Given the Winter we had, our next trip from March 28 to April 15 was another great idea. It seems like I had this one planned for years in advance. The trip centred around 2 things ……. visiting our dear friends Lorrian and Mike in Long Beach, California, and a Holland America cruise from San Diego to Vancouver. The dates and years kept shifting, and finally we figured it all out and the timing worked out perfectly.

Prior to leaving home, I even compiled a California playlist for the car rides, especially the first one from LAX to Long Beach, which to us, took place at about 3 a.m. Let me know if you’d like to know what was on the list – my faves were Katy Perry’s California Girls, Patti Labelle’s Stir it Up (from the 1st Beverly Hills Cop movie), Randy Newman’s I Love L.A., The Village People’s San Francisco, and Barry Manilow’s It Never Rains in Southern California. (and of course, Tony Bennett’s I Left My Heart in San Francisco)

Saturday March 28 to Thursday, April 2 – Long Beach

I’m happy to report that all 4 of our Westjet flights on this trip were comfortable, trouble-free, and on time! We started by flying from Toronto to Calgary and then flew from Calgary to LAX. We flew in Premium and the pot roast dinner was great. I watched One Battle after Another and some Netflix. After US Customs (where they finally straightened out Steve’s passport records) we went to the Aspire Transborder lounge in Calgary for a couple of hours. If you ever do this, note that you have to go through Security again.

Upon arrival at LAX, where baggage carts are $8 USD each to rent, it was absolute bedlam waiting for a bus to the Enterprise Car Rental lot. We finally got one after 5 full ones went by. It was a good idea to check in for the vehicle online beforehand so that when you arrive, after a long walk with baggage, you can go right to the parking garage and get your vehicle instead of going to the counter.

We got a Mitsubishi Outlander that fit all our stuff and finally got Bluetooth hooked up with the help of the exit gate attendant. It was a ½ hour drive from LAX to the Homewood Suites in Long Beach where we had a clean, quiet spacious room for 5 nights.

Day 1 – after a long sleep and free breakfast, we got picked up by Lorrian and Mike and drove to Downtown LA to the Walt Disney Concert Hall to see the LA Philharmonic – the program was Schubert, the Beethoven Piano Concerto, and Brahm’s 2nd Symphony – all fabulous. The hall was beautiful as you can see in the pics.

On the way home, we stopped at the fire station where they filmed the TV show Emergency, much to the excitement of the geeks in our group.

Afterward, went to a restaurant called 908 in Long Beach for dinner, right by our hotel, where the steak was amazing, the service was so warm and fun, and the cocktails were delightful.

Day 2 – early in the afternoon, we drove over to Lorrian and Mike’s and hung out at their place for the day – they BBQ’d ribs and corn, had potato salad and stuffed jalapenos and brownies for dessert – and lots of wine! I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t take any pics of their home – but suffice it to say that it’s lovely and it was wonderful being in the back yard with the 2 dogs, 1 cat, and 5 chickens. It really was like poultry-theatre.

Day 3 – Lorrian drove, I navigated, and we went down the PCH South to Dana Point via Laguna Beach, Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, and Newport Beach – all gorgeous.

We had lunch at Wind and Sea at Dana Point Harbor and ate outside – the food and drink and service were great, as was the view. On the way back, I saw the 3 real estate offices’ OC locations from “reality TV”. (The Oppenheimer Group from Selling Sunset, The Altman Brothers office from Million Dollar Listing LA, and Mauricio Umansky’s The Agency from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Buying Beverly Hills. IYKYK

We headed back to our hotel and had a nap and then over to our friends for take out Chinese which was very good.

Day 4- we got picked up and went back to LA – first to Pepe’s Towing Service to the delight of my husband who could see the main lot of his favourite Tow Truck Porn show on YouTube. The guys there were really nice and we were able to take lots of photos.

Then we headed to the Griffith Observatory near the Hollywood Sign. We had tickets to the show called Centred in the Universe at the Planetarium – it was super good and the view there is amazing. We had lunch in the café and then went back to Long Beach to a great Mexican restaurant after the show.