La La Land Laziness

Many RVers avoid the Los Angeles area like a Sierra Club lecture on fuel economy and carbon credits. An often heavily congested, spider-web freeway system is no fun for anyone, much less the driver of a 36 foot long motorhome towing a vehicle. I figured we would stay somewhere on the outskirts and drive the car in to town to see the sights. The exact opposite happened. We stayed in town and drove almost nowhere.

An RV park at Dockweiler State Beach popped up while I was researching a place to camp. Directly on the beach between Manhattan Beach and Marina del Rey, Dockweiler received mixed reviews. Fellow RVers cited constant noise from plane traffic out of LAX and a distinctive odor from a sewage treatment plant as reasons to avoid Dockweiler. But hey, it is on the beach. So we left Buellton and took the 101 to the 405 to the 105. After suffering through our fair share of traffic delays we arrived. Good decision. We nestled our home up to the wide, beautiful beach, inhaled the (mostly) fresh sea air, and made a game out of identifying planes taking off from LAX.

We enjoyed biking on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail, which extends more than 20 miles along the coast, much of that directly on the beach. The trail provided easy biking access to the restaurants in Manhattan Beach to the south and Marina del Rey to the north.

The fairly chilly water did not deter the kids from riding waves together.

Nor did the heavy surf which at one point stripped M3’s suit from his body and tossed him around as he sought to put on his wet and twisted suit without revealing the full monty. Those efforts proved unsuccessful, much to the ~~horror~~ amusement of his family.

{Sorry, no pictures}

Spectacular sunsets signaled the arrival of cool evenings.

Our beach-side retreat provided a welcome sanctuary from the hectic world that defines L.A. We decided against touring Hollywood, visiting Santa Monica, or partaking in any of the sights/activities typically associated with the Los Angeles area. I steeled myself to get the fam off the beach and push hard for a hike up to the Griffith Observatory for great views of L.A. and the HOLLYWOOD sign. But, when the day came, substantial smog and haze dampened my enthusiasm for the trek.

We did manage to travel to Simi Valley to visit the Reagan Presidential Library.

Air Force One, Marine One, a piece of the Berlin Wall, and the mock Oval Office were highlights.

The museum itself is well done, informative, and moving, though omitting any mention of President Reagan’s first wife raises questions.

Nevertheless, I left with a better understanding of the challenges President Reagan confronted as well as his accomplishments and failures. I was glad to have the opportunity to pay respects at his memorial.