Last Day in Los Angeles

So, today was our last day here in the USA.  Again, the sun shone and we were happy - we got to wear one layer, although it was with the understanding that we would probably be wearing it home on the plane too if we didn't do a quick change at the airport.

We packed and headed off to our first planned stop for the day - a Home Depot, so that Eric could see the things he didn't know he needed!  And, yes, he found two things he didn't know he needed!  Even better, though, he went through a self check-out but had an issue with it, so a salesperson came over to help him and did it for him - there is only one item on his receipt.

Next, we headed to Venice Beach.  We parked on one side of the Venice Beach Canals and wandered along them for some time before heading to the beach, and to Muscle Beach.  The canal area was lovely - some cute houses with the canal right outside their doors, and canoes moored there.  Very nice.

Once we got the beach, Eric whipped off his top, in the hopes of getting some sun while he could.  He did not, however, have a go on any of the fitness equipment.  Nor did he (nor any of us) go into a Green Doctor and hand over our $40, not even in the name of medicine!  There certainly were a wide range of body shapes and sizes, and the smell of marijuana pervaded everything.

What a body!

Mum found a wee friend

A final stop at a local mall - merely for a cup of tea and hot chocolates, and to kill time - then it was off to return the vehicle and check in at the airport.

Pita is on a later flight, leaving 55mins after us - it would have cost money to change it, so she will wing it herself.  Till we leave though, she is still putting up with us!

So, 4 weeks away has come to an end.  Los Angeles, Boston, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Elkton, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles again.  Museums, parks, ferries, monuments and statues, churches, motels and apartments, cars, planes, buses and trains, people.  Pizzas, clam chowder, pretzels, curly fries, root beer, bagels, baby carrots. Over 1,800 photos - these blogs have contained just a small fraction of them.

It's been great, and yes, it could well happen again (the boys were excellent in the evenings, but not so good at getting ready in the mornings).  Even the two mothers-in-laws were fine.

From Washington DC to LA and surroundings

So, we left DC on a clear, crisp morning, about 0 degrees Celsius.  Sad to leave our 2 bedroom apartment, but excited to be heading back to LA for new adventures.

Got to Union Station, and had to buy tickets for the MARC train to BWI Airport - Eric wasn't too sure how to get the tickets we needed, but managed it, and we got on the train with just seconds to spare before it headed out - if we had missed that one, we would have had to wait 50 mins before the next train, and that would have added stress to our time at the other end.

We flew to Detroit, then to LA.  Detroit had snow on the ground, and was below zero outside. Eric & I saw Lake Erie flying to Detroit, frozen in places, and mum & I enjoyed watching the changing landscape as we flew to LA - snow, huge round paddocks (irrigation circles), canyons and valleys.

Picked up our vehicle and found our hotel in Buena Park quite easily  - a single room with 2 king beds and a sofa bed.  Dinner at a Farmer Boys across the road, then bed.

Pita's salad bowl was huge!

Friday, we hit the Outlet Stores at Orange County - everyone bought something apart from me!  Sneakers, tops, shorts and a soft toy for Robin found their way to our car.  Drove past Disneyland so mum could at least say she has seen it - think she has seen more going past Knott's Berry Farm, but at least she has seen the top of the Matterhorn!

We then headed to Long Beach so Eric could pop into the New Balance store (yes, he did buy a new pair of sneakers) then we drove around a marina opposite the Queen Mary - she would have been very stately in her time, I'm sure.  Drove around the coast and stopped at a Walmart to check out a few things (I got a top there, and new socks too!) then to Hermosa Beach and saw the sunset out on the pier.

We also saw lots of small oil donkeys in amongst suburban settings.  Not sure if I would want one digging for oil that close to where I lived or worked or shopped!

Dinner that evening was at a local Arby's, so we could try their curly fries - very tasty.  The weather had been very pleasant all day - up to early 20s, so only one layer of clothes!

Saturday, we headed out of the motel quite early and hit the interstate, off to Palm Springs.  On our family holiday in 2014, we had driven past Palm Springs on our way from San Diego to Joshua Tree National Park, but hadn't gone into it.  We drove past huge numbers of wind farms near Palm Springs, and had fun looking for "fake trees" - cellphone towers made to look like the local trees.  Palm Springs is only 1hr 45mins drive from LA, so it was quite an easy drive, but was quite foggy and hazy on the way.

Stopped at the Visitor Centre on the way into town, and decided to go to Indian Canyons, the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who have thrived there for thousands of years.  We explored two areas: Andreas Canyon and Palm Canyon.  In the Andreas Canyon, we did a walk through the canyon, passing groves of stately California Fan Palms, unique rock formations and the actual Andreas Creek.  The Fan Palms do not loose their fronds, withstand fire and are used to make shelters.We saw the bedrock mortars used centuries ago for preparing foods.  We also got to see lots of lizards.  Andreas Canyon is named after "Captain" Andreas, one of the Cahuilla Indians, not after the San Andreas Fault.

