Days 80 to 84: Sooooo Cal!!

Jeremy and Sara with their kids Noah
and

It was great to arrive at Sara and Jeremy's place and although it had been well over a decade since I'd last seen Sara, she made me feel very welcome.  They have a really nice family and home in Murrieta which is about an hour from San Diego and LA.  It had been a long time since I'd enjoyed a warm shower and a bed to sleep in, so I really felt like I was getting five star treatment there.  I talked with Jeremy for a couple of hours and got to know more about him and the area before hitting the hay in my luxurious room. 

On Thursday a bit of swell was hitting the coast so I headed out to Trestles, one of California's most famous waves in San Clemente.  I had been curious about surfing in California, in regard to both the waves and the surfers.  How powerful would the waves feel and how competitive would the line up be? 

Trestles in San Clemente, CA 

After spending more than an hour crawling along the freeway in a classic So Cal traffic jam, I finally arrived in San Clemente and located Trestles.  I checked it our from a top a cliff and could see many breaks peeling along the beach.  It looked a bit smaller than I was hoping, but cleaner as well.  I met a New Jersey transplant who explained some of the wave characteristics of the various breaks as he headed down to the beach.  I was actually one exit from the parking spots, so I got back in the car to find a spot I wouldn't get towed from. 

After a quick burrito from a really good Mexican restaurant I was parked in front of, I made my way down the 20 minute trail to the beach.  I was excited to get in the water and since none of the breaks looked really inspiring, I chose a less crowded one so I could catch a few more waves without having to line up.  The water was cold, the coldest water I'd been in, but the my 4/3mm wetsuit kept my core warm.  My hands and especially feet, were frozen numb within an hour.  I caught a few good waves in the couple of hours I was in the water.  The waves were about shoulder high and not too steep which makes me think I was on a break more suited to longboards.  After my first California session ended, I drove back to Sara and Jeremy's place to find another delicious burrito waiting for me. 

That night I got some good info on the San Diego city scene and made a plan to check out Ocean Beach.  The following morning, I packed up my car, said good bye and headed west to the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego.  The foggy morning quickly cleared up and I found parking, got my bike down and decided to explore a bit on two wheels. 

Stone Brewery has an excellent tour and
free beer at the end!!!

One of the most striking aspects of Southern California is the number of homeless.  Obviously, the weather must be a huge factor in deciding where to be homeless and it's easy to see why so many people would choose to make the streets of San Diego their turf.  To make a comparison, I saw more homeless people in 3 hours of riding around San Diego than I did in 3 months of driving around the rest of the country.

I passed the Ocean Beach surf break and considered getting in the water but decided to just stick with the bike tour.  I later regretted that decision as riding around San Diego was anticlimactic and at some times dangerous.  I must have ridden at least 15 miles through uneventful neighborhoods before I called it quits and went back to the car.  With nothing to do, I felt the sentiment often expressed by cops trying to get people moving; 'you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here'.  Well, I certainly chose one of the next best places to home, Stone Brewery in Escondido.

I was pleased to discover a free tour of the brewery that began just a few minutes after I arrived.  At first they told me they didn't  have any spaces left on the tour, but when I told them I was traveling solo, they had no problem finding me a spot.  Our tour guide was a funny, charismatic brew master who explained the brewing process, ingredients, and history of one of the most successful micro breweries in America, in great detail.  I was the only home brewer on the tour and it paid off at the end when I got extra tastings due to my ability to simply talk the brewers' lingo.  Although the restaurant there looked really good, I opted for something cheaper, like Mexican.  A Walmart parking lot served as a safe parking location for the night and the next morning I woke to near perfect weather. 

A bit socked in with fog, Laguna beach
was still beautiful.

Continuing north the next morning I stopped by Laguna Beach.  I'd been there once before, many years ago, and remembered beautiful cliffs that hugged the beaches.  I saw those cliffs again and noticed a lot more since I was able to ride my bike along the coast.  A few people were playing volleyball on the beach and I debated asking to join.  Instead,  cooked pancakes in a small park overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  After a late breakfast, I stopped by the Laguna Beach farmers' market and picked up some incredible avocado hummus and artichoke salad with pita bread.  I continued north and passed tons of places I would have liked to stopped at if time wasn't beginning to be and issue.

Crystal Cove State Park, just south
LA

Just north of Laguna Beach the scenic coastal views  pulled me over and I decided to ride a bit more along the coast through Crystal Cove State Park.  I took advantage of the showers at the park which, thanks to California's economic situation, were free.  In fact, most of the parks I visited in California were totally free since no one was employed to collect fees.  I thought it was an interesting way to save money in a budget; fire a fee collector and stop collecting fees.  The ride was a lot of fun and the weather was nearly perfect, but it was time to keep moving north.

I regretted not getting in the water
at Huntington Beach after I saw these
fun waves

Sunset on Huntington Pier

I didn't get far before I reached Huntington Beach, a cool little beach town with a pier featuring surf breaks on each side.  Touring the town by bike, I check out Jack's Surf Shop for a bit and crossed the street to the pier.  The Huntington Pier is classic California.  People fished, others watched the surfers, couples and families strolled across the wooden planks and a diner sold food at the pier's end.  I watched the waves, which were better than I expected, and wished I had gone straight to the beach for a sunset session.  The walk down the pier was fun nonetheless and I took in a beautiful sunset. 



