California Dreams

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California Dreams

With so many things happening here at home from the presidential elections, stock market gyrations, slowing economy and talk of the great depression, we decided it was high time to take a break from all the noise around us and hit the road for 10 days of peace and relaxation. We decided on a good ol’ fashion road trip rather than a week in the south of France, mainly due to the declining value of our dollar. We figured going to California would be the perfect way to explore the great diversity of the state from its endless coastline to the scenic mountain ranges to the huge cattle ranches and spanish influenced small towns. We also wanted to explore the state’s aggressive push for renewable energy to see how the future of the automobile would change in light of record high gas prices.

Everything we heard and read about California made us believe that we would see hydrogen and electric cars roaming the highways and a new “green” lifestyle amongst the people. California is the leader in reducing harmful CO2 emissions and also the home for a host of new startups that are looking to end our dependence on dirty oil. New companies are creating electric and hybrid cars and there is a huge push for everyone to use solar and wind power as the source for electricity. Our hope was to see this happening before our eyes and get some insight into the road trip of the future.

We arrived in Los Angeles in the evening after a pair of long and arduous flights. For those of you in the east coast coming to California, we highly recommend a direct non-stop flight; it is always worth the extra cost. Upon arrival in Los Angeles we hopped in our new 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3 edition and took off for the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, our stop for the night.

The drive at night from the airport to the hotel was relatively quick yet traffic jams on the major highways took us into the streets south of Hollywood which was something like being put in Tijuana at night. Police were pulling cars over at every block and a handful of Mexican take-out joints were still open with their flickering neon lights reminding us of the wild west. We contemplated having some burritos but it was hard to stop after seeing young kids with their hands up against the walls and police giving them a hard time. It would have been better to take Sunset Boulevard to Hollywood rather than taking I-10 and getting off in the area south of Hollywood. To think this area was not far from Beverly Hills was quite amazing. We suppose the rich need to keep their help living relatively close by.

Upon arrival at the Roosevelt at 11pm on a Saturday night, we were excited to find the entrance lined with Porsches, Lamborghinis and Range Rovers. Surprisingly people in LA still like their big SUVs even with high gas prices as there were plenty of them in the parking lot. Our Aurora Blue Mica Mazda R3 Edition looked great driving into the Roosevelt and stood apart from the other black or silver cars lining the small lot. We happily gave the credit card sized key to the valet and gently navigated our luggage out of the rear truck which has a very small opening but can still fit a large suitcase and a few small handbags. The Mazda RX-8 R3 has an amazing front end with a large aggressive air dam combined with sporty lower lip and gleaming xenon headlights. Its muscular profile with bulging fender flares and large 19" forged aluminum alloy wheels that are painted dark grey look amazing and appear as if you just completed a few laps at Laguna Seca.

The aggressive nature of the RX-8 R3 gives it a flavor that very few vehicles on the road can match. The crowd outside the hotel noticed our RX-8 R3 with wide eyes and double takes, more so than to a Lamborghini Gallardo which is actually quite common here in Hollywood. The crowd was basically young millionaires with money to burn. The young European who owned the Lamborghini Gallardo convertible was barely 30 years old and had a very beautiful companion riding shotgun. You never know if these high-end cars are rented or actually owned here in Hollywood, everyone wants to be a star, even if it’s for one night. There is no better reason to stay at the Roosevelt than to see and to be seen. If you don’t care about this, perhaps spending $400 a night is better done at the Ritz-Carlton or Four Seasons where the rooms are luxurious and the bathrooms are lined in marble.

The club scene in the Roosevelt is hip and happening with many stars making this their stop before calling it a night. The crowd is very trendy and fashionable with girls wearing high heels, short skirts, and carrying the most expensive handbags.

After getting checked in quickly we decided to take in the flavor of Hollywood by night. Hollywood’s main attractions are right outside the entrance to the Roosevelt making this a great location. The Kodak Theater and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre are located across the street and here you can enjoy comparing hand and foot prints of all the famous movie stars as well as have a steaming hot dog at night while you watch the many street performances on the sidewalks. This is also the only area will you will find actors dressed up as major superheros such as Batman, Superman, and Captain Barbosa from Pirates and the Caribbean all standing around ready to take photos with the drove of tourists. There are many nightclubs in this area though the crowd is definitely not as trendy as in the Roosevelt.

