After having
set up camp at San Onofre we realized that the location wasn’t all that
suitable for our needs at that time. The attractive campground was almost 1.5
miles from the beach over very uneven terrain and the beach could not be reached by car.
Advertised as a popular surf boarding venue, surfers’ vehicles lined the roads
for about half a mile from the campground to the highway. It would be a
challenge to get small kids to the beach and even so for us with some beach gear.
So we collected our bar-b-q provisions and headed for the Residence Inn, where
Hans had arranged to use facilities by the pool side. It turned out to be a
lovely setting with heated pools and exquisite facilities, where the 3 and 5
year olds could spring to life after their 6 hour flight and naps before we
arrived. It was terrific to see them all and an enjoyable evening was followed
the next day by us joining them at Dana Point Beach and us all returning to our
camp for dinner. The next day Susan joined them and Liz’s friend Lindsey on a
trip to Disney Land, while Willem, Stella and Fickie decided that one previous
trip to the similar in Florida many years ago was enough of being on one’s feet
all day, waiting in lines. Hans had brought the part for repairing our microwave
oven along and among others that kept Willem and Fickie busy.
Another fun
day at Laguna Beach and more exposure to crowded California made way for a
quiet Sunday with church and evening pizza at the Residence Inn.
On Monday we
were off to our next venue at Dockweiler State Beach, http://beaches.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/dbh/home/detail/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/dbh+content/dbh+site/home/beaches/rv+park/rv+park+main+page ,
where we were joined for dinner by our children and Hans’ friend since
kindergarten, Emre Ertikin and his girl friend, Arisara.
Dockweiler
is a very pleasant well run full hookup spot with an astonishing beach that
Hans, Liz and the kids took advantage of. Located exactly in line with Los
Angeles Airport and with prevailing winds from the west, it means an incessant
display of aircraft taking off across the beach. When screening RV parks close
to Los Angeles the effect of a location immediately in line with multiple
runways was considered but we decided the centrality for accessing the city trumped all else. It was a good decision and
surprisingly, one adapted quickly to screening out airplane noise. Marveling at
these giants of the sky at full throttle and up close had something going for
it. One night there was heavy cloud cover pretty low. One could hear a flight
taking off and just about when reaching the beach, clouds swallowed the beast
and muffled the sound. It wasn’t even possible to establish the direction it took,
which was quite possible without clouds. Such were also the conditions Tuesday morning
when Hans and family’s flight took off and Willem with binoculars on hand could
identify their plane having taken off from one of the further runways by the
Virgin sign on the tail before it disappeared behind the clouds. The exact time
was corroborated by Flight Aware. It is often satisfying to add some character
to even the most routine and overlooked of daily events.
The rest of
the day passed leisurely with household chores and some computer related
activities. Wednesday was a different matter, though. We headed north past
Santa Monica onto the Pacific Highway for a short distance to the Getty Villa. One
needs a pre-acquired free ticket to enter, which we didn’t have and were ready
to turn around, when the fellow at the entrance kiosk pulled out four tickets,
which gave us entrance for the day! He apparently has a few on hand for the
most disappointed looking and what saved the day for us was being there so
early in the morning. This is an astonishing place http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Villa , http://www.getty.edu/visit/ which surpassed all expectation; a mecca for classicists
and Greco Roman art and culture lovers, with research and training facilities
to boot. We parted ways without agreeing on a time to rejoin and some three
hours later had gyrated independently to the museum entrance, realizing that if
a quick-look line isn’t drawn, all day would still be a mere introduction to
the place.
We
backtracked a little to Sunset Boulevard off Route 1 and wound our way toward
Hollywood, passing all of the glitzy names like UCLA and Beverly Hills and
finally found ourselves on Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame , which presented a photo
opportunity, before moving on to the more substantial spectacle of the
Hollywood Bowl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Bowl . This is such a well-known stage with
pleasant TV presentation memories for folks all over the world that it was
satisfying to see the real thing. Equally satisfying was turning south to head
back to Dockweiler. Unlike many great cities of the world, Los Angeles isn’t
exactly tourist-friendly when it comes to getting from one place to another. No
day-passes for the public transportation system and had there been such, the
place is so stretched out and metro lines so limited that it would not be of
much use. As a result road traffic is really rough and the driving style pretty
aggressive. This means day schedules have to be limited in scope and the few
spots we could get to in one day, even from a relatively central location, were
as much as were sensible.
The next day
presented an opportunity to be on a guided tour of the Walt Disney Concert Hall
in downtown Los Angeles, which Susan arranged. Fickie and Stella preferred
taking advantage of great beach weather so the other two braved the traffic
alone. We had an excellent guide and the tour took an hour to skim the surface http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall . This creation by Frank Gehry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gehry
is the crown jewel of his career
and on a vastly larger scale than anything he had done before. In a
foreshadowing of this monumental construction which we saw in Biloxi,
Mississippi, Mr. Gehry’s design trademark was discernible (On Things Along the
Way 11). It was thus with considerable anticipation that we looked forward to
the Los Angeles project and were certainly not disappointed. A striking feature
is the diverse collection of interests, disciplines, specialties and
personality traits that had to come together for the project to succeed. In addition to the obvious architectural and
functional elements, the outcome stands as a tribute to Gehry’s management
skills and style to produce such a roaring success http://www.laphil.com/tickets/calendar-fullseason/2014. One need only look at the wood
organ pipes. Stylistic they fit in with the architecture but it must have
required a great deal of give and take between Gehry and the organ builder, who
probably had never before seen anything like it, not to mention that music
functionality had to be conserved! Although we could not attend a concert
performance, future broadcasts that we may hear and see from this venue will
have more personal meaning for us than before. What a privilege it was!
