As much as politicians may try, they simply can't destroy Southern California's sunshine and natural beauty.
Like all big cities, downtown Los Angeles certainly has its problems, but the beach communities remain vibrant.
If you can stay close to the beach and walk most places, it's a great place to spend a few days. And even downtown L.A. has the weather going for it, plus other appeals for people who love big cities.
When Julie and I moved away from Los Angeles County's South Bay, we did so with deep reservations.
Our son Jay, well-established in his career in Santa Monica, has no intention of following us or his sisters in abandoning his beloved home state. His wife Sasha lived in Park City, Chicago and other places long enough to know that California sunshine is where she wants to stay.
We were happy to be welcomed for a four-night stay at their condo located a short walk from the beach.
As in San Diego, we enjoyed sharing long walks, conversation and meals with our family, in this case Jay, Sasha, our grandson Owen and our granddogger Jojo. In Santa Monica, however, we had the big bonus of taking turns holding Owen or watching him play with his toys, including some he received on his first Christmas.
Owen is such a sweet boy, for which his loving parents deserve kudos, but that also seems to be his natural disposition.
We all strolled through lovely neighborhoods, down 3rd Street Promenade and, of course, along the beach.
Owen and Jojo always seem happy for an adventure outside, and they attract positive attention wherever they go. Owen charms all he meets with his beaming smile.
With a kitchen remodeling project in progress, Sasha nonetheless planned to make dinner for us, but their Insta-pot met an untimely demise. So, we opted for take-out from some of their favorite restaurants, including Tocaya Modern Mexican, Vito's Pizza and an Indian restaurant, all of which feature tasty gluten-free options on their menus.
After getting a new Insta-pot, Sasha cooked delicious homemade Potato Leek soup accompanied by baked gluten-free bread, fresh from the oven.
One morning, we walked to Sidecar Doughnuts, which had the most unusual selection of expensive, delicious doughnuts. Jay and Julie had Butter and Salt Doughnuts. The free sample of Huckleberry Doughnut was so delicious that I jumped on that choice before realizing they had Maple Bacon Doughnuts and some really wild specials.
Julie and I offered to watch Owen and Jojo while Jay and Sasha went out to celebrate New Year's Eve, but they opted to stay at home with us, popping open a bottle of champagne.
During the course of our stay, we watched the entire first season of Prime's 007: Road to a Million, an Amazing Race-inspired contest between pairs of contestants to solve puzzles in various locales associated with James Bond Movies. As both 007 and travel fans, it was right up our alley, as was The Family Plan, a fun action movie on Apple TV.
On New Year's Day, we headed to Rock & Brews in El Segundo to meet up with our friends Randy and Karen. We enjoyed meals with drinks, sharing a lot of laughs, including stories about the condo complex in Redondo Beach where we used to live.
Randy is still the HOA President there. I sometimes wonder if Julie had not been on the board, hearing all the complaints of other tenants, we would still live there, but Randy remains perfectly sane.
As often happens, they insisted on picking up the tab, having set that up with the waiter before we arrived. Randy then handed a wad of cash as a generous tip to the waiter, who exclaimed, "That's too much!" Randy refused to take any money back.
Julie and I were supposed to spend two nights at the Marriott Fairfield Inn, but Jay and Sasha invited us to return to their place. We couldn't cancel both nights without paying for the first, so we stayed that night and cancelled the second. After breakfast, we returned to Santa Monica for our last full day.
Jay, Owen, Julie and I drove to Duke's in Malibu for a great lunch with an ocean view. Julie and I split the Kalua Pork Sandwich, like we do at Hula Grille on Kaanapali Beach, a sister restaurant of Duke's.
For our last evening, we snagged an outdoor table at Ye Olde King's Head for the whole family, including Jojo. We all had British Isles specialties...and French fries. For example, I had Guinness Pie and Kilkenny Nitrogenated Irish Cream Ale.
What a wonderful holiday vacation we enjoyed in Southern California, thanks to our loving family and friends!
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