Day 4 | Pismo Beach
Sadly today was the last morning in Anaheim.
After last night at the “World of Colour” (or is that Color?) this was a late start as the kids were still sleeping at 9.00am but with an 11.00am check out time there was no hurry. This was also our last waffle packed breakfast at the Desert Palms and being a bit later than usual the breakfast room was packed.
After breakfast O’Regan finally had his swim but boy it was cold so none of us were crazy enough to join him. There was another family swimming so he was only a little crazy. While O’Regan and Angus were at the pool Rosie and McKay packed the room back into our bags. Partly messier packing, partly shopping it’s beginning to take up a bit more room. The shopping has barely started.
We checked out of the Desert Palms which was a bit sad – the end of the first phase of the journey. We were on the road again, this time to Calabasas, home of the Kardashians. It was a busy day and we had a bit of pondering time on the highway backed all the way through LA to the north but the kids both slept through it. Probably an extra hour or so from what we thought.
Finally at Calabasas we found 'Dash' the family store of the Kardashians, which was surprisingly understated and unpretentious. We were sure we heard Khloe out the back talking to someone. We went to an adjacent shopping centre for lunch and a few more shops. This is a gorgeous area and nothing like the urban LA. It was hard not to feel like the country bumpkins banging the mud off your feet in the ballroom. Far from seeming superficial the people are just stylish and super-friendly.
We drove to Malibu, home of Charlie Harper (aka Charlie Sheen), Aniston, Hanks, McEnroe, Stallone, Spielberg, Brosnan, De Niro, DeVito and not to mention the Australian Gibson. Didn’t see any of them but we were doing the 55 mph allowed and could see why it could seem an attractive place to live. The Pacific views were outstanding and the beaches looked nice.
Further north we travelled through Oxnard and Santa Maria the hills and the agriculture looked like New Zealand without the livestock. It was very green and hilly in places. Where it wasn’t hilly it was all strawberries and other intensive-type things. There was a detour which had us worried but the GPS was a god-send. We changed the GPS to miles yesterday and so we have absolutely no idea the distance from one place to another – its says 300 to go – no clue. But since Angus has the driving thing sorted we are sure to have the miles thing sorted shortly.
Finally we arrived at Pismo Beach Lighthouse Suites, our accommodation for the night before the big drive up to San Francisco. Our room is gorgeous, with two bedrooms and lovely decor it’s a shame its only for one night.There is a huge outlet mall here (which we did a quick drive by on the way to our hotel) which looks like a challenge we need to accept. But that will be tomorrow.
Highlights
O’Regan | Listening to McKay snore in the car
McKay | Eating at McDonalds
Angus | Finally driving the Pacific Coast Highway
Rosie | Seeing the Kardasian shop and knowing I will be shopping tomorrow.