Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Los Angeles: Part 3

Friday was our last full day in LA.  We decided to seek out some Mexican breakfast.  We landed at Venice Bakery and Restaurant which was just 1.5 miles from our house. We shared a plate of huevos rancheros con carne asada.  Jimmy loved that it came with beans and plantains.
Breakfast dessert was up next with Sidecar Donuts.  This is a local gourmet chain that had a pretty killer lineup. We got an apple fritter and the saigon cinnamon crumb.  The fritter was next level delicious.  I usually prefer one with crunchy edges, but the big apple flavor made up for that.
We headed north on the Pacific Coast Highway with our eyes set on Malibu.
We made a brief stop at El Matador Beach to take in the view.
We wanted to get to Griffith Observatory as close to open as possible.  We were able to park pretty close, all things considered.  It was about 1/2 mile walk up hill to get to the top.  We knew it had a pretty good view of the Hollywood sign, but didn't realize it was behind us as we headed up.
South to North panorama
West to East panorama
Since opening in 1935, this is the most visited observatory in the world.  It's benefactor, Griffith J Griffith, willed his 1.5 million dollar (25 million today) estate to Los Angeles at him death in 1919 for the Greek Theater (1929) and Observatory to be built.
We picked up lunch from Ono Hawaiian.  The crab rangoons were not my style, but the chicken, rice, and macaroni salad were excellent!
After a quick rest, we headed back out to Anaheim for the Angels game.  This was the only time we hit significant traffic.  It took close to 90 minutes to make the 45 mile drive.  They have a really fun facade with two giant hats at the entrance.
Both of us were excited to see superstar Shohei Ohtani.  He wasn't pitching, but he was the designated hitter.
We shared two chicken empanadas and one apple one.  I also grabbed our first ice cream of the trip.
Another lovely view of the mountains at sunset.
We moved down to the lower level for a better view of the last inning.  Great win for the Twins!
Rod Carew has his number retired with both the Twins and Angels.  It was fun to see him recognized here too.
We stopped for a snack at Jack in the Box.  The taco wasn't too bad!
We packed up Saturday morning to head to the airport.  I wanted to give us plenty of time after cutting it close on the way out.  Here is a look at our cute little studio rental.  It had everything we needed.
One more iconic SoCal stop, Randy's Donuts.  This is the original Inglewood location.
We got a couple small donuts along with a giant churro one and croissant that I made a sandwich with out leftover groceries.
It turned out we didn't need to be at the airport so early.  There was LITERALLY no one in the security line when we arrived.  It gave me plenty of time to go through pictures before boarding.
So long SoCal, it was nice knowing you.

No comments:

Post a Comment