More California

So we left the woods and spent the past 2 weeks or so at or near the beach. While heading to Refugio Beach we stopped in the charming Danish themed town of Solvang first. Later that night we got to Refugio State Beach which felt a bit like we were back in Angola. The coast line looked very similar to Cabo Ledo, quite dry with interesting shapes due to erosion. There was also at least 4 oil rigs that we could see from our campsite on the beach which was unexpected. From Refugio we went to Santa Barbara for the day for a walk, haircuts and a delicious sandwich from Norton’s at the recommendation of Mike’s barber. We also stopped by the Santa Barbara County Courthouse to check out the views of Santa Barbara from the 85 ft. tall clock tower. The courthouse itself was really beautiful with fancy tiles from Spain and Tunisia.

After leaving Refugio we stopped by Venice Beach to checkout what was described in the Lonely Planet as “a freak show, a human zoo, a wacky carnival and an essential LA experience”. While there were some interesting characters, it wasn’t the tanned muscled up gym monkeys that we thought it would be.

Next stop was Los Angeles to visit with famous NJ icons, Cristin, Lindsay, Mac, toddler Ava and baby Laine. Before meeting up with them we met up with famous Canadian icon Craig and his lady friend Marta at the 101 Coffee shop for brunch. Much laughter and diner food eating ensued. Following brunch we went to Lindsay and Macs house for a few days before heading out to Dana Point for a few more days of full on friendship. While in Dana Point we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, also know as just Thanksgiving to Mike and Craig.

San Diego was our next coastal destination where we stayed at Campland on the Bay. On the way we stopped by Torrey Pines State Nature Reserve for a coastal hike and some more very Angola-like views. We spent out first day at Campland around Mission Bay and went out for some stand-up paddle boarding. The ride out across the bay was very quick as the wind did most of the work. Getting back across the bay was a bit more challenging because we had to go against the current. For a while it felt like we weren’t moving at all but made it back to shore eventually. The next day we spent the day seeing more of San Diego and headed downtown to Little Italy for some coffee and lunch. We also went to visit the USS Midway Museum which was an aircraft carrier that was used by the navy from 1945 to 1991. Later on we headed back north towards La Jolla and stopped by Childrens Pool to see a sea lion colony that likes to lounge on the beach there as well as the humans that like to bother the sea lions and get too close. Afterwards we went to Solana Beach to visit another famous New Jersey icon and former Mr. Spiffy High, Jim and his girlfriend Louisiana Lisa. (and their very cute, tiny and licky dog Tako). While visiting we went out for good food, hiked Iron Mountain and even got to go to their very nice gym to work on our future Venice Beach-ready bodies. Probably should work on the tan too.

For our final stop in California we went to Joshua Tree National Park. On the way we stopped to get 2 new tires on out van (the only repair of the trip so far!) and then poked around Palm Springs for a bit. We also stopped to see giant dinosaurs near a gas station on the highway. Typical California. We made it to Blackrock Campground before it got dark so we were able to see some of the Joshua trees and beautiful desert setting before bed. The next day we did a car rip with an occasional leg rip around the park to check out more Joshua trees. We also stopped by Pioneertown, which was used as a movie set for over 200 movies. On Sundays they have a shootout at 230 pm but we didn’t make it in time for the show. Goals.