Back toward
camp we could pick up some supplies, go to a post office and get gas for taking
off the next day. Willem’s annoyance with the amount of time wasted getting to
places in order to get menial things done, convinced him that he didn’t have
the genetic makeup to deal with Southern California over the long haul. A
couple of days before, motorists didn’t allow him to make a lane change – even
without the trailer. The GPS then took him on a rendezvous to get to a grocery
store for a gallon of milk. However, 50 minutes and an estimated $10 of gas
consumed later he was back in camp with the $4 purchase. There are many good
things about the place – mostly weather related but the population density
imposed by the squeeze of the desert on the one side and the ocean on the other
was not easy to anticipate beforehand and neither to contemplate dealing with continuously.
City people are a breed of their own; Californians a special subculture
thereof. Such aggressive driving was last experienced in Africa. And so we were on our way further north,
hugging the coast line and threading our assemblage surprisingly successful
through construction obstacles and other California traffic peculiarities,
which prompted Fickie to share a rather appropriate quote from a visitor to Los
Angeles: I like Los Angeles ; call me
when it is finished.
A rather
beautiful drive past Malibu brought us to Leo Carillo State Park http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=616 . The location is fine, the
campground somewhat rustic without services but restroom facilities not
terrific, notwithstanding being cleaned twice per day. It looked a little better
after the weekend with fewer occupants, although the pay-for-use showers were functioning
poorly and our in house bathrooms proved their value! The beach with a number
of interesting coves was easily reached by foot and it is clear why the place
has attracted Hollywood film producers: http://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Leo%20Carrillo%20State%20Beach%20-%2035000%20W.%20Pacific%20Coast%20Highway,%20Malibu,%20California,%20USA
Willem was
intrigued by neighboring campers that arrived with a Pennsylvania tagged
vehicle. The party consisted of a guy and two young girls – all enthusiastic
and collaborative in setting up their tent. By the time they had an attractive
fire going, and dinner behind them, Willem invited himself to go warm up a bit
and so met Jason Burson and Naomi, 7 and Ella, 5. He was so impressed by the
girls’ attitude and fine manners that he mentioned it to Jason. It turned out
that he took his daughters out for a night’s camping while their mother,
Rachel, had returned to Pennsylvania for her sister’s birthday celebration that
weekend. The Bursons have moved from PA to CA 9 months ago and were quite happy
in Malibu, where Jason now works. It is seldom to encounter kids of that age
that are so engaging and with great sense of subtle humor, which speak of a
lovely job of parenting that they are privileged to enjoy.
This was a
good venue from where to reach the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and
Museum, which we did http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Presidential_Library . Having seen the TV coverage of the
memorial service and funeral, including the oversized turnout of the public
that lined roads for miles on end those days, it was informative for us to
travel there and get a bit of a grasp of the outpouring of respect for Mr.
Reagan. The Museum and overall setting of the presentation is really huge. It
reflects a tribute befitting one of the most significant leaders of the
Twentieth Century – a man who said his administration set out to change the nation and changed the world. And the public recognition at the time of his
death indicated that regardless of Washington and Sacramento, at least in the experience
of the man on the street, it was for the better http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33093-d145836-Reviews-Ronald_Reagan_Presidential_Library_and_Museum-Simi_Valley_California.html . The spectacular drive back via
Mulholland Highway placed an exclamation mark on the outing.
It did not escape attention that the present
occupant of the White House found it necessary to also change the nation, which
means away from where Mr. Reagan took America and is finding out that he is
becoming a spectator of a changing world as a result of American abscondence.
It would seem that a tremendous vacuum and a challenge to recover are
presenting an opportunity for great American leadership to a respectable person
worthy of the office to step forward again.
Two trips to
Ventura for placing a prescription order and picking it up from a pharmacy for
Susan, including a church service on Sunday, exposed us to the beautiful drive
along the coast in preparation of our moving on the next day to Pismo Beach, http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=595 .
Consistent
with our practice to hug the coast, we set out on Route 1 north from Leo
Carillo past Santa Barbara, Goleta and Gaviota, where the road turned away from
the coast to Lompoc. The coastal section
is beautiful and Santa Barbara in particular speaks of substantial wealth and
culture, including a reputed University. The route past Lompoc, Orcutt and
Guadalupe to Oceano runs by Vandenberg Air Force Base, a place of considerable
significance in the US http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base
. It is in the heart of impressive agricultural activities – particularly
expansive vegetable and strawberry fields that are irrigated to the hilt. Yet,
in sharp contrast, the drought in California is taking a heavy toll as gigantic
eucalyptus are wilting and following the path of those already dead by the
hundreds even right at the beaches. It is a terrible sight of conditions that
are wreaking economic havoc, aggravated for some by cutting off the flow of
irrigation water. This is due to a little fish, smelt, in favor of which a
campaign has been raging since 2006 and it virtually means war in the San
Joaquin Valley, echoing in
Washington for years:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/20/its-farmers-vs-fish-for-california-water/?page=all ,
Pismo Beach Campground
presented us with a beautiful site and the beach immediately behind the dune
where we were located. Once again we were dry camping and could generate
electricity between 8 am and 10 pm, but rarely exceeded 4 hours per day. It was
a better managed campground than Leo Carillo and the endless beach was only
briefly interrupted by a very substantial fishing pier about half a mile to the
north at downtown Pismo. Beach walks took us there on more than one occasion
and fresh seafood enticed us to dine out. We were less impressed by the prices
and quality at roadside stalls and a nearby Walmart enabled us to stock up on
supplies. This was an almost celebratory event because we got the impression
from remarks along the way that some antipathy exists toward Walmart and stores
seem not as available as elsewhere in some areas. After two leisurely days we
moved on the Morro Bay for three nights.
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