Blogs from Los Angeles, California, United States, North America - page 6

Hello folks. This is a little late being posted but it is the story of our return from the cruise. Spoiler Alert – we did get home. The ship docked in Los Angeles about 5:00 AM. We weren’t up at that time, but we had officially completed 10,030 miles of cruising. We did not get up until 7:00 because our departure from the ship was late in the morning, but we had to vacate the cabin by 8:00 so they could start cleaning for the new passenger who would come aboard later in the day. So we put our remaining items in the roller bag and backpack and we went to the Horizon Court for breakfast. Many people had early departures from the ship, so they had come and gone through the breakfast buffet. It wasn’t ... read more

Weather: sunny and 50s/60s/70s/80s States: California Cities: Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Pebble Beach, Carmel, LA Miles: 323 miles Hours: 5 hrs and 21 min Restaurant: Hotel/Home: Springhill Suites LA/Burbank Movies: Audible: So long Santa Cruz and hello highway 1. Well, it’s reputation certainly Ives up to itself. It is one of the most beautiful drives that we have ever done. It helps that we had a perfect day of blue skies,, 50s and 60s and the bluest waters you’ve ever seen We highly recommend the drive. You have every shad of blue on your right and every shade of green in the rolling hills and mountains to your left. There are some breathtaking hairpin curves where, at one second you have a lush barrier or guard rail and the next second it flattens out to a sheer ... read more

Today we finally got to start a cruise vacation which has been in the planning stage for more than a year. Well we didn’t actually get to the cruising part today, but we have left home and got to Los Angeles where we will board the Star Princess tomorrow. But let’s go back and tell this story from the beginning. In planning this trip, we set clear ground rules that no one was to get sick or injured while we were away. In the past couple of cruises there have been a variety of medical issues – none are allowed this trip! I guess we should have included staying healthy leading up to the trip too. Our granddaughter Tessa had a reaction to the stitches they used last week to remove pins from her arm, so ... read more

Riley and Richard take off on a boys only trip to the Happiest Place on Earth! We had five days to live it up and let Mum relax. We went to California Adventure for two days, Disneyland for one and everyday in the hotel pool. Our first stop was Cars land where Riley saw Lightening McQueen, Mater and Red. His first ride was the Cars land race that scared him off rides for a bit. We also saw Woody, Cap, the Black Panther and Spidey. We saw the Guardians of the Galaxy in a dance off party. We met with Goofy, Mickey, Donald and Groot. The next day we entered Disneyland. Riley was brave and tried the Indiana Jones ride. But his favourite ride was 'It's a Small World'. Riley took photos with Snow White, Cinderella ... read more

Our ship docked early in the Port of Los Angeles and we were disembarked not long after 8am. We quickly found a taxi and went to our hotel in Long Beach. It was not very far so we were there before 9am. We were pleased when the receptionist told us that there was a room ready and we could check in straight away. After the big last night we were glad to be able to rest in the room for a couple of hours. Our hotel was on Long Beach Boulevard and the waterfront was at the end of this. The receptionist said it was about a thirty minute walk, but undaunted we set out under a warm and sunny sky. There was not a lot to see along this stretch of road and we soon ... read more