Stamp Out Superstition

Wednesday June 29th 2011 Coronado To Toluca Lake

Via Fallbrook 169 Miles

The Final leg of our road trip was back up to Los Angeles via Fallbrook, where we called in to visit auntie Shiela. It was the first time that we had seen her since 2005 when we stayed  a few miles away in Oceanside. 

After taking her out to lunch at Denny's we headed for the Tangerine Hotel in Burbank, arriving at around 4.30pm. It was so exciting to be back in L.A., particularly the Valley, It's like a spiritual home for us!

After a freshen up in the room we went for a drive down the 101 freeway to Hollywood then up in the hills to see the Hollywood sign from close up before watching the sunset over L.A. from Mulholland Drive, magic!

Auntie Shiela outside Dennys

With her "doggy bag"

Final Destination

The Tangerine

Wher each room is uniquely decorated

The playlist

Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen - It was on the radio as we drove away from San Diego.

The River Drive by Jupiter Beyond - The song always reminds me of Riverside Drive which is where the Tangerine is situated.

This Is What We Find by Ian Dury & The Blockheads - “Washed & Ironed”, there’s a big 24 hour dry cleaners called Milt & Edie's just near to the hotel.

Pool

Tuesday June 28th 2011

Having completed the bulk of our route over the past two weeks, we both needed to have a relaxing day, after all it was part of the reason for staying at the Coronado Bay Resort. I contemplated having a swim in the ocean, but to be honest the beaches near to the hotel were not very appealing, so I gave that idea a miss. 

We spent most of the day at the hotel and laying by the pool, Sharon even got to read a book! 

We took the hotel’s shuttle bus to Coronado in the evening and had a wander around, but had to get a taxi back to the hotel as we had missed the return trip, due to having a couple of drinks and dinner!

The stay at the Resort was probably the least enjoyable part the trip for me. The hotel charged for everything and at times I felt like I was part of a corporate jolly, rather than being on holiday.

The Loews Shuttle

Be warned!

The playlist

Garageland by The Clash - Carbon monoxide detectors were allover the news.

The Magnificent Seven by The Clash - I saw the maid in the photo below cleaning the bird avery!

"Vacuum cleaner sucks up Budgie."

Something To Mall Over

Monday June 27th 2011

We decided to have a veggie day today, in the morning we drove down to the Mexican border. We didn't bother crossing into Tijuana as we've been there a couple of times before, It's full of cheap drugstores and tack and it also stinks of piss! 

Our purpose for driving south was to visit the Las Americas outlet shopping mall in San Ysidro which is within spitting distance of the border. I stocked up on some bargains and after having lunch there we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon by the pool.

The Yanks still love Diana!

We had a drive to downtown San Diego in the evening, passing Petco Park where the San Diego Chargers were playing the Kansas City Royals. I had thought about getting tickets but Sharon wasn't very keen, in fairness our past experiences of baseball have mostly been forgetful!

The playlist

Alejandro by Lady Gaga - A bit morbid this one, the local TV news station showed a report about a toddler named Alejandro being being found dead in a pool!
Garageland by The Clash - New state laws were on the way, requiring all dwellings to have carbon monoxide detetectors installed.

Some Like It Hot

Sunday June 26th 2011

Sharon’s day got off to a good start with a visit to the spa, treating herself to a manicure. Once the paint was dry we were out on the road again driving south down the I-5 freeway to Oceanside.  We spent a week there in 2006 and I wanted to go back to see the classic cars that cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway on a Sunday.

First we had lunch at the 101Cafe before driving down to the beach. The place was packed and after searching around we eventually found a place to park. After a couple of hours of wandering along the seafront and then to the end of the pier we decided to drive back towards San Diego along highway 101 (the PCH).  We saw plenty of classic cars as we passed through Carlsbad and a bizarre statue of Michael Jackson in Cardiff beach, where a large crowd had gathering paying tributes to him on the second anniversary of his death. "We still love you Michael." We then stopped at the famous and very pretty Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla which has hosted several US Opens over the years. Then we rejoined the I-5 freeway north up to SanDiego.

In the evening we got the hotel shuttle to downtown Coronado where we visited the unique Hotel Del Coronado for a look round, we then watched a wedding ceremony on the beach! The hotel was made famous by the classic Hollywood movie "Some Like It Hot" which was filmed there in 1958, it’s a romantic comedy starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon.

Afterwards we wandered around the town before having dinner at Miguel's Mexican restaurant.

San Diego bay, taken from the Loews Resort

The Loews shuttle

Beach wedding

The playlist

I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher - This was playing in the 101 diner.