The Roosevelt’s main lobby is really a lounge with brown leather sofas, dim lighting, and an old world European charm. The architecture in the lobby is Spanish with a regal touch dating back to the opening of the hotel in 1927. Beautiful woodwork adorns the ceilings, arches and gleaming tile work lines the main hotel lobby and ground floor. Gorgeous flowers and glowing ambient lighting makes for a comfortable surrounding. The sitting area doubles as a bar at night through even in the day it is very dark, almost club-like. The mood changes as you enter your room with the main hallways decorated in a modern and trendy manner. Dark wall covering with photos of Hollywood stars in black and white pictures leads you to your small yet chic room. As we walked down these halls we started to see the appeal for young Hollywood kids who found this hotel an escape from their wealthy and perhaps distant parents, this place is like a retreat for young privileged kids.

As soon as we opened the door to our room, we heard a noise and looked down, it was a prescription bottle filled with pills. Our first thought was if this was left over from the pervious guest, perhaps they lost their pills. After a closer look to see if we might find Lindsay Lohan’s name on the prescription, it turned out to be our welcome gift of chocolates. The Rooselvelt uses prescription bottles and puts M&M candies colored in white/grey to look like real pills inside them. As you walk to your room the dark hallways do give you a strange vibe and you start to think that this is a hotel for the jetset Hollywood druggies, and once you see the numerous prescription bottles in your room, it just puts it out in the open for you to talk about. Perhaps the Roosevelt got tired of down playing what really happens here, so instead they just decided to make fun of the entire Hollywood lifestyle.

The actual guest rooms are very small and decorated sparsely for a modernist appeal. The hotel room feels like a modern trendy Ikea bedroom and gone is the sense of being in a historical landmark that hosted the first Oscar’s in 1929. The most important thing you will want is a great bed and the Roosevelt delivers on that, sheets and towels are of high quality. The tiny size of the bathroom with barely enough room to place your belongings did add a sour touch. The room does have a small entry way with a closet leading to the bath and bedroom. A dim yellow bulb lights up the bathroom and concrete cut to look like tilework gives the room a edgy modern feel. The whole room was minimalist in nature with a modern design theme. However, the room lacks a flat screen TV which would have added a great deal to the modern interior. The Roosevelt does have two great restaurants that offer food at reasonable prices. You can find cheaper food outside but at the hotel, breakfast was priced very fairly and the design theme of the restaurant takes you back to the 50’s. The Tropicana pool lounge is the other area where you can grab food and drinks while you lounge next to the crowded pool on a warm sunny day. The rooms that overlook the pool are actually the nicest place to stay since you can view young Hollywood stars that come here routinely to lounge on Sunday afternoons.

While exploring the hotel, we found many of its large wooden doors to be locked. You couldn’t go in for a peek and see the Library bar, the club Teddy’s, or the Blossom Ballroom where the first Oscar was held, or see the nicely decorated Cinegrill. A hotel staff should tell guests where everything is and show them around upon check-in or at least offer to show them sometime during the stay. A personal escort to all the hotel’s main areas would have made us feel much better about spending top dollar for a night at the Roosevelt. Upon further inspection of the hotels website, we found that the Roosevelt is great if you can afford a room that actually looks like those shown in their website photos. The rooms they show online are far more extravagant than the room we stayed in.

