WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS, DOROTHY!

This is definitely not Kansas or Mexico anymore! California, land of differences, some subtle, some not so much. We've been in southern California for over three weeks now and haven't made it to San Fransisco yet. Weather has been a major factor with lots of wind off the coast of California. Temperatures have been on the cooler side but we're adjusting.

Since saying bye to Bobbi and Tom we left the Oceanside Yacht Club and had a beautiful but short sail between Oceanside and Catalina Island, where we dropped the hook for a couple of days. We spent a few days enjoying the rugged shoreline of Catalina area when we were heading south in 2013.

Sailing to Catalina Island, something very rare these days!

Two Harbors, Catalina Island

These contractors were servicing the mooring buoys in time for summer.

Expensive mooring balls at Catalina Island.

At that time we visited the famous town of Avalon where the round building on the waterfront is a California icon. This time we just chilled for a couple of days in the less crowded Two Harbours, a very small resort hub and ferry terminal for walk on visitors who come travel from Los Angeles.

This is one of the only islands within reach of Los Angeles. We in BC are so lucky to have the Gulf Islands and the San Juan Islands to enjoy whenever we want to! This time we wanted to stay in the islands for a few days but two major gales were approaching from the north and we didn’t want to be stuck on an expensive mooring at Catalina Island so we motored back towards Los Angeles and headed for the massive Marana Del Rey.

Burton W. Chace Park, Marina Del Rey - good transient moorage!

Marina Del Rey welcomed ET-94, the last remaining
outer fuel tank from a space shuttle.
It was towed through the streets to join a shuttle on display at a museum in LA..

The Marina was manmade in the 1950's from a swamp and is now the mecca for major marinas and boaters in southern California. Next door is laid back Vinice then the well known and publicized city of Santa Monica. LA seems to be made up of massive, interconnected cities and suburbs.

Covered picnic and bbq areas were used all weekend.

Most days we had kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, sailing dinghies,
power boats, sailboat races, etc all going on in front of Falcon.

They were filming a Bollywood type band and dancers.

Here's the cameraman / producer / everything guy.

Since we couldn’t leave because of strong winds off the coast for days on end, we decided to be tourists for few days and we explored the sights and sounds of Los Angeles.

First off…we suffered severe culture shock! After our first ever Uber ride in a Lexus from the marina to Hollywood (only $26 CAD) we entered the most over the top attraction Universal Studios.

Outside the Harry Potter theme park...for my niece!

Yes - he ate the whole thing...and then some!

We almost got wet but...it's Hollywood!

Typical line ups 30 - 50 minutes long for all rides and attractions.

We were swarmed and moved on mass forward towards the ticket line. We were in a next of ants. 30 – 50 minute line ups for every ride or attraction, line ups to eat at theme restaurants, even line ups for the washrooms! I don’t think I’ve experienced crowds like that since Expo 86 in Vancouver! It was an…experience and quite a contrast from a quiet night at anchor in the Sea of Cortez where the only thing we might hear is a whale surfacing! MORE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS PICTURES ON A SEPARATE BLOG.

We really enjoyed visiting the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, doing the Behind the Scenes studio tour, a Special Effects presentation with real live actors and… the very wet and wonderful Waterworld re-enactment. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of that event since we were getting soaked throughout the performance and I wanted to keep the camera dry.

For the next couple of days we walked to Venice Beach, took the subway into downtown LA, used a hop on/ hop off tourist bus and took in the sights.

Two California surfing kids near Venice Pier

And the kids surfing...two little specs in the waves.

Taken from upstairs on the hop on bus. Notice the reflections...

We have now definitely determined that we are not big city people! Even walking amongst the shoppers in two outdoor malls was like attending a rock concert. Every inch was just as crowded as Universal Studios was and it felt way too over the top for us! We would rather share an anchorage with an eagle perched above us on a tree and a speckled seal swimming by us but since we were stuck because of weather we explored.

Welcome to Los Angeles - land of the car and all that is rich and famous.

Great architecture

Famous Santa Monica pier...those are cars parked next to it.
Way too many people for Jim and me to even think about going there.

Expensive outdoor mall with entertainment, shopping, food, etc.

This was the Beverly Hills Outdoor Art Show...we stayed on the bus!

Lots of our time was spent walking the waterfront areas and getting to see a bit of laid back Venice, the hustle and bustle of Santa Monica and the theme park at Santa Monica Pier. From the bluff near town we saw thousands of people wedged together so we turned around and fled the other way.

Next day we gave our legs a rest and bused around all the famous suburbs and cities like Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and even Hollywood. Took in the architecture and a couple of amazing museums. And we did buy a keepsake from Hollywood…I have a new ball cap. That’s all folks! Bye bye LA!