Huntington Pier and Beach

 The coastal drive had been so beautiful that day that I didn't want to travel any further in the evening and miss anything so I found the Huntington Beach Brewery for some beer and wifi blogging time.  I ended out staying for a few hours and watching part of a UFC fight that filled the bar.  As soon as the fight was over, I rode back to the car (which was parked on the street in a seemingly safe neighborhood), and crawled in back for bedtime.



Tons of volleyball courts are open
on most Southern California beaches

 The next morning I woke early and made my way north past numerous LA beaches including, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach.  Finally, I reached Manhattan Beach and needed a break (both a rest break and a surf break).  There were quite a few people surfing the beach breaks that stretched miles down the coast and the waves, while a little small, still looked fun.  I parked and got my bike down to scope out some good breaks along the beach.  I found one near by my car and hurried back up to get my wetsuit and board.  I stayed in the water for a couple of hours and caught a few good waves.  I also got to take a shower on the beach, which was a big bonus about surfing in southern California.



The Griffith Observatory in LA



LA from the Griffith Observatory

 I felt great after the session and was excited to get to my next destination, Griffith Observatory.  It was a perfect night to go to the observatory, clear and a good view of the moon.  The observatory and park which it is located in was donated by a man name Griffith in the early 20th century.  Set upon a hill near Hollywood, the observatory commands spectacular views of LA and the sky above.  Inside, there were plenty of fascinating exhibits about the cosmos that caught my attention in addition to a planetarium, where I enjoyed a really cool film about our place in the universe.  I love hearing about the size of the universe and how scientists have gone about learning and exploring it.  After the movie and browsing the exhibits I went up stairs and caught my first glimpse of LA from the hills. 



I've always wanted to peer through
a telescope like this



The 12 inch Zeiss
refracting telescope pointed
at the moon and Jupiter

Millions of lights from the enormous city below along with the bright moon above illuminated the sky too much to see many stars.  Obviously that wasn't part of the plan when they put a powerful (at least for back then) telescope on the roof, but the brightening city lights didn't dim the spirits of the astronomers who worked there.  After a 30 minute wait in line, I finally got in to the telescope room where an astronomer told us about what we'd be seeing when we had our turn to look through the big lens.  That night it was aimed at Jupiter, which was close to the moon at that time.  Not only could I see the biggest planet in our solar system, but three of its moons orbiting it as well.  After that, I went back to the front lawn were two other telescopes about a quarter of the size and the same power, were pointed at the moon.  While I was waiting in line I started talking to a group of girls behind me who responded to me in what I envisioned as a stereotypical LA attitude of cold indifference.  It was one of the only interactions of its type of experienced on my trip but that general theme seemed most prevalent in Californian cities for some reason.

I picked up a late dinner at a Mexican joint before heading over to the nearest Walmart for some free overnight parking.  The Walmart was part of a mall in a crappy part of town, so when a security guard asked me to leave, I was more than happy to comply and make my way to the next Walmart in a nearby suburb.



The walk through aquarium in the
LA Science Museum

 After my great experience at the Griffith Observatory I decided to check out a couple of other museums in LA.  I found a convenient parking lot that was near the LA Museum of Natural History and the LA Science Museum.  Since the Science Museum was free, I opted for that one first.  The museum was nearly empty so I could peruse the exhibits at my own leisure.  There were some cool ones too, including an earthquake simulation room, a transportation section, a walk through aquarium with dozens of fish and an area dedicated to physics.  I spent a few hours in the museum and worked up a big appetite. 



Pulse dips, cracked wheat, some kind
of pancake, and other veggies

 The night before I had noticed the neighborhood of Little Ethiopia on the map and remembered that one of my friends from Indian Creek had highly recommended Ethiopian food.  I pedalled my way through the streets of LA, which seemed diverse, yet somewhat segregated until I reached Little Ethiopia.  It really was little and I got to choose from about 6 restaurants that all claimed to have authentic Ethiopian food.  I choose a vegan buffet and got to sample some really nice pulse sauces, veggies, and grains.  The food had a flavor similar to Moroccan food, which is one of my favorite ethnic cuisines.  On the way back, I took a different route to avoid a certain neighborhood where people looked at me like I didn't belong (or maybe that was just my perception stemming from my feeling that I didn't belong), but I still got the pleasure of passing different enclaves and the numerous mom and pap shops that characterize big cities. 

I finally got back on the road and hugged the coast through the ritzy areas of Santa Monica and Malibu where it was easy to understand why living there is so desirable.  I stopped to look at a break in Malibu, but the waves were to small to ride a short board so I continued through Ventura until I arrived in Santa Barbara.  Unfortunately, the girls I met in Indian Creek were out of town that weekend so I found a local brewery and made it just in time for the happy hour specials.  I talked with some locals and got some good beta about where to park, where to surf, and what to expect as I traveled north.  I felt like reaching Santa Barbara marked the end of Southern California and my trip felt closer and closer to finishing.  Thanks again to Sara and Jeremy for their warm hospitality and generosity.