Drive which runs over the Hollywood hills and stretched our legs with the dog-walking, jogging population in Runyon Canyon Park. Then a big surprise, we took the kids to Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park North of LA in ... read more

Just a quick entry on our big car. It's a Dodge Grand Caravan which is very roomy and comfortable with marvellous Air/Con and seven seats and adequate boot space for 5 cases etc. However it handles like the Titanic as far as acceleration is concerned with it's automatic gearbox. It weighs 2 tons and only does 24 to the gallon on a long run! Gas is about half the price of the UK. It has a 3.6 litre engine and runs on Regular Unleaded fuel We got the car with 3 miles on the clock from Dollar Rental in San Francisco and it has been very comfortable... read more

Day 5, Dec. 4: West! West Till We Find Water! I spent a bad night, coughing so much that I feared they wouldn't let me board the airplane on Sunday. Accordingly, rather than trying to go see the La Brea Tar Pits, I did what I knew was best for my lungs. I went straight back to Manhattan Beach and I planned to stay there all afternoon. There is nothing more healing for my bronchitis than the salty ocean air. It was a lovely little town, clearly the Pawley's Island of California. The trolley driver said that it was a wealthy community with high-priced real estate, but it must be "old money," as everything was quietly good rather than flashy. They had blue cobblestone zebra crossings, and the drivers actually stopped and waited for you ... read more

After a few weeks of much anticipation, I have finally started the blog. I must admit, finding dependable internet service has been nearly impossible. Nonetheless, now at El Sheraton (the nicest hotel chain in South America) I´m balling it enough to make some entries. I must preface, my entries will be short but sweet.... Let´s start at the beginning, May 31st... The Bon Voyage Pub Crawl. With a great showing, and many people wearing politically incorrect clothing from different parts of the world, we set out to conquer Hermosa Beach, play an inordinant amount of flip cup, unknowingly ride around in bike taxis and, of course, get drunk! The day wasn´t without interesting moments (i.e. getting kicked out of Dragons and me getting a gigantic cut on my foot). Thanks to all of you who participated. ... read more

Well, we did it ..... well , ... not ALL of it ..... but we rode the bike path from Rodondo Beach to North of Manhatten Beach this morning . Not as far as we would like to have gone , but good just the same. Del didn't have his odometer with him so I'm just guessing ..... but I think we did about 25 miles. That's a bit whimpy , but we'll make it up when we get back to this area in a week and have more time. The temp is a perfect sunny 80 degrees ( wished I'd have put on my shorts today to ride but they were all packed ready for ..... "THE CRUISE" .... which we dock tomorrow) ....... and we are soaking up every ray of it. We are ... read more

I start with these 5 words - Oops! I did it again :( ... JUST KIDDDDDDDDING!!! I MADE IT - I'm finally in LA!!! *big smiles* THE FLIGHT I must say that the flight over to LA was not the best flight I've ever taken. As soon as I sat down, I was like WTF, why is there NO TV SCREEN infront of my seat. Must I really sit with nothing infront of me for 13 hours? SERIOUSLY? :( Flying out of Australia.. we experienced some really, like REALLY bad turbulence. It was really freaky! The whole plane was shaking and I even shook out of my seat a few times. You know when you're on a rollercoaster ride and you swear your tummy is going to turn any second bcos its flippin like mad? Yep, ... read more

In the past year, I have been trying to slow the affects of aging, by making a concerted effort to do some sort of physical activity at least five days a week (ok, that’s on a good week, but we all have goals). About a year ago, I started going to the Kailua Bikram Yoga studio with my girlfriend, Kelli, in an effort to mix it up a little bit. I remember that first day in the studio, I thought to myself…what the hell am I doing in this room that is purposely heated to 100+ degree temperatures, holding these difficult and sometime strenuous yogic poses, all the while looking at my reflection in the mirror. During those first few classes, I didn’t know if torturing myself with this form of exercise was going to ... read more