Saturday 21st October 2017

Today was a travel day.  We travelled almost all day with a few stops down the I – 99 from Visalia, onto the I – 5 and through the ‘Los Padres National Forest’.  A really beautiful, but long drive. As we were heading for Santa Ana the following day we decided it would be nice to, once again, camp near or on the beach.  With this in mind we headed for Dana Point Camp Ground only to discover that it was full.  The campground officials suggested we travel a little further to San Clemente State Beach where we should find some places. San Clemente State Beach did have some disabled spaces available but were not allowed to allocate them until 5pm. We waited until the deadline came and went and then claimed our spot and set up camp. Unfortunately this meant that we didn’t have enough time to walk and see the beach.  We did however, cook a lovely tea over the open fire.

Unfortunately, although the evening was fairly warm, the night was anything but. We had a fitful nights sleep trying, unsuccessfully, to keep warm.

Sunday 22nd October 2017

Arising really early [06.30am], we decided that our best option was to clear camp, shower and head out in search of coffee to warm us up.  We spent an acceptable hour in McDonald’s – the only place open at that time of the day.

Our plan was to visit Santa Ana Salvation Army today for their morning service. Julie’s parents had always raved about the many good holidays they had with friends who attended this Salvation Army Corps, so we wanted to try to locate this family.   Having done some research we found that Santa Ana had a few corps so we chose ‘Anaheim’ at random and headed out. We arrived early and had breakfast in the car park. Fifteen minutes before the service was due to begin we headed in and stood at the back assessing our options. Many people came to talk with us.  We discussed our reasons for choosing Anaheim; Julie being brought up in the Salvation Army and feeling a need to visit the place her parents enjoyed visiting and trying to discover the whereabouts of their friend Francis Harrison.  Major Ian Robinson said that he knew Francis because they were at the same corps together.  She had moved away because the corps had become Spanish-speaking and he no longer knew where she was. Eventually we headed down the hall and sat down.

The service was upbeat and led by a rock band [drummer/singer, two guitarists/singer and a female singer]. We didn’t recognise any of the songs but joined in as best as we could. The Majors [Ian and Isobel Robinson] talked about Greed and its many guises and also how the opposite of greed is generosity which was very interesting to listen to and ponder on.

After the service we were invited to join in the women’s fellowship lunch group.  We enjoyed a lovely lunch of rolls, pork, salad and coleslaw after which we made our very own caramel or chocolate covered apples. We spent much time talking to the ladies there about our trip and they in turn told us about the work this establishment does for the community.  It is mainly involved in supporting the community with regards to drug and alcohol abuse.  The Adult Rehabilitation Center help residents to combat their addictions, build the work and social skills needed to re-enter the workforce, regain health and stability, and restore families that have been disrupted by substance abuse.  There were many men and women in the service from this rehabilitation centre.

We would both like to thank Anaheim Salvation Army for their kindness and generosity and for making us feel so welcome.  We both enjoyed our visit.

To break up the journey to our accommodation at La Habra Heights we decided to take a walk along the Whittier Greenway trail just to get some exercise. The weather was beautifully warm with bright blue skies and a slight hint of a breeze.  We didn’t walk for long before we headed back to the car and up into the hills.

Monday 23rd October 2017

We are going to have a rest day today.  Our airbnb accommodation is in a fairly large house up on a hillside just outside of Los Angeles.  The pool is fairly deep, edged with stone and contains a slide, jacuzzi and hidden caves.  After breakfast we swam in the pool and played on the slide.  It is a beautifully quiet place to swim, sit, sleep, puzzle and plan.

Tuesday 24th October 2017

We left our accommodation having booked airbnb accommodation for the next two nights.  We had planned to camp, but the weather is so hot and forecasted to reach far beyond 100 degrees F today and not cool down that much during the evening and night.  We have also booked our first three nights in Suva on the south coast of Fiji in an Eco Lodge in the ‘Colo-I-Suva Forest Park’.

We have a three-part journey planned for today.  Firstly, we visited Beverly Hills where we walked up through Rodeo Drive and passed all the designer boutiques.  Neither of us really have any interest in this kind of shopping but is was good window shopping if only to see what we don’t want or can’t afford. We walked up to the ‘Beverly Hills’ sign and Lily Pond. Both, surprisingly, were built in 1907 when the city had only six houses and a few trees.  The one adjacent to the pond is a ‘Morton Bay Fig’ tree – the largest of the evergreen fig trees – but nowhere near as large as the Sequoia Trees we had seen earlier in the week.

Secondly, we visited Hollywood Boulevard to see the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  There are, apparently, 2600 five-pointed brass stars embedded in the pavement.  They are considered to be a permanent public monument to their achievement in entertainment.  We found a star for: Phil Collins, Julie Andrews, Glen Miller, Michael Jackson, Liberace, Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, Hugh Laurie, Fred Astaire, Mickey Mouse, Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Colin Firth and Daniel Radcliffe to name but a few.