Palm Canyon had the largest stand of Fan Palms in the world, and was quite cool/refreshing walking under them.  One way their seeds are spread are by coyote eating their berries when they fall to the ground, and then the seed being dispersed in their excrement, which could be seen in places along the valley floor.  There were lots of tiny hummingbirds in the area, and we also saw a red-tailed hawk.

Coyote droppings with California Fan Palm seeds within it

Our last walk there was only 5mins return - to see the West Fork Falls - a small waterfall in amongst huge rocks.

We then headed into Palm Springs itself and drove past the house where Elvis Presley had his honeymoon.  We were not the only people cruising into the cul de sac for a look at what perhaps was a romantic getaway location back in the day!

Then, a walk along the main street, which was closed off for the finish of Tour de Palm Springs, a 100mile bike race (160km).  We did splash out for a Ben & Jerry's ice-cream (Pita's first!) and Pita & I did look at a clothing store - lots of long flowing dresses and short, flowery dresses - they seem to be the rage at the moment.

Then, back to LA, dinner (curly fries at Arby's again!) then rest and bed.

More Smithsonian Museums

This morning we welcomed Tante Thea into our merry band of travellers.  She came up on a train and joined us for the day.  So, after meeting her at Union Station, which incidentally was designed by the same person who designed NY's Grand Central Station but is a couple of years older, we jumped back on to the perfectly planned Circulator bus and hopped off near two Smithsonian Museums that were on our to-do list (there are other places to see on our list, but time has gone too fast and today is our last full day of sight-seeing here in DC).

First up was the National Museum of African American History & Culture.  We only explored the History Galleries below ground, and have left the remaining above-ground levels for another trip!  It was a really thought-out and well-presented museum, walking visitors through the years from 1400 to today.  Slavery and Freedom, 1400-1877, presented such exhibits as the Atlantic Slave Trade (should a captain of a slave ship have more slaves on board and risk over-crowding and illness and death of slaves (which equals money) or should he have less slaves and better conditions in the hopes they all survive the trip and he gets lots of money for each one?); the paradox of liberty (the Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal, yet African Americans were not equal; 12 of the 1st 16 Presidents owned slaves); Domestic Slave Trade (even after the import of slaves into the US was banned, people continued to buy and sell slaves within the States, tearing families apart, as the burgeoning cotton and tobacco industries required labour).  Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom, 1876-1968, went through things such as segregated travel, modern civil rights, and people such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.  It also presented the tragic story of Emmett Till, a young 14yr old who went to stay with his aunt and uncle in Mississippi, was accused by a shop-keeper of whistling at her, then was taken from his uncles house by her husband and a friend "to go for a drive".  Three days later, his body was found, chained to a huge metal cotton-gin wheel by barbed wire, shot and beaten, in the local river.  His uncle testified in court against the two white men (& left town after the trial).  The two men were found guilty and then had their convictions suspended.  They got away with murder.  Emmett's mother took her son's body back home, and decided to have an open casket so that all could see what had happened.  That casket is now on display in this museum.  That things such as this, and other lynchings could happen, and be condoned, is just as horrid as what happened during WWII.  One man was found guilty of leering at a white lady on the street - at no point was he closer than 50ft to her, and he was behind her, so how could she know if it was a leer or not, and what defines a leer?!

A cut-away of a slave ship - slaves crowd the middle decks

A Changing America, 1968 and beyond, showcased music and artists, Oprah Winfrey, Barrack Obama, ...

We had lunch in the cafe, a range of traditional African American foods such as catfish, crawfish, cornbread, fried chicken,...  We also had a piece of Key Lime Tart and declared it quite tasty.

Next stop was the National Museum of American History.  We saw artifacts such as the hat that Abraham Lincoln wore the night he went to Ford's Theatre and was assassinated; dresses worn by the First Ladies; the first car to drive across America; the Star Spangled Banner (a huge flag, over 30 ft by 36 ft, and over 200 yrs old that inspired the writing of the national anthem - when I was in looking at it, 3 young school boys came in to see it, and proceeded to sing the song, not well, but they were inspired to do so and it was very sweet!).  So much to see!

Batman car

Pita and Tante Thea with other First Ladies

Melania Trump's Inaugural Ball outfit

Mary Lincoln's dress

Greensboro lunch counter - where African Americans refused to move away from "white only" seats

The 1st car to drive across the US

Then, it was time to board the Circulator bus again for our return to Union Station, and our farewell to wonderful Tante Thea.  She is such a delight to spend time with.

Back to the apartment for our last night here - washing, dinner, blogs/computer time.  And, here, finally, are some photos of our apartment building.

Our apartment looks down onto this courtyard