Category Archives: California March 2018

Off to California! Up very early! 5:30 AM alarm, quick cuppa, throw last electronics in bag, and out the door at 6 AM. Easy ride to Newark, park at Haynes, and move fairly quickly through very long TSA Pre line. Pretty comfortable flight: new plane, seats wide enough, enough leg room. Of course it’s UnitedContinue reading “Off to California”

Day Two: Big Sur, a small mechanical issue, and new friends Sue slept in, having been awakened during the night; I had breakfast at the coffee shop next door, Tidal, and read and watched football (love that YouTube TV!). We rolled out around 9:30, heading down Route 1. The great views start just past Carmel.Continue reading “Big Sur”

Day Three: Big Sur and Down to San Simeon We got going fairly early (after coffee from the little cafe attached to the hotel) and headed back down to Big Sur. Stopped at a couple of state parks hoping for short walks, but most of the trails were closed due to high water. We finallyContinue reading “San Simeon”

Day Four: Montana de Oro Beach Walk and Paso Robles Wine Country We wanted to see the big slide at the south end of Big Sur, so we drove up. It really is a spectacular site: a new peninsula out into the ocean. We could only get within a few hundred yards, but well worthContinue reading “Paso Robles”

Day Six: The Getty and a Burma Reunion We spent the morning and early afternoon at the Getty. The weather was very uncalifornian: it rained most of the day! I hadn’t anticipated how spectacular the museum would be: a series of pavilions with panoramic views out to sea and across the entire LA basin. WeContinue reading “The Getty”

Day Five: Santa Barbara and Westlake Village We didn’t get too early a start and then headed down to Santa Barbara. We passed some burnt out areas and some mud slides before stopping at an overlook at a high point of the coast mountains with views deep into some mountain ranges where the Hughes haveContinue reading “Westlake Village”

Day Seven: LA After a slow start, we drove down to Hollywood, where we had booked at the Kimpton Everly. Tom and Em had come up from Palm Desert a day early and scouted the place, which was brand new, hip minimalist, and very nice. We decided to try the new contemporary museum in downtownContinue reading “LA”

Breakfast at the hotel and then the slog up the freeway to the Getty. Tom and Em were as taken with the place as we were. We saw the entire main collection and had lunch in the cafe. Although it was a bit tight, we drove all the way across town to Pasadena and theContinue reading “Day Eight: Getty and Huntington Gardens”