A little further on was ‘Grauman’s Chinese Theatre’ which opened in 1927 with the premier of the film ‘The King of Kings’.  It has since been home to many premiers, but the most distinctive feature are the concrete blocks set in the forecourt which bear the signatures, footprints and handprints of popular film personalities from the 1920’s to the present day.  Unfortunately, there was a special event promoting  Michael Jackson’s newly released compilation album ‘Scream’ and we were unable to access the forecourt to see them up close. We did, however, get some idea of what the fuss was all about and took a few photos.

Finally, we wound our way up the mountain to visit ‘Griffith Observatory’.  Colonel Griffith J. Griffith became rich through mining and real estate and donated 3,015 acres of his land for use as a free public park for his adopted town of Los Angeles.  He loved astronomy and decided that he wanted to build an observatory so that anyone could have an experience similar to his own. The observatory was finally built using money from his will in 1935.  The building has subsequently become a featured location in films like ‘Beverley Hills 90210’, ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.  We spent a couple of hours hiding from the 105 degree F heat and learning about the planets in our solar system.  One huge wall was dedicated to ‘The Big Picture’ – the largest astronomical image ever produced depicting the Virgo cluster of Galaxies. There is also a bronze statue of Albert Einstein sitting on a bench in the Depths of Space. Einstein is holding his index finger about 1 foot (0.30 m) in front of his eyes, to illustrate the visual area of space that is captured in The Big Picture. We awed at the scale models of our solar system the hung from the ceiling which are shown relative to the size of the sun.

Our host for tonight has a ‘bearded dragon’ called Walter, a dog called Parker and several tropical fish.

Wednesday 25th October 2017

Today we had booked to go and take part in a ‘hike and meditation’ tour at a private retreat in Malibu just 35 minutes away from Santa Monica, with our teacher Sandy.  After a short drive through the countryside we arrived at the retreat which was nestled into the side of a hill.  Sandy greeted us and we got to know each other over a well received glass of iced water.  We were to practice yoga in her back garden overlooking the hills and valleys that are her beautiful backdrop.  We practiced many yoga positions, some of which were familiar to us.  We had been teaching them to our judo students for many years having had them taught to us by our judo Sensei. We were familiar with the cobra, the downward dog, the tree, the triangle, half-moon and the spine twisting pose. The main difference was the slowness and control of the movement and the focus placed on our breathing.

After twisting and bending our bodies into positions they had not been in for a good while, we headed out into the hills for a sort walk along ‘Zuma Ridge’ with a very reluctant puppy in tow. The weather was extremely hot once again so we didn’t stay out for long –  just enough time to wonder at the beautiful countryside.

Because we didn’t have any photos of us actually doing yoga we decided to stop on Malibu Beach.  We walked along the water’s edge watching the waves crash onto the beach and found a spot for the photos.

Feeling hungry we headed up the coast looking for somewhere to eat. We came across ‘Paradise Cove’ – a private beach with a proper restaurant right on the beach. We decided to treat ourselves to tacos together with an enormous plate of delicious fries. Jacqui had a fish taco, Julie a prawn taco and we also had a pulled pork one to share. They were delicious and we continued to listen to the deafening boom of the waves on the beach just below us.

We headed to the beach complete with our trusty chairs and puzzle books for a little R&R.  Upon entering the beach we were informed that James Garner and The Beach Boys had both filmed on that very beach . It was a beautiful place to sit and take in the last of the suns rays.

Thursday 26th October 2017

We travel to Fiji later today so after breakfast we emptied the car of all our belongings and repacked our bags ready for the flight. This time the smaller bag feels heavier than the big bag.  We said our good buys to Drew and his dog, Parker and headed for the coast.

We decided to visit Santa Monica Municipal Pier.  The pier was buzzing with visitors and musicians.  Walking to the very end, we sat and listened to ‘Daniel Morris’ a viola player. He was playing to a backing tape and made a wonderful sound. A little further up the pier we sat for a while and listened to ‘Oliver Bohler’, a percussionist who was playing along to pop music tracks and getting a great physical work-out [the temperature was in the high 90’s at that time]. He was entertaining people on the pier and beach and getting a great reception.

There were many other things going on that kept us entertained.

  • We listened to a Chinese lady dressed up in a space suit who said she was from Mars, trying to encourage tourists to allow her to take their photograph for a fee – she was persistent but not very successful.
  • We watched a pier maintenance man using a specially adapted sledge-hammer to knock in loose nails in the pier boards.  This activity was very loud and caused the pier to shudder.
  • The most intriguing activity was an artist painting names.  He was using metal ‘brushes’ with two or three colours to create his wonderful masterpieces. He was charging the princely fee of $1 per letter and $5 for framing – a real bargain.  We were just sorry we weren’t able to have one. We did, however, indulge in ice cream!

Santa Monica Pier was unveiled in 1909 as the first concrete pier on the American West Coast. It is 1,600 feet long and includes a fun fair, bowling alley, arcade and ballroom.

We headed for the beach and sat watching the waves and the many children playing in the surf, before heading back into LA for lunch.  We wanted to experience ‘Sweetfin Poke’ once again, as we had enjoyed it so much last time.  I am pleased to say it was just as good.

We then headed for the airport and our flight to Fiji which was due to leave at 11.30pm.  We dropped off the hire car and caught the shuttle bus to the airport. Everything went very well and we arrived in plently of time and without incident.