Most guests who stay at the Roosevelt are like the one we had the pleasure of watching when checking out. The extra charges of her room added up to $400 and she kindly opened up her purse and took out a wad of $100 bills and laid them on the counter, all from a girl who looked like she was 18 years old. Parking costs were $30, which we think could just have been included as a $1 charge to all guest rooms and which would make all customers feel great upon checking in rather than feeling that they were being ripped off from the get-go. It’s the feeling that you are being looked after and cared for that matters most and the Roosevelt lacks this high level of service in exchange for a piece of Hollywood which for many is priceless. Learn more about the hotel at www.thompsonhotels.com

While in Hollywood, we decided to go see some famous movie star homes. Pick up a map for only $6 nearby the Roosevelt and you can drive up and down some very curvy and narrow streets in Beverly Hills and Bel Air and see the homes of all your favorite actors. While most homes are hidden behind some of the tallest hedges known to man, you can at least tell friends you stood in front of the playboy mansion. Movie stars live all around this area, and what is more amazing is the number sheer number of palace sized homes that belong to non-actors. It seems like everyone from producers to directors to script writers are making good money despite the slowing economy. In Beverly Hills you can also go shopping in the world famous Rodeo Drive which is lined with beautiful palm and houses the most famous brand names in the world. The streets are lined with tall palm trees and everything looks perfect, even the air smells cleaner. You will also notice that every car on the road is usually a German car; a Mercedes S-Class is the poor man’s Toyota Camry in Beverly Hills. You will see more Ferrari’s here than anywhere else in the world, even more than in Dubai. We saw around seven Ferrari F430s in a span of two hours. Not to mention the Bentleys, Maseratis, Porsches, BMWs and Range Rovers. For a car lover, Los Angeles is the best place to live. This place is like a fantasy land, so unreal and unlike anything else around the country.

The curvy roads around Beverly Hills are a joy in the RX-8 thanks to its high revving engine, precise steering and sport tuned suspension. The Bilstein shock absorbers combined with the urethane-foam-injected front suspension cross member provide aggressive road handling which means that the RX-8 stays flat with hardly any body lean.

The special Recaro sport seats may seem uncomfortable for a 1000 mile roadtrip but once behind the wheel they offer amazing lateral support for shoulder, torso and hips. Not only did they keep us comfortably tucked in place but they were remarkably comfy during longer drives. The RX-8 not only provided excellent exterior and interior styling but also has a fantastic engine that provided music to our ears every time we stepped on the pedal. Firing up the engine gives off a powerful exhaust note that kept us happily on par with all the Ferrari folks. The powerful 1.3L RENESIS rotary engine has an impressive 9000 rpm redline and the short throw 6-speed manual transmission was perfect for the hills of Mulholland drive.

Driving west of Beverly Hills through Bel Air toward the Pacific Ocean brought us to Will Rogers State Park where we stopped for a few minutes before heading down to the coast line just north of Santa Monica. The beautiful deep blue color of the RX-8 looked wonderful with the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop. We watched huge pelicans take dives into the ocean to catch fish. The surfer’s were doing their thing on the waves. The wide beach has some of the best sand around and the Santa Monica pier is just great to take a stroll on. Santa Monica is also a great place to shop and walk around as we did a bit here and will do later in our trip.

We then headed south along the coast; taking Route 1 instead of the highway is a good way to view of what the regular folks live like near Los Angeles. Traffic is quite terrible around Los Angeles and there are stop lights almost every 200 feet. Most roads have so many red lights that traffic doesn’t flow freely, this is probably the cause of much of the pollution in the area. So many cars are just wasting gas parked at a red light. We got tired of this real quickly and decided to jump on the 405 after Venice Beach. On the Highway, most of the five lanes are usually jammed packed with one person to a car and we saw very few commuter lanes which was quite a surprise. Our RX-8 drove smoothly in town and was very quick on the highway. The rotary engine revs up quickly pulling the lightweight sports car to highway speeds very fast. A short quick shifter and a light clutch make driving easy. Great feedback to the steering wheel lets you feel every inch of the road. Unfortunately the highways in California like the 405 look like and feel like what would be a construction zone anyone else in the country. They are made of concrete and have groves in them that shake and rattle every bone in your body. It was particularly bad considering the RX-8 had low profile 19-inch rubber which left very little material to absorb the road. We were fortunate that a quick ride brought us to Manhattan Beach, a quieter place with a small town feel only 20 miles away from Hollywood.

