Onwards to Santa Monica

Saturday 19th September 2009...


Up for breakfast (Carol and Jon) and then on the road again by about 10 a.m...this really IS the final leg of the 3,000 odd mile journey..and we set off in heavy mist...however about 30 mins along the road we notice a group of people standing in a parking place all looking out to sea...Carol notices a seal in the water so we decided to park up and have a look..when we get out and move closer we see, not one seal, but over 100 all basking in the sand and playing around with one another!!..it's an Elephant Seal Sanctuary and has got to be one of the most magnificent sights we have ever seen...we take hundreds of pics and lots of video of these wonderful creatures lazing around...and one lone sea lion who had strayed from his rock and ended up on the beach with the seals...

A guide was there to tell us all about the place and give us info on the website you can log into to follow news and progress of these beautiful creatures...it was a most amazing sight and we're all so glad we stopped off...

Then after a quick coffee break further along the road, we carried on winding our way along Highway 1...some of it by the coast and some inland, passing acres and acres of agricultural fields...strawberries, fruit trees and other unknown fruit and vegetables growing and being picked by workers...by mid afternoon we caught up with the 101 again and started to see the Malibu Hills and coast line..boy!!..what houses!!..it truly is the habitat of the rich and famous going by the size of some of the properties!!...and then our first glimpse of Santa Monica and it's famous beach and pier...very pleasant...although the whole journey along the coast all day had been plagued by this darn mist and it never really subsided so we didn't get the best look at the beach...

The hotel is big, bright and airy with a great pool area, a short walk to the beach (20 yards) and a nice 2 roomed suite for us to rest our travel weary bodies...after a quick unpack and a lovely meal in their restaurant we take a short walk up to the main shopping area, the 3rd Street Promenade...very fancy shops and a nice amount of bars and restaurants...one Margharita later for Jon and Carol and a voddie and coke for Jim and tiredness for the oldies crept in..Jim and Carol walked back to the hotel for an earliesh night and Jon carried on in search of more fun..he found it at a British pub called the Britannia, run by ex-pats where he made friends and consumed alcohol...a good time was had by all...