"Touring America 2008"
'Highway 1 to Los Angeles'
Last slide in sequenceWe picked up our Winnebago and headed for Highway 1 which would take us all the way down to Los Angeles. After an overnight stop in Santa Cruz we decided to take the famous 17 mile drive,a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula. We stopped for a while at Bird Rock Beach to admire the wildlife and take a few photos. We then carried on down Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway stopping overnight at Morro Bay before heading for LA. Morro Bay was another great location with a quaint fishing town and Jane and me took the opportunity for a bike ride into the town and round to the beach to have a closer look at Morro Rock.
The next day we carried on to Los Angeles initially on Highway 1 which soon runs out and becomes US Route 101 taking you through Santa Barbera, Malibu and into LA. As we drove through Malibu we saw the Pepperdine University Flag display tribute to the victims of 9/11 which apparently is now a regular September attraction; it had only just been put up the month we passed through the area so we were quite priveleged to see it for the first time. The flags are meant to "add beauty and order in the face of chaos and evil", organizers said. They have been placed there without any explanation during every September since 2008. There are 2,977 flags, including 90 international flags, each representing an individual killed in the attacks. At the time we had no idea why they were there and only learnt about it afterwards.
We found a great RV park up in the hills outside Los Angeles (San Dimas), called East Shore, where we stayed for a couple of days; the park overlooks Puddingstone Lake, a popular fishing and boating attraction. In the distance we could see the LA smog and the lights of traffic passing along the Orange Freeway (Route 57) although it was very quiet and peaceful in the park. The girls thumbed a free ride round the park in a golf buggy looking for the best place to park the RV; they thought they were being entertained by the camp staff but it turned out the buggy belonged to another camp visitor and the buggy was part of his outfit!!. The Americans certainely do travelling 'in style'.
The next day we hired a personal taxi to take us into and around LA which proved to be a great way of experiencing the city from someone who knew where to go and what to see. We started off in the center of LA with the Walk of Fame on the Hollywood Boulevade and Graumans (now called TCL) Chinese Theatre; the Walk of Fame comprises more than 2,500 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks, honouring the stars of Hollywood over the ages. The famous hand and footprint impressions made in the pavement are outside the Chinese Theatre; we took some photos of well known celebrity impressions including George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Kirk Douglas. Our driver also took us to see some famous streets and landmarks such as Sunset Strip, Carneys, Rodeo Drive, and of course Beverley Hills. He pointed out some celebrity houses most of which I have forgotten, although I remembered Hugh Hefners, Jack Nicholsons (King of the Hill) and Peter Falks (Columbo) of the photos we took. We also saw the lead up to David Beckam's house (not the house itself) as he was playing for LA Galaxy at the time.
We were taken to the Farmers Market where we had our lunch and afterwards taken for a general drive round where we saw the Law Courts, Walt Disney's Concert Theatre and Downtown LA, location of Union Station and the Stock Exchange. It was a typical whistle stop tour that any American would be proud of and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
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