Manhattan Beach was once a farm back in the late 1800’s and then slowly began its journey into what it is today, a trendy small town free from the noise and clutter of Los Angeles. Here you basically have to walk the town to get a feel of the area. Brick sidewalks are lined with lighted trees and all electrical wiring in underground. The many small trendy shops give you plenty to see and do. This small town is made up of professionals and families looking for a relaxed and sophisticated lifestyle. There is an active surf scene and beach volleyball seems very popular as in the rest of California. However the feeling here is like you are far away from Los Angeles, in a world all your own. Being just 20 miles from Hollywood, this seems to be a great place to come home to whether you are a tourist or a local. What makes Manhattan Beach even better is the new boutique hotel that offers a spa like get-a-way; it’s called Shade hotel.

Shade hotel is a relatively new luxury boutique hotel tucked away just a few blocks from the Manhattan Beach shore. Based on style, attention to detail, use of modern technology and excellent service, Shade hotel might be one of the best hotels that we have experienced, in the world. While the Peninsula gets ranked on the top of many lists, the Shade can beat it easily when comparing amenities. The Shade hotel sits in an area that used to be an old Pottery factory. What developers have created is an outdoor mall with shopping, restaurants, water falls, and plenty of seating for people watching. The Shade sits as a modern sculpture in this development, with glass walls and tall curtains that give it a warm living room like feel. The hotel has only 38 rooms and we were greeted nicely as we pulled up to its entrance in our RX-8. The lobby and inner courtyard were abuzz even on a Sunday evening thanks to a wine tasting festival taking place. There were also many people having drinks in the outdoor seating area overlooking the other restaurants. The crowd is older and more sophisticated compared to Hollywood or Santa Monica and the area surrounding the hotel is a residential neighborhood with a mix of small shops and restaurants.

The Shade hotel is decorated with curtains almost everywhere from the lobby to the hallways. An inner courtyard features a waterfall and a relaxed atmosphere open to the sky as you go to your room. As you enter your room prepare to be wowed. The room greets you unlike anything you have seen before. As you look around you understand why this is called Shade hotel. Large panels of wood and frosted glass slide around the bath area to shade it from the rest of the room. When open, the rooms feel like a suite with a hot tub open to the room. Rooms are large with balconies and offer a great mix of warm rich wood tones, glass, and soft wall coverings.

The bed is a Tempurpedic foam mattress which gives you the ultimate in a spa like sleeping experience. Soft Tempurpedic pillows conform to your head while a cushioned backboard makes it easy to sit and read while leaning back. The owner and designers of this hotel have thought of almost everything from cool Manhattan style bedside lamps to plenty of power ports and ample granite countertops near the bed and in the bathroom. While many companies have come together to make this showcase of a hotel room happen, once you stay here you may just end up converting your own bedroom into the Shade hotel room, and that may have been the point.

Some of the goodies in the room include a Lavazza machine that makes an excellent cup of espresso, we just wish more of it was free, you only get 2 cups free.

A whirling propane lit fire can be called at a touch of a button from the wall control panel next to your bed, one of the best features of the room. A whirlpool tub is large and looks great lined with thick granite counters. Large granite counters surround the bath vanity so you have room for all your things. High quality spa bathroom amenities smell wonderful. Walls are not painted but lined with textured material, be it cloth or a hammered metallic material around the toilet. The only thing missing is a large flat panel TV to replace the old tube. Mood lighting changes the color of the shades and gives you chromatherapy while you sit in the Jacuzzi tub. A digital thermostat actually works by sensing the temperature in the room and provides silent air conditioning. Being only three years old, the hotel has been able to bring together great companies to deliver an experience that rooms costing hundreds of dollars more cannot deliver. Everything is done to be different from anything else you have seen before and that gives the room and this hotel a spa like experience, one that is very comfortable and luxurious.

