It's a California Adventure! (with added Las Vegas) Day 8

[Lizzybear]

Pre-trip (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25870384)
Day 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979081)
Day 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979156)
Day 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981701)
Day 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981755)
Day 5 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981868)
Day 6 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1983813)
Day 7 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=28645475)

24th September 2008

(I probably don't even need to say this now but) Up early and checked out, grabbing a few of the free breakfast danishes for the drive on the way out, and had breakfast at the IHOP next door. I had 2 pumpkin pancakes with sausage, hash browns and scrambled eggs and Steve had 4 normal pancakes with fried eggs and hash browns. We always enjoy eating at IHOP and this meal was no exception. Bill was $25 and after breakfast we set off for Pismo Beach. As it was still early it was quite foggy and rather cold but being Brits we (or rather I!) decided not to let something as piffling as chilly weather stop us from going to the beach!

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Swings on the beach yay!

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Of course I had to try them out...

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Yep, definitely working!

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Holidays are coming!

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Ended up being quite a fleeting visit and we set of for our next destination: Solvang. Arrived there at about 11am and had some cold drinks and pastries from Olsen's Bakery (http://www.olsensdanishbakery.com/) (Moca crescent for me and cinnamon twist for Steve) then wandered around a bit. Solvang is supposedly a Danish town but it's more touristy than authentic and it seems that Denmark is having an identity crisis: Vikings and delft pottery themed souvenirs?! We love places like this though and spend a fun hour or so there. It reminded us of Fantasyland in MK in a weird way. I bought a 'kissing cousins' fridge magnet, there's that identity crisis again!

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Any takers?!

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We set off in the car again, this time heading for Santa Barbara, and we arrived there around 1pm. The beachfront here just blew me away, it's straight out of a TV show with the blue ocean and mountain backdrop. Steve doesn't particularly like sand but he couldn't begrudge me a walk along the beach here, it would have been criminal!

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Steve's attempt at an 'arty' pic!

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[Lizzybear]

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Action shot!

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My arty pic is clearly superior!

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We walked back to the car along the 'boardwalk' and, rather sad to be leaving all the beautiful scenery behind, we set off on the last leg of our journey to Los Angeles. As we drove through Oxnard (most northern coastal part of Los Angeles) we noticed the concrete and traffic gradually increasing and knew were had definitely arrived! Just to add: I know there are a lot of horror stories about LA traffic and yes it was very congested and there are a lot of idiots on the road but if you've driven in a city centre in the UK then in my opinion it's not an awful lot worse than that. I've only had my license for 4 years and I didn't feel unduly worried at any point. The only major thing I found was the sheer amount of cars on the road so you need to leave a lot of time even for short journeys. The roads can be busy even at times you wouldn't expect (like 10pm on a Sunday!!) Also, it can be easy to miss your exit lane sometimes as they come up quickly but you can always go back on and try again. Anyway! We arrived at the Hollywood Orchid Suites (http://www.orchidsuites.com/) around 3:30pm, checked in and parked up. We were both quite hungry by now and since I had planned on California Pizza Kitchen for today's dinner we headed there. It's inside the Hollywood & Highland Mall so we had a little look around there first. I bought a Hello Kitty holdall, wallet and earrings from the Sanrio store and a Hello Kitty tee from Hot Topic (which I later decided to return) Steve got another Kid Robot Simpsons figure from Virgin. At California Pizza Kitchen I got the pear and gorgonzola pizza (definitely in my top five pizzas ever!) and a strawberry margarita and Steve got the goats cheese and roasted peppers pizza. Bill was $42 and we got ice-cream for dessert from Coldstone Creamery (Birthday Cake Remix for me and Choc Chip Cookie Doh for Steve, yummy but there was soo much!) which we ate while watching a street dance troupe performing on Hollywood Boulevard below. Suitably stuffed, we headed to the street and took some pictures of some stars and foot/hand prints near Mann's Chinese Theater before returning to the hotel.

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Steve was desperate to get his new camera at this point and the guy in Virgin had told him there was a Best Buy about 20 minutes walk away so he decided to head there. I didn't feel like driving again so I said i'd take him tomorrow if he wanted but, no, Mr Impatient had to have it tonight! While he was gone I did our laundry and read my book (Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban =) Steve returned an hour later with his new baby which he had ended up getting from Target instead as they had a better offer on. It had been another busy day so it wasn't long before we were both asleep. Just a few notes about the hotel: We thought it was great value for the location, large rooms, kitchen and included secure parking. It is a 'mom and pop' type place and yes the decor and furnishings are a little dated but I imagine this is one of the ways they keep their costs down and we thought it had character, something a little different from the myriad of chain hotels that are everywhere nowadays. It was fully booked the whole time we were there and for a while after aswell so they must be doing something right, i'd recommend it to anyone wanting a good value option in Hollywood.

[SusanEllen]

Hooray for you, fearlessly tackling the LA traffic. Southern California freeways scare a lot of visitors from even trying to drive out there, but as you said it's not that difficult, mostly just crowded. One thing about the congestion, you don't have to worry about getting a speeding ticket. You rarely get a chance to go the limit.

Lizzy, have you seen the movie Sideways? Now that you've been to Solvang and driven through Santa Barbara a lot of the movie would look familiar to you.

I do love Hollywood and am eager to read how you found it (and I don't mean by driving the Pacific Coast Highway!).

[Goofysmate]

Great report Lizzy.
:thumbsup2

[mark&sue]

a lovely day. The beach looks sooooo quiet.

susan

[SusanEllen]

Lizzy,
Just wondering when we'll get the next chapter in your California trip. When the Holiday season starts I know things can get busy, but hope you can find some time to write another of your entertaining reports. Best wishes and hang in there. Susan

[florida sun]

Great report Lizzy, so looking forward to reading more:goodvibes

[natalielongstaff]

gosh it looks chilly :guilty:

[Minniespal]

Great report Lizzy, your pizza sounds delish:thumbsup2

[cap'njack.]

I love that Coke truck...and Solvang did look a little like Fantasyland!