California

We flew with Westjet to LAX (Los Angeles) airport Sat. Aug. 24, 2013.  It's not a long flight only about three hours. Our shuttle was another story.. Our piece of paper said to wait outside the baggage claim area in all terminals at the center island under the overhead green sign. This we did. Buses were supposed to be wrapped with Disney characters. After many buses passed by our stop and some stopped to ask if we needed a shuttle, we were told the buses were no longer wrapped in Disney.  That they were just a big white bus that said Disneyland Express.  At least we were not waiting alone and the big white bus eventually came and took us to Anaheim and our Super 8 hotel.

The next day we bought a one-day pass to Disneyland ($92/person).  We walked from our hotel and spent all day walking around Disneyland.. it was sunny and hot.. should bring water, a hat and sunscreen.  Enjoyed the horse-drawn wagon, express train, Mark Twain paddle wheeler, monorail, Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride, and the Mickey Mouse Parade.  After a few hours back at our hotel, we returned for the fireworks at 9:30 PM.

Our second day we visited the former Crystal Cathedral.. it's not owned by the Catholic Church and is called Christ Cathedral.  It was an interesting place to see.

 

On Tuesday we took a city bus tour to Los Angeles. Visited downtown LA, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Stars, Beverly Hills, The Grove Farmers Market where we had lunch. Sunset Strip, Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach.  Returned to our hotel at 4:30 PM.  Had supper at The Cheesecake Factory.

 

On Thursday we took a bus tour to San Diego. It was also a whole day.  Our first stop was at Legoland and second at Sea World to drop off other people.  We continued on... and our first stop in the city was at a Mexican Restaurant and very colorful shops nearby.  The products were made in Guatamala.  We also stopped by the shipping docks and walked along the pier. From there we went to Coronado Island ... lovely view from the bridge.