Michael Zislis, the owner of Shade, used to have a brewing company based in Manhattan Beach. He then turned his attention to restaurants and currently owns two trendy joints, Rockn’fish and Mucho. We went to Mucho and came away just

as impressed as the hotel. The restaurant is trendy and offers Mexican fusion food in a rich upscale atmosphere. The main room of the restaurant is warm and cozy with latticed ceilings and tall private booths lined with curtains and rich fabrics. The bathroom has a Dyson hand dryer which actually feels like a hand massage. The bar area is backlit with a yellow glow which looks very striking. We ordered the Pescado Especiale which featured Scallops with a mix of different sauces presented as a work of art. It also came with small bite size tortillas wrapped in cheese and mushrooms. The freshness of the food was what set it apart, not to mention the presentation, which made us feel like we were dining in the Four Seasons. The Dos Platos was also very good where you can pick two different items such as a burrito or enchilada with a combination of fresh guacamole, vegetables and sliced potatoes. Another reason to dine at the Mucho is the wide range of Mojito’s and Blended Margaritas. They use fresh lime, pure cane sugar and mints to make the finest drinks around. Try the Mango Blended Margarita which has a nice chilling flavor and a slight kick to keep the night lively.

A great promotion right now, called the Shade-Cation allows local families who may not want to go on an expensive vacation abroad to have a similar get-a-way experience closer to home. Coming away from the experience at the Shade where we slept like a baby thanks to the Tempurpedic bed, having a fine chocolate placed on your pillows in the evening, and standing in your private balcony with curtains blowing in the cool wind of the Pacific really did make you feel like you were a world away, not to mention completely removed from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Spending a night at the Shade and experiencing the nearby restaurants and the small town flavor of Manhattan Beach is a definite must do for anyone coming to LA. www.shadehotel.com

The next day we left the Los Angeles area and took 405 and then I-5 down to San Diego. During the drive down we were quite awed by the natural beauty of California and thought about the need to preserve as much of it as possible. The rolling hills and tall mountains are covered with homes everywhere there isn’t a military base or a state park. The only stretch of land that was un-developed was when we passed the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base which was massive and lasted for what seems like 25 miles. In our long drive south we didn’t see any hydrogen vehicles and barely saw any electric or hybrid cars. It’s shocking to see more Prius’ back home in our small town then in our entire trip to California. We didn’t see any homes with solar panels nor any wind turbines on the vast valleys and hills that were ripe for wind power. Most of the drive down was through burned and dry grass lands and the air was dry and hot even in the end of October. The vast number of people all spread out across the hills of southern California really does point to the large amount of environmental protection needed. Water is scarce here and as the sources of water dry up, where will all these people go? There were also multiple out-of-control fires both in LA and in San Diego during our trip. The climate is getting warmer faster thanks to our endless demand for burning fossil fuels and we need to start thinking about solar and wind energy as a solution.

San Diego has so much to offer visitors from the beautiful beaches to the thriving metropolitan city center. There are also attractions for kids from the world famous Sea World to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. We particularly liked the area around Balboa Park that houses 15 museums and features gardens and parks and the zoo. The old spanish architecture of the buildings and the peace and tranquility of the area are perfect reasons to spend the day just relaxing. It also helps that this is located just a short 10 minute drive from downtown San Diego and makes the surrounding areas the perfect residential living spaces in entire San Diego.

A quick drive down to the border lets leads you to a cozy surf town located at Imperial Beach where you can also view military helicopters flying around covering the border with Mexico. A huge chunk of the San Diego coastline is taken over by the military with bases for the US Navel Amphibious unit, Marine Corps, Naval Air Station

North Island and Central Command. This is the home port of several aircraft carriers and also the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the Navy. We were pleasantly surprised to see various battleships at port being built or repaired as we crossed the large bridge into downtown San Diego.

Driving around to the various locations is quick thanks to well thought out city planning that incorporates easy access to freeways and properly laid-out roadways. Our Mazda RX-8 looked great cruising the streets of downtown San Diego with the only drawback being the numerous stop signs and traffic lights. It gets a little irritating having to constantly shift gears in this slow stop and go scenario, a manumatic would be best. There is ample parking around town and parking is free in the evening which means people come out to enjoy the wonderful mix of restaurants and bars that fill this area. Walking around downtown is exciting because all the restaurants are packed with a young and sophisticated crowd and you can just feel the buzz in the air. From the sounds of music filling the air from all the diverse restaurants to the chatter of all the conversations taking place in the outdoor sidewalk eateries, the scene in downtown San Diego is simply electrifying.

