Southern California - Day 5

Los Angeles here we come!!! Hooray for Hollywood!!! Our morning started with a walk along Hollywood Blvd and the famous Walk of Fame. We stopped for a few pics with some of our favorite stars.

 Walt Disney

Elvis Presley

Tom Hanks

Chinese Theatre

Michael J Fox

Chuck Norris

David Hasselhoff

Just in case you get hungry along the walk, you can always eat at the Rusty Mullet. It comes complete with mannequins with mullets on the awning just to get you in the spirit!

We happened to stumble upon the Hollywood Farmers Market which put every farmers market we have ever been to to shame. Granted, it is California, and they can grow just about anything here, any time of year, but they had about 4 blocks of anything and everything you could ever want: lettuce, avocados, oranges, guavas, broccoli, grass-fed beef, spices, pupusas, kimchi, tea leaves, candles, and so much more. We bought some tangerines, cara cara oranges, and mandarins. 

And just in case food, spices, etc. aren't your thing, you could always buy some poetry. Yep, there was a lady selling personalized poems. She had a line of 4 people deep...quite popular.

Next it was off to see the Hollywood sign! We drove over to Mullholland Drive because we were told that was a great spot for pics. It's still a little far, but we got it!

Another must was Beverly Hills and the famous Rodeo Drive! The first part of the street is lined with beautiful trees. While we didn't go shopping, we did enjoy driving by the fancy stores.

Next to Santa Monica and the famous pier.

We made the short drive to Malibu for sunset. So worth it!

Dinner time back in Newport Beach. We ate at a place called True Food Kitchen. One of the best meals we have had all trip! While there we found out it is actually a chain, and there is one in Atlanta....so excited that we can go again!

Overall, a fun and exhausting day in La La Land!  Tomorrow is our last day in Cali!

Southern California - Day 4

Off to San Diego, but first we needed breakfast so we stopped in Laguna Beach which is along the way. We ate at Madison Square and Garden. The garden was full of fun locally made yard ornaments and amazing weather vanes!

Now onto San Diego. First stop is Mission Beach. It is very touristy, but very nice and a huge surfer haven. We walked along the boardwalk. People bike, rollerblade, run, and walk all along it.

At the beginning of the pier they actually have little houses for people to live/rent. It was kind of freaky that cars can drive on the pier, especially since you could feel the pier shake when they did. 

After our long walk along the beach, we got hungry. We had lunch at a restaurant along the marina. Great views of all the huge boats!

Just down the street from the marina, there is a mini park with a rock-lined beach. It has great views of the San Diego skyline, so we had to get a pic! Notice the brown layer hovering over the city....hello haze! There's actually a huge mountain behind the city, but it is hard to see through all the smog (maybe the second picture is clearer).

After Mission Beach we went farther south to Point Loma. It is a hilly peninsula just west of the city, so it has excellent views of downtown. The original name was La Punta de la Loma, which translates to "Hill Point", which is obvious. (You can compare the picture above taken at sea level of the city, and the picture below, taken atop the point). 

Near the top of the Point Loma hill there is a statue of Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who first found the peninsula.

Then it was off to Old Loma Point Lighthouse. Notice the lighthouse is not very tall. It doesn't have to be since it sits so high above the ground/city already. We also went over to the Sunset Cliffs, as they are aptly named, for some great scenic photos.

There is a naval base, and other military installations on Point Loma. They also have a beautiful  Veterans cemetery. On the high side it looks as though the tombstones flow right into the clouds. On the low side of the hill, they have a great view of the ocean. There are veterans in here from both World Wars, Vietnam, and Korean Wars.

Next it was off to La Jolla for a beautiful sunset along the beach. While it is warm here during the day, it gets quite chilly at night, so we were very thankful we brought sweatshirts for the beach.

Off to LA tomorrow!