Again, LA was a place Adrian had spent quite a bit of time through work, but he was excited to show me around. For me, it was quite unexpected. First, our great Airbnb was the mother-in-law suite of a very traditional home in a Northridge neighborhood. Our host was a local middle school PE coach who was wonderful, and invited us to a Memorial Day cookout. The house was on a big 1+ acre lot, had a full garden, large swimming pool and chickens! The host, Robert, even gave us fresh eggs. We were even surprised to hear the whistle of a train go by. It felt very rural. However, not more than 10 minutes away was the LA I was expecting- the 405 freeway, glitzy Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive as well as the canals and contrasting beauty/seediness of Venice Beach. We had an amazing tour of Laurel Canyon and spent a wonderful afternoon at The Getty Museum.

Santa Barbara was just a few hours north and was really one of the most beautiful cities we had ever seen. Along the ocean there are greenways for walking and biking, lush green grass for picnicking and lounging, and parks. All this is set with palm trees and a panoramic mountain backdrop where lights from the floating neighborhoods twinkled down in the evening. There was a slight rain and what the locals called “May Grey” that kept the weather cool in the morning. We snagged a ritzy bonus free night at a seaside resort and used the location to walk and bike the charming downtown area. This included a direct view of the Marina and Pier and was where we started our lucky streak of Pier restaurants with reasonable beer/wine and fabulous waterfront views. We ate breakfast at an adorable café and were waited on by the lovely lady who had started the business over 40 years ago! Our short stay was over but that was just alright. We were excited to begin the drive up the dramatic and beautiful California coast.