A great hotel in downtown right next to the action is the Omni. It is directly across the convention center and also at the start of the famous Gaslamp Quarter. Gaslamp is a very happening place filled with bars, restaurants and boutique and trendy stores. You are also not to far from the beaches, Petco Park baseball field is just next to the hotel, and the Balboa Park area is about ten minutes away. The hotel is architecturally very pleasing to the eye, with a sail like curve to its face, soaring into the blue sky. It features 21 stories and has some rooms with balconies overlooking the city and the ocean. While one side faces the San Diego Convention Center, the other side faces the Petco Park baseball field which is quite a view when there is a game being played. In fact, staying in the hotel and viewing the game would be a really luxurious trip in itself.

The Omni hotel is set in a palm tree lined street and offers a luxurious lobby surrounded by glass and sand colored wood and tile. The modern lobby is a great place to relax as is the terrace a few floors up that features a outdoor pool and fireplace. There are two restaurants in the hotel with the main one being the McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant while Morsel’s is more of a bar/lounge. There is also the Palm Terrarce located on the 6th floor which is a more relaxed and casual pool side eatery but only open during the summer months. The

pool area is very nicely decorated with glass railings and sail like shade canopy’s where you can take in the early evening glow of the city as the sun sets.

The guest rooms are very small but nicely decorated. Everything appears very clean and the materials used throughout are high quality. The bathroom is enclosed by a shade door and is small yet it offers space for your personal items and is beautifully decorated. Good use of soft colors and wood makes it feel better than average. Two wood cabinets with neatly stacked towels, shampoo, and flowers all give it a good taste. The towels are also nice and thick, and the hotel provides plenty of them in the bathroom.

The most important thing, a good bed, is not the best part of your stay at the Omni. Our beds were soft and squeaky. There are only two pillows which are on the smaller size; there should be at least four on each bed so you can sit back and relax on the large wooden headboard. There is a small wood work table and also a single arm chair in the room along with a cabinet housing the mini bar and the standard tube TV and coffee maker. The carpets in the room are very nice; they have a thick feel and also have a wave pattern to them so when you walk around it feels like you are getting a foot massage. Some drawbacks to the hotel are that it sits next to the rail tracks that are in between the hotel and the convention center. So you can hear the trains and the signal lights beeping especially when the larger freight trains come around, so having your window open is not a great idea. However, the room was quiet with the windows shut. Also we found that that valet parking to be over priced at $30 per night, considering the parking lot is right next door and they only charge $8 per day and $3 overnight, that did give us a bad feeling just as we checked in. Room services were good on the most part except for having a person come and check your minibar as you are getting ready to leave. There should be a better way. www.omnisandiegohotel.com

A great short drive away from downtown is the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park.

The park is a famous tourist stop and short 30 minute drive away from the center of the city. At the animal park you can see Giraffes, Rhinos, and various deer species roaming on a large open field. Most animal enclosures such as those for the Lions and Elephants are larger than you would find in most local zoos. More room is given to the zebra then to the numerous lions which was a disappointment. Also the small area for the large gorillas was pretty depressing as they all looked so bored and lonely. The temperature does get very hot in the bright sun out in the hills around San Diego, therefore it is a good place to visit in winter cooler months.

San Diego is well knows for it’s sun and here the Solar Power industry is experiencing a big boom. Many commercial businesses are beginning to power their firms with solar power in an effort to mitigate the results of global warming. While driving around the area, many homes do not have solar panels, in fact perhaps less than 1% of the homes in the area have solar panels. It is still something that needs to grow and hopefully with the excitement in the industry this year, it will grow fast even if oil prices come down again.

After leaving the zoo we headed back north past LA to the rivera coast, otherwise known as Santa Barbara. The highway drive was good in our RX-8 which was quick enough

and comfortable enough for the long drive. The only complaint is that windows are quite small and so you cannot enjoy a good large view of the outdoors. And here in California almost every view is a great view of some mountain or ocean. Highways in California are in need of great improvement. The concrete roads with lines in them make for a very bumpy and loud drive. It is no wonder that so many people drive comfortable Toyota’s here. The roads are very rough and loud. You need a car that has soft shocks and is very quiet inside. Perhaps this is they reason we saw so many SUV’s on the roads even when gas is priced much higher than the rest of the country. Most highways do not even have car pool lanes, even though that is what California is most known for. Every highway in California should have a carpool lane. Arnold still has a lot of work to do.

