Shaun MacRae

Kelly and I just returned home from a one-week vacation in California. All in all, everything went really well. We both had our concerns about one week not being enough time, but I think we managed to see a lot without an extremely demanding schedule, and as a result we really enjoyed ourselves. Of course, we could have spent months trying to see everything there is to see, but there will be other opportunities.

We flew to LAX on Sat, July 21. Rex gave us a ride to the airport that was much appreciated. When we arrived we picked out a rental and made our way for Santa Monica, where an old friend (Gustavo Garza) lives. Gus’ place was only a short drive and we only got lost once along the way .

After settling in, Gus and Viviana took us straight to the beach. For this excursion Gus insisted we take the top down on the rental jeep. It was already getting close to supper time and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so we found a restaurant named Coggies with an amazing ocean front view. We ate some really good steak and seafood while watching the dolphins jump right before our eyes. We joked about the switch they must have had to turn on the dolphins for the tourists …

Afterwards, Gus took us to Pepperdine University, in Malibu, where he studied for his MBA. The University had a really nice view – even with all of the fog. We drove around some more, and went back to Gus’ place to shower up, watch the soccer game, and meet his roommate – Ricardo.

It was about midnight before Gus, Ricardo, and Celso decided to take us out to the club, so Kelly decided to stay in. The club was fun, and I got to meet some more of Gus’ friends there as well. We weren’t ready to call it a night yet when they kicked us out, so we decided to have some more drinks and cigars back at the apartment. Ricardo had a tequila liqueur (Agavero) that him and Gus were fond of so I joined in on that …

The next day was rough! Finally, at around noon we all rolled out of bed and started looking for food. The boys decided we needed to experience some authentic Mexican food in East LA. They took us to La Casita Mexicana. It was a bit of a drive, but well worth it. We had Agua de Orchata (Rice Milk with Cinnamon), Lemonade, Enchiladas, Queso fundido (Cheese Dish), Mole Verde and Mole Rojo.

Ricardo is part-owner of a bakery (La Monarca Bakery) just down the street, so after lunch he took us there to show us around and stock up on treats. Him and his partner plan to launch 3 more stores next year!

After the bakery, Gus took us to Hollywood. We went to the top of the hill and did what every other tourist does – took our picture in front of the Hollywood sign. Then we drove down Sunset Boulevard, through Beverly Hills, and into a more industrial area, where Gus’ friend Tonio lives. Jaime (met him the night before at the club) was also there. Tonio had just moved into a really cool resort-like apartment complex (also right across the street from the office he works in as an architect). We had beers and a bbq that seemed to go on for hours outside by the pool. Afterwards we had desert. Then we smoked Columbian cigars. I sure do love holidays! We finished the night off playing shuffle board in the games room of Tonio’s apartment complex.

On Monday, we left for Anaheim. Our original plan was to take in San Diego Zoo with Gus on the Sunday, and then Disneyland on the Monday, which is why we had a room booked in Anaheim. We didn’t make it to San Diego Zoo on Sunday, but we had pre-purchased the tickets so decided to go on Monday instead. We had also given up cancellation options on the Anaheim room, so we decided to swing through and drop our bags off, continue on to San Diego, and then come back for the night when we were done. The plan worked out well. We only really needed a half-day at the zoo (which is good because it was noon before we got there), and we were back in time to hit up Downtown Disney for some shopping, dinner, and fireworks.

On Tuesday, we made the trek to San Francisco. Of course we got a late start (as always) so decided to take the interstate (I5) instead of the Pacific Coast Highway (1) (google only shows us US 101, but 1 is actually right on the coast) – which we heard was a better experience driving South anyway. Furthermore, it was much warmer inland. We took the top town (the highways had signs posted warning drivers to turn off AC), put on the sun screen, and made sure to make a bunch of stops for water.

We stayed at Rita’s house (Kelly’s mom’s cousin) in Sonoma Valley on Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday night. We arrived later on Tuesday, so didn’t do much besides catch up with Rita, and get to bed early.

Wednesday was our day in San Francisco. We started the day with a tour of Alcatraz. I am really glad we bought tickets ahead of time because it would have been impossible to get on otherwise. It was a 20 minute ferry ride (with an amazing view of the bay bridge and fogged-over golden gate bridge , and then a self-guided tour once we got there. Once we made the hike up the hill to the prison itself, we were given a set of headphones and the audio tour guided us through the prison.

When we arrived back in San Francisco, we walked around briefly in Fisherman’s Wharf. We had lunch at an Italian / Seafood place on the Wharf and enjoyed a nice Napa Valley merlot while we where at it.

Afterwards, we made way for the cable cars. I had really wanted to try one out, but realized they were highly overrated once we got there. It was going to cost $5 per person – for each trip, and the wait was at least one hour. Luckily, there was a sketchy dude running around offering limo rides downtown for $5 per person – same price as the cable car. Kelly talked me into it and 10 minutes later we were downtown.

The shopping downtown was unreal. I could have spent thousands. Luckily I was already broke. We hit up some of the stores that are hard to find here in Canada (like Abercrombie and Fitch), and then called it a day. We had planned on having dinner at Cliff House. Jaime had recommended we go there because it was right on the ocean. Unfortunately the cab driver took us to Clift Hotel – which was very fancy but did not have a restaurant on the top floor.

We ended up going out for Thai food in Sonoma with Rita instead. The food was spicy – and good. I had a Thai beer which was also delicious.

On Thursday, we spent the day with Rita. We went to three different wineries in the afternoon. At one winery called Benziger, we actually got a tram tour, and at all three we tasted several wines and bought the ones we really enjoyed. We bought five bottles in total.

We had a bbq back at Rita’s and decided to uncork the Jacuzzi chardonnay. Everything was delicious. Afterwards we were greatly disappointed by the movie Babel staring Brad Pitt. Boo Babel!

On Friday, we traveled back to Los Angelas. We left late as always, but took the Pacific Coast Highway (1) anyways. We returned to Gus’ place late on Friday night, due to taking the scenic route along the coast, but it was every bit worth it. The views from the highway were astounding. We also took the 17 Mile Drive near Carmen, into Pebble Beach resort where we had lunch at the lodge over-looking the 18th hole right beside the pacific ocean.

As I mentioned, we arrived at Gus’ late, and also left early so did not see him, but were very appreciative of the place to stay. On Sat, July 28 we returned home to Calgary, and once again Rex and Linda picked us up from the airport.

Overall, the trip left me thinking that usually, I will choose to go some place new before going some place I have already been, but for California, I will definitely make an exception. This was already my second visit, and it is definitely a place I hope to visit again and again.

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