Blogs from Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States, North America

Day 29 - A very lazy day in Prescott, trip to Walmart, yes folks, and it wasn't disappointing. Then off to Watson Lake which we visited in 2016, an amazing lake on the outskirts of Prescott. The rock formations are fascinating as you can see by the pics. A very peaceful area which is popular with hikers and canoeists. A local advised us that it is actually part of the Grand Canyon as the waters from the Colorado River also flow around this area. We had a history lesson on our hotel tonight from the bartender, built in 1927 new owners in the last ten years have spent quite a bit of money on repairs and updating the property. It is immaculate and although the rooms are quite small, it is indicative of the era. We ... read more

Geo: 34.0113, -118.492Another day in sunny California and we have decided to spend the day cruising the beaches near LA. We headed to El Matador State Park to use as a starting point and work our way south. Unfortunately, the Park was closed until, tomorrow for work they are doing. So on to the 2nd stop, Point Dunes State Park where I explored the cliff side beaches on small trails heading from the road to the sand below. Not wanting to take up too much time I returned to the car, and we headed to Malibu in hopes of spotting a star or two shopping in the very high end boutiques. We searched and searched but saw no one we recognized. Not really, we walked around a little then headed on down the coast. The main ... read more

Geo: 34.0113, -118.492 Sadly, our last day in the US. We all went for a very long walk right down to Venice Beach, and then continued on to stroll around the Venice Canals, which we had missed out on last time. We returned to Santa Monica Pier and ate Italian food at Al Mare and had a final few drinks before returning to the hotel to pack.We had a late checkout so we were able to watch another sunset by the fire pits, while enjoying burgers and wine before our taxi to LAX for the long flight home.Many thanks to S & J, and their boys for sharing this with us. It was an amazing holiday!... read more

The drive from Santa Barbara to Death Valley was long to say the least – just the odd 8 or so hours with stops. Once we arrived at the park entrance it was starting to get proper hot, around the 35 degree mark. However, this was up at the higher elevations, as soon as we descended into the valley it got superhot topping out at 46 degrees. Whilst down in the valley we braved the heat for about 10 minutes to go and see the Mesquite Sand Dunes – quite a site seeing dunes that are not on the coast. We decided after the monster drive that we would go straight to our hotel after this at Beatty (just outside the park). It was an alien themed place taking advantage of UFO believers travelling to nearby ... read more

I touched down in Southern California with two full days of shopping and acclimatizing before the entire family arrived for my niece's wedding festivities. Of course I needed some new socks & underwear, walking shoes, pants & blouses - but I was also shopping for things that friends in Ecuador had requested; imported goods have become prohibitively expensive and many items are simply not available. I loaded up my cart with Glucosamine/Chondroitin tablets, Fish Oil capsules, Isotoner Gloves, SPF/Dry Wick Athletic Shirts, industrial-size chili powder, and the list went on and on. On the third day I went back to the airport to meet family arrivals. Gilbert flew in from Atlanta and he and I took the airport shuttle around to the terminal where 'little' brother Bob & his family were due in. Bob had rented ... read more