Surf City

Larry and I have been staying in Surf City--Hungtington Beach, CA. He has been consulting for Boeing for this week. They have put us up in the Hilton on the beach. It's a tough life, but I'm coping! While Larry has gone off to work each day, I've had to figure out how to entertain myself. Monday, I took a long walk, then a nap until he got back to the hotel. Tuesday, I went off to the Fashion District in downtown LA for some fabric shopping. Wednesday, I went to Disneyland, and today I was off to Catalina Island. Whew! I've still got tomorrow left to hang out at the beach. I'm not sure what I'll decide to do. I think I may need some down time. Before I forget, I'll give some highlights of my 3 adventurous days.

Courage and determination! That's what I have kept in mind. It may not seem like much to those people use to driving on SoCal freeways and using nav systems, but to me it was a big deal. I did it! For the past 3 days I have set out by myself to far flung places using the nav system on our 5 year old Prius. I wasn't totally at ease with using it for a couple of reasons. First, it has taken us on some pretty round about routes that don't seem quite right. Second, it is the kind of system that relies on what was programmed 5 years ago. Sometimes streets change and it doesn't work out. We haven't had the system reprogrammed because it would cost $300. Maybe it would be worth it. I don't know. Plus we are thinking about getting a smartphone with GPS, so we wouldn't need to upgrade our Prius system. At any rate, I made a go for it with our existing nav system and wasn't disappointed. In fact, I was proud of myself for using it and getting to where I wanted to go all by myself on the dreaded SoCal freeways. To warm up, on Monday I made it to a vegan restaurant for lunch. Then on Tuesday I had the big test of driving to the fashion district on 3 freeways. The system didn't fail me during the hour long drive there, then back. I made it to Disneyland just fine, even during rush hour. When I missed one freeway transition, I exited and the system got me back on without a problem. Today I made it to the Long Beach Catalina Express terminal without a hitch. I guess I am sold on our system. What I especially like is that it shows the lanes of the freeway and whether exits are to the right or left. The visual cues are helpful!

Here are a few notes on my adventures. First, the fabric shopping on Tuesday. It was fun. I found some treasures for not much money. I think I got at least 20 yards of fabric, enough for plenty of experimenting. This time I had a car to take it with me. I discovered Michael Levine's loft, which I think I missed during my August trip with ASG'ers. I went there at the end of my day there, so was tired or would have gotten more. Everything there was sold by the pound, with solid colors half off. I found some solid slinky, plus a fun cotton knit for t-shirts. I also toured some of the ready-to-wear stores, but didn't find anything to tempt me.

Wednesday I made it to Disneyland right on schedule. I walked in the gates when they opened and kept going strong until after the closing parade. I decided just to do Disneyland this time, skipping CA Adventure. I wasn't disappointed. I found plenty to do. I revisited my favorite rides such as Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion. I did these 3 times each to take in all the details. I also went to some places we usually skip, such as Tom Sawyer's Island, the River Boat, and Casey Jr. train. I did most of the rides in Fantasy Land. Captain EO was back, as was Star Tours, so I revisited them also. The parade was surprisingly good. Several floats with dancers, each according to a movie theme. I made it back to the hotel in only 30 minutes. It's actually not too far from Huntington Beach.

Today I went to Catalina Island, the island of romance. 22 miles across the sea... I took the Catalina Express from Long Beach to get there. It was a comfortable, fast way to go, although it took me 45 minutes to get from the hotel to the terminal. The ride itself took only 1 hour and went past the Queen Mary. The water was nice and calm, so I napped both ways. At Avalon, on the island, I had in mind to do 2 things. I wanted to go to the historical museum to learn about the history and see the exhibit on Marilyn Monroe, who lived there for a year during WWII. I headed there first and wasn't disappointed. Marilyn was just 16 when she married a young merchant marine, who was assigned to train serviceman for the war. They lived in Avalon for a year, before she was Marilyn. There were some great photos and information on her early life. I asked one of the ladies who worked there what she liked to do on the island. She recommended going to the botanical gardens and mausoleum for Wrigley. I then formulated my plan for after the museum. I had lunch at a vegan friendly restaurant I had read about, Cafe Metropole. It was great. I had a nice grilled vegetable sandwich and cup of Thai soup. I then took off for the gardens. It turned out to be quite a hike. Most people who visit there drive golf carts. I made it anyway and walked up all the stairs at the mausoleum. I was rewarded with quite a view. The gardens feature some plants that are native only to the island or near-by areas, as well as some cactii that looked familiar from Tucson. On the return trip, I had a good view of the Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach. All in all, I liked my trip to Catalina Island and would recommend it.