Our flight to California from Toronto was relatively short compared to many of our recent adventures. We had the chance to spend a week in Southern California this month. I had never experienced summer in California before and it was just as I hoped; hot and sunny!

Being over 50, we no longer need to be entertained by Disneyland or Universal Studios. Instead, we tried some new activities:

The Hollywood Bowl

The Hollywood Bowl is an iconic open-air amphitheatre in Los Angeles. We were entertained by Sara Bareilles on our first night in the city. It was a sold-out crowd of 17000. Our seats were way at the back which required us to ride up 3 escalators! We booked our Stub Hub tickets and parking pass from home, to ensure our participation. It was an amazing show. The sound quality was excellent in this outdoor venue and the fellow concertgoers had picnic baskets and a relaxed attitude. It was truly an iconic experience and we were glad to have experienced it despite it making our first day in California very long. Flying in on the same day meant we were awake for 24 hours before going to bed.

Glendale, California

We spent three nights at the Hilton in Glendale. Our corner room was expansive with mountain views. There were lots of places to eat within walking distance including a Trader Joe’s grocery. The neighbourhood also had many shopping options, although we did not spend our time shopping.

Dining in Glendale

We researched a couple of dining options ahead of time for the Glendale area in Trip Advisor. They did not disappoint!

We enjoyed an Armenian lunch at Adana Restaurant Glendale has a large Armenian population and this Armenian family prepared quality food for us. They were also friendly and attentive.

We also enjoyed a Mexican breakfast at Foxy’s Restaurant. My huevos ranchero was divine. As a Canadian, I appreciated the fresh avocado on top!

We enjoyed a Mexican meal almost every day of our trip!

We also took a day trip up to the mountains to Big Bear Lake, which is a ski resort town in winter. There are 6-foot high markers along the roadside to indicate the depth of the snowline. The destination required our car to climb 7000ft along a very windy road to reach the small mountain town. There were several majestic views of mountains and valleys.

Escondido

We drove south from Los Angeles to Escondido. We stayed 3 nights in the Escondido area at the Lawrence Welk Resort. It was a beautiful 450-acre campus and a relaxed stay in the mountains. It was more desert-like here compared to Glendale. Although it was also hotter than Glendale, we had several pools to cool off in.

There was a small archive of photos and some Lawrence Welk memorabilia in the theatre. He bought 900 acres in the 1960s. The main road is called Champagne Drive named after his band. Do you remember the Lawrence Welk Show when you were young?

Our large mountain view suite was spacious with a full kitchen, amazing balcony, soaker jetted tub and fireplace. We booked our stay through Expedia. This is a timeshare property now owned by Hyatt.

We participated in a timeshare presentation and received 2 tickets to an ABBA cover band and a $100 USD VISA card in exchange for our time. The sales rep. was friendly and we felt no pressure to buy.

The resort has several pools, nightly live music options, two golf courses and restaurants.

We visited the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens to see some cacti up close. The garden is maintained and funded by volunteers in the community. It has several themed areas and sculptures throughout the park. It was only a 20-minute drive from our resort.

Dining near Escondido

Dining options near Escondido were plentiful.
These were our favourites:

• in Temecula, we enjoyed Guadalajara The homemade tacos were freshly made!
• in Escondido, we loved two local establishments; Mi Guadalajara and Cenote Grill

Whale Watching in Oceanside

We booked a whale-watching tour via Viator with Oceanside Adventures. We observed a huge pod of common dolphins, many pelicans, cormorants and a huge sunfish. The large catamaran was comfortable and the volunteer nature guides were amiable and knowledgeable. The sea was calm and clear on our 930am tour. Here’s 10 second sample of the 45minutes we experienced! The common dolphins swam toward our boat, played at the bow and jumped out of the water, perhaps to view us! It was an amazing experience.

We always use Viator for reliable and quality tours and they are easy to book and cancel if plans change.

Our Car Rental

We booked a car rental so we could drive around to different places rather than stay in Los Angeles on this visit. We took advantage of the unlimited mileage option! The car rental seemed a good deal when we booked through Expedia. Unfortunately, we learned upon arrival that our Canadian insurance coverage was not recognized so, we had to pay for extra insurance. Lesson learned! We will make sure that our next rental will accept our insurance as they had in Europe last spring. This additional cost was disappointing but we had a very reliable vehicle and no mishaps! It still ended up being cheaper than the competition but their customer service was not great. As luck would have it, our car rental drop-off location was only a 9-minute walk to our last hotel.

We stayed near the LAX Airport on our last night because we had a 5:30 am flight. Traffic can be unpredictable in Los Angeles, so staying at the Westin was a great choice. We were comfortable and the free shuttle ran every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Our picture window overlooked the arriving planes every few minutes.

Staying Connected

We used the Airalo app again to install an eSIM for the week. Our 1G of data was the perfect amount needed for the week. It is also reloadable so we can re-use the eSIM the next time we travel to the U.S.

Here’s a post about why we use eSIMs if you want to learn more about them. https://lifeafter50travel.net/2024/05/10/airalo-an-esim-solution-for-data-when-travelling/

We had a great time, saw new places and enjoyed the rain-free week!