Carpinteria to Los Angeles

With our trip almost at an end, it was time to return to Los Angeles. After breakfast we drove down to the Carpinteria beach.

The camera dial was miss-adjusted and I got a weird zoom photo of the oil rigs off shore. They are about fours miles away.

We were puzzled by the dark cloud looking north along the beach.

I have walked down to touch the Pacific Ocean. It's amazing to think that a few days before I had touched the water on the other side of the ocean in Tasmania.

Notice the gigantic wave rolling in. Actually, the area has experienced tsunamis when there have been earthquakes.

Condominiums lining the beach. 

It would be interesting to see the beach in winter. I suspect the big ocean waves are blocked by the off-shore islands.

Looking south. By California standards, it's a pretty decent beach with a wide flat area of sand, good for volleyball.

We then headed south along Route 1 that follows the ocean shore.

Next stop was Ventura Pier. It claims to be the longest wooden pier in California but much of it is above sand and not water.

Of course we had to walk out. According to Google Maps measurement, it appears to be about 1600 feet but it seems a lot shorter than the Urangan Jetty.

Looking north. The beach does not look all that inviting.

Looking south.

At one time trains came out on the pier.

There were several fishermen hoping for a bite.

There is an octagonal platform at the end of the pier.

Islands in the distance.

One of them, Santa Cruz, through the zoom. That mountain is 2450 feet high.

Look at how calm the water is. Now click on this link to see a gigantic wave hitting the pier a few years ago.

Pylons holding up the octagonal part.

A rather substantial seagull.

So we walked back to the shore. I felt this pier had more character than the one at Santa Barbara.

We continued or drive past a marina.

The GPS then decided to take us on an inland route via the mountains so we headed off into farming land. Much of this land is quite close to the ocean so presumably would be extremely valuable. We suspect that local ordinances restrict the use of this land to farming so that property developers don't turn it into housing tracts.

It shows what heat, good soil and water will do. And of course, the availability of cheap labor from Mexico to pick the crops.

Horse ranches became plentiful.

We stopped to have a look at this fancy property.

Those are very impressive gates, but Marianne noticed a sign indicating that this was the tradesman entrance. It turned out that we were back on route 192 again.

Eventually we came back to the ocean at Malibu.

The view from Malibu Bluffs Park. A helicopter made an appearance.

Looking north.

Marianne was having a whale of a time but she complained that the seat was hot. It was about 80 degrees by the water but well over 90 inland among the hills. Apparent you can see whales from this bluff at the right time of year.

By now we had done enough driving so we headed off to Los Angeles before the afternoon rush. Even at 2 pm the traffic was certainly no joy.

So it has been a very enjoyable trip. We have seen and done a lot and met many friends and of course, enjoyed a week and a half with our daughter. In addition, we have added Hervey Bay to our 'hobby' list as a possible place to live.

So finally, another food photo. We went to a small Mexican restaurant called Mariscos la Fiesta around the corner from our motel and I had a delicious octopus and shrimp ceviche. It was served cold and the octopus was not at all chewy. Plenty of shrimp. and the salsa was fresh and spicy. In Australia people would be queuing to get in and prepared to pay huge amounts..

Marianne had a fish ceviche that was a bit bland but improved with the green hot sauce.

The restaurant was full of locals when we entered and empty when we left. It's very much a place for locals but I must say that a steady diet of Mexican music would get old after a while. Next time we come to Los Angeles I would like to eat there again.