California {back to LA}

The wedding festivities concluded on Saturday and I think everyone headed out on Sunday {if not sooner} so we followed suit. Of course, we weren't on a real schedule, so we had time to pack and visit a bit before heading out.



When we booked the trip, we knew we wanted to spend a few days in Cali outside of the wedding - we figured since we were paying to fly, we may as well enjoy it and do some sight-seeing. After checking out what was around, we determined that we wanted to spend our time in the LA area, so that's why we flew in there and just rented the car to drive. {It was a lot less expensive to fly that way as well!} Hubby and I both like the laid-back atmosphere of the beach, so we stayed in a little hotel that I think was formerly studio-type apartments in the Venice Beach/Santa Monica area.

Before leaving Paso, however, hubby wanted to stop back in the Firestone Walker Brewery, which he had toured on Friday, to get a growler and some beer.



Since we drove the PCH to get to Paso, we thought it would be fun to take Interstate 5 to get back to LA. It was SO pretty, with lots of rolling hills and pump jacks.

We did stop for lunch at In-N-Out Burger, one of my musts for this trip! I loved the burger, the fries not so much.

We made REALLY great time until we got to the LA traffic. Now I know what gridlock is. Also, once we got close to our hotel, I think it took us about 30 minutes to go four blocks, as our hotel didn't have parking and it was a beautiful day at the beach so pretty much a nightmare.

We FINALLY got parked and checked in. Then hauled our stuff the four blocks to the hotel. {Seriously. It sucked.} Once I got us unpacked, we went for a stroll down the boardwalk to check things out and, honestly, stretch our legs. We later headed back to the hotel to rest and get cleaned up.

View from the hotel, but sadly, not from our room :(

Around 8 p.m., we ventured out to find some food and ended up dining outside at a cute little café. While it hit the 80s and 90s while we were in the LA area, the evenings were really chilly, especially on the beach, so it didn't take us long after we were done eating to head back to the hotel. We knew we had an early morning on Monday, so we just chilled in our room, watching TV and drinking our beer that we'd picked up earlier that morning.

Next up: Hollywood!

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