Santa Barbara is truly a beautiful town. A long road along the ocean is lined with very tall palm trees. The main shopping area is beautiful with its old spanish roofs and people watching areas. It is just very rare to find such a clean and beautiful place to live in where the weather is almost perfect year round. Even here we did not see many homes with solar and wind power or any hydrogen cars. We did see an all electric trolley in the city and this was a big plus. The trolley made no noise and zipped people around without any pollution. We think that as you get closer to San Francisco, you will likely see more of the green vehicles and hydrogen highways at work. But San Francisco is a far off from Santa Barbara. Here the culture is much more progressive than in San Diego and we found people more in touch with nature. We saw a large percentage of people biking around town or jogging along the vast boardwalk along the beach. This is a much more relaxed area and also the perfect retirement location with a good mix of young and old population.

A short drive away from Santa Barbara is Solvang. The drive is wonderful and full of farms and tall mountains as well as rolling hills. Wineries are common here so stop and have a drink.

Solvang is a Dutch village which actually looks and feels like you have driven into another country. People are dancing in the streets, shops have the same variety of international foods and cheeses, and everyone seems happy. This is a great place to spend the night and have a complete change of scenery. Be sure to try the various pastry shops and some good old fashioned plate of sausages and potatoes for dinner.

We next drove to the small town of Pismo Beach where you can bring any off road vehicle and drive the beach on what looks like a Saudi Arabia desert. Here you will find the flattest and widest beach we have ever seen. Many people bring their campers on the beach and there is a constant parade of monster trucks heading toward the sand dunes. The sand dunes are just spectacular and the locals offer dune buggy and ATV rentals

as well as Hummer rides. It is incredibly fun to spend some time on Pismo Beach but be sure to bring your jackets as it gets pretty cold during the evening hours.

A great stop after Pismo beach is Hearst Castle in San Simeon. California along Route 1 is simply a beautiful drive. It was a blast driving in our Mazda RX-8 on long curvy roads that lead to San Simeon. San Simeon is simply a must see when visiting California even though it is a half day drive from San Francisco or Los Angeles. The castle sits around 250,000 acres of ranch land and requires you to drive up a large hill in buses powered by

propane rather than gasoline. A two hour tour of several sections of the castle lets you feel like you were living there. Seeing the various sections is simply amazing and the castle has some very nice gardens, pool areas, and interior rooms. A favorite is the gold tiled indoor pool which is just amazing and unimaginable.

We next drove back to Santa Monica for our last night in the west coast. Driving down the Pacific Coast highway through Malibu was just an awesome experience.

Malibu is very close to Los Angeles yet offers vast beaches and open hillsides to anyone with a small treasure chest of money. Here we recommend you stop by the local Starbucks where you will likely see some movie stars; we saw the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger along with his wife in their Sunday clothes. It was interesting to note that no one swarmed them or asked for autographs. They also got into a black Cadillac Escalade with an Obama sticker on the back. We spent some time in Malibu just parked on the side of the road leaning against our car and watched people parasurfing; flying in the air and racing one another far out into the sea and then back inland again. This is just a great area to have fun chilling by the ocean before returning to the crowds of Santa Monica.

Upon entering Santa Monica, we suggest you stay at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

This hotel is located in a perfect setting on Ocean Ave at Wilshire Boulevard occupying an entire block. The large iron gates lead you to a wonderful car port with a huge Moreton Bay Fig tree. The tree is 80 feet in height and 120 foot wide, the second largest in California dating back to 1889. There is also a more discreet entrance on Ocean Boulevard for the Hollywood movie stars or those that want to feel like them. The hotel is a block from the Promenade in Santa Monica where you have three blocks of great shopping and lively night time festivals that are closed to all street traffic.

