Spring in Southern California – Part II
Newport Beach oozes wealth with its many yacht clubs and marinas. We walked along the pier and had a quick bite to eat before jumping back in the car and heading North to Malibu (our home for the next few days). We joined the traffic around the sprawling Los Angeles area and then hopped back onto Highway 1 on the legendary stretch of coast road between Santa Monica and Malibu - an area made so famous by its beach culture, canyons and the movie industry!
The following two days we spent enjoying the Californian spring sunshine and chilling out on the picturesque and secluded El Matador State beach, a much quieter beach than its neighbours. Ready for more adventure, we set off early the next day for Universal Studios, Hollywood. We went straight to the Simpsons Ride and were not disappointed by the popular 3D virtual coaster. We then joined the famous Studio tour before getting wet on the Jurassic Park ride, getting hot during the ‘Backdraft’ special effects tour and ‘feeling’ the action on the Shrek 4 D adventure. All in all an exhausting yet great day out!
Before heading back to Malibu, we took a drive around West & Central Hollywood, glimpsing the Hollywood sign, cruising past the Chinese Theatre & Walk of Fame and down the famous boulevards - Sunset, Santa Monica and Hollywood - before heading slowly down Rodeo Drive - our hire car sandwiched between Rolls Royces, Bentleys and Ferraris – we were all secretly wondering if we would see any movie stars!
A trip to California would not be complete without a visit to Surf City USA – Huntington Beach! We spent a morning exploring the Pier, surf shops and the Surfing walk of fame. Having bought the t-shirts we paid a quick visit to the International Surfing Museum full of memorabilia and photographs of surfing legends.
Late afternoon and we arrive at our hotel in Anaheim, home to all things Disney, for our last 2 nights in California. We stayed at the Menage Hotel and although it was surrounded by freeways it promised a front row seat for the Disney ‘Dreams Can Come True’ fireworks display from the Mist pool bar. In fact, after a delicious Pizza at the Californian Pizza Kitchen we were back at the hotel in time to watch the fireworks from the warm and welcoming swimming pool and hot tub!
Another early start and we took the Anaheim shuttle bus to Disneyland. First stop – the Indiana Jones Adventure ride – not to be missed - then onto Tarzan’s Treehouse and the Jungle Cruise before daring to enter the Haunted Mansion and the ever popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The children loved driving around Autopia and were fascinated by Innoventions. After thrilling rides on the Big Thunder Railroad and the Matterhorn bobsleds and helping Buzz defeat the evil Zurg, we were just in time to catch the street party parade before staggering back to the hotel. After fantastic ribs at Tony Roma’s, and a second viewing of the fireworks, we were ready for our beds. It truly was a magical experience spending a day at Disneyland with my children and a fitting end to our fun filled trip to Southern California.
We are looking forward to visiting Northern California in the near future!