We had a beautiful drive down from Thornehill Broom Beach along the coast highway through Malibu, Santa Monica, and Venice on our way to Dockweilers RV Park in Playa del Rey just south of LAX on the beach. The drive took about an hour and we checked in just before 1pm. We have site 81 second from the last spot on the beachfront row. This is good as they build a large sand berm along beach in front of the park to guard against winter storm tides. We are far enough south that sand berm ends and we get a nice view of the water. Our neighbors on our left are here for three weeks also, that's the max stay allowed, and have a 2009 Allegro Bus. Jay and Julia, who live here in LA, just returned from a year long trip east and are winding down before returning to their home which they rented out for the year. He is a professor of Lit, and she teaches photography at the college level and owns a studio in Venice. Nice couple. The park is about a third full as they raised their rates from $46 a night to $65 as they are a LA County Park and under a budget crunch. We are in for $46 since we booked before the rate change. The result is the the space on our right has been vacant much of the time. Good luck for us.
We have just passed the midway point of our visit here in LA and the weather is almost hard to believe. The sun comes up at 7am and shines through the shades in our bedroom. We are up and around by 8am, I have been getting an hour long walk in almost every morning. usually sit in chairs at the front of our coach enjoying our morning coffee and watch bicyclers pedal by on the bike path between the park and the water. Sometimes I include a nice cigar along with the coffee. It is warm and sitting there in a tank top and shorts is very comfortable even at 8am.
A couple of days it was foggy until 9am but then sunny, clear, and warm like clockwork. I keep thinking of the movie "Groundhog Day" as the weather each day is so great. Can't say I miss home at all.
The CRV is definitely a huge step up from the Wrangler as far as driving around the freeways and in traffic. We loaded Ollie in the back, got the car washed in Santa Monica and drove around the houses just a block or two off the beach. What a life that must be. Many have been restored and run the gamut from small to large. I have to get back there with my camera as some are really picturesque. Ditto the houses on the Venice Canal. We drove around those for a while then drove north along "Ocean Boulevard" the main north/south street in Santa Monica. It is bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean beaches and the park above the cliff and on the other side by old hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. Both sides are bordered by rows of old palm trees. When the Olympics were in LA in the 80's the Marathon event ran up this long boulevard. Even if you haven't been to LA you have seen this street and park in countless movies and TV shows. We followed it to the northern end and picked up the coast highway heading to Malibu. We have been eating healthy this trip but treated ourselves to burgers in Malibu....Ollie got his own fries since we are all breaking rules for this meal. We drove around up there admiring the homes along the beaches.
One morning we drove up to Venice to have breakfast at the Sidewalk Cafe, eating outside with the canopy over our heads. We have been coming here for about 30 years and always schedule a breakfast here. They have world class omelets and its a great place to people watch. After breakfast we walked along the boardwalk and I ended up buying three tank tops for $15. They work well in the sun down here.
I took a bike ride down the bike path a few miles to the Manhattan Beach Pier. Again it is hard not to notice the beach houses along the sand in Manhattan Beach. The whole little community is very nice, with lots of little shops, and restaurants. We drove down here a couple of days ago and had breakfast at "Uncle Bills Pancake House" which has a outside dining area with a view of the pier and beach in the distance. It is an icon in the area and on Yelp, Around Me, Zagat and all the other restaurant finder software. Great pancakes, and corned beef hash. Small, fast service, and reasonable prices. One of the better breakfast places in the area. If you want to try it on a weekend allow for a wait to get in as it is very popular.
We have shopped at Costco and Ralph's for groceries a couple of times, done laundry once, and went to an RV place to get an awning strap replacement. But otherwise it is sitting in the sun, reading, and on Sundays watching football. Before we left I had the compartment TV put on an "Arm" so it swings out and will tilt so we can watch TV outside and be able to adjust for sun glare. It works great. Love being able to enjoy a morning cigar while watching the game...can't do that at home for obvious reasons. LOL.
I will be better at entering more photographs in the future.
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