The Fairmont Miramar was once a private mansion for Senator Jones back in the early 1900s and then converted into a hotel. Although it has expanded into a large hotel, it still has the charm of an old historic wing and a special bungalow section where you feel like you are at home. We enjoyed their newly completed Bungalow facing the ocean with a view of the wonderful Santa Monica sunset.

We liked the personal escort from the check-in counter to the bungalow with a friendly and helpful staff. Finding your room yourself can be tough. To be led to your room and then have someone explain where the pool is, where the restaurants are, and how light switches work inside your room added a special touch, which many highly rated hotels are now starting to do. It was just a pleasant feeling from the moment you entered the hotel with a friendly and courteous staff.

Our bungalow had a great view of the sun setting from its private outdoor patio. Just outside the door was a large patio with a warm fire and a small fountain. The tall palm trees and wonderful landscaping made you feel like you were living in a movie stars home in

Beverly Hills and getting to watch a glowing sunset was just great.

The bungalow is made like a home with a small entry, a closet lined with umbrellas and other essentials, and a small bar lined with full sized bottles of various drinks. Wooden floors with beautiful inlay work sets a comfortable and warm mood. In the bungalow you have a welcome chocolate box and upgraded bathroom amenities. The bathroom was very large with dark gold faucets and an extra large soaking tub. A recessed ceiling adds to the luxury touch and really opens up the small home. Large full height curtains frame tall French doors overlooking the surrounding gardens. The small size of this exclusive area really makes for an exceptional non-hotel like stay at the Fairmont. All this located in the heart of Santa Monica, with a great beach just out the door. Because location matters so much, and staying in Santa Monica is by far the best location within Los Angeles, the Fairmont is the perfect choice for everything within walking distance or a short drive away. Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Malibu and the beaches are all surrounding this hotel.

The Fairmont also has a wonderful spa which is great for locals and travelers alike. The restaurants are causal so you can come in shorts and there are plenty of areas where you can just sit outside and relax on a lounge chair. Many of these places are also heated giving you warmth on the cool nights. Just lounge outside and look up at the stairs with a nice fire burning besides you.

The hotel is also host to many Hollywood stars. Greta Garbo stayed here for four years. Oliver stone stayed here for several weeks while working on a script. The hotel grounds have been featured in many series such as Dallas, and Knot’s Landing. Jane Fonda’s exercise videos were taped at the bungalows. Many people from 90210 have also stayed here while filming. Anthony Hopkins is a regular current guest. The list can go on and on to almost every celebrity in Hollywood has stayed here. www.fairmont.com/santamonica/

Our road trip ended here and was a spectacular get-a-way. The 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3 was a great car for touring around the winding roads of California’s vast shoreline and country sides. The diversity of the state makes it a perfect vacation spot where you can explore the vineyards north of LA or just relax in empty beaches along the Pacific Coast highway. California is filled with trendy restaurants and lounges where you can mingle with everyone from the entertainment industry or just run into them while visiting the local Starbucks. However when it comes to changing the way we live we weren’t as impressed. All of the talk about how environmentally focused the state is appears to be just that, TALK. Most people in LA still love their large gas guzzling SUVs and there is no sign of anyone changing their lifestyles to be more environmentally friendly. There are very little commuter lanes and the number of traffic lights and stop lights just makes the smog problem grow. We think removing stop lights would have been a simple and easy thing to do. Perhaps someone should remind the governor that in his home country they still use traffic circles that keep cars moving. We hardly saw any electric or hybrid cars, nor did we see any homes with solar panels. The energy crisis hasn’t changed the world yet, and cars are slow to change, even in california. What is needed is a war time effort to move the country into another century. Seeing this first hand made us realize how far we have to go and how long it will actually take before we see any changes in the way we use fossil fuels. And if the oil companies do what they did in the 80’s by reducing prices to $20 per barrel, we may just forget about all this talk about hybrids and electric cars. It’s funny how history repeats itself over and over again, the price of oil has now come down from $150 to $60 in a matter of weeks. Hopefully we won’t make the same mistakes again and fall into their trap. Lets continue to explore new methods of energy from Solar to Wind and continue the invent new electric and hydrogen vehicles. This is the only way we can take care of the planet and get off our addiction to dirty oil.