Carpenteria (santa barbara), Pasadena and LA

We were staying in Carpinteria (just South of Santa Barbara) less than a mile away from the beach... so decided a beach day was in order.

we had all the components for a great beach time (togs, suncream, books). The sand was white, the sun blazing and just like a Wellington beach experience, the Pacific was FREEZING. Unlike a Wellington beach experience, there was hundreds of annoying beach flies. Which proved to be quite pesky for our couple of hours on the sand. The South was calling anyway.

We had our final coastal drive as we drove from Carpinteria to Pasadena (just East of LA). It was quite sad to bid adeui to the Pacific, next time we see it will be back in San Fran in 3 weeks.

Pasedena is lovely - manicured to within an inch of its life. We found a great little eatery thanks to Frommers. Hudsie had a delicious beef Kobe burger. I had soft tacos (one fish, one chicken). Great value. very delicious

We weren't keen on spending a lot of time in LA this time round so thought a quick drive into Hollywood would sate our appetities given we are staying so close. Quick drive? I guess we had an "LA experience". Freeways at night are even worse than during the day. We drove down Sunset Blvd, and Hollywood Blvd and into Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills. Loads of neon- look forward to more of that in Vegas - heaps of people and crazy big cars (stretched hummer limos etc), which are now becoming quite common

It's easter weekend. It seems quite a big holiday here - lots of bunnies in the shops, easter treats but haven't seen any hot x buns.

Tomorrow to Palm Springs! Yay. Going via a town called Loma Linda to meet a cousin of Dad's for lunch.

The evening news tells us that we are in an unseasonable heatwave, and LA will reach 92 degrees tomorrow. Lord knows what we should expect in the desert?

So in summary - it's very hot, we're still having a great time even when there are flies on the beach, the mustang is fantastic (a new point which shouldn't have been added in a summary), driving in LA is scary and our sat nav is our best friend (apart from each other of course).

Megan xxxx