1983 - Snow and QE2 6 January 1984 – Pismo Beach

Friday 6 January 1984 – Pismo Beach

We had intended leaving Anaheim early this morning, but Rab was a bit slow in getting going and then it took twenty minutes to get through to Central Booking so that we could reserve a room at the Sheraton in San Francisco. Rab fancied staying at Fisherman’s Wharf and although it was pretty pricey at $117 per night, we booked in there.

It was also a bit late for breakfast and there was a long line there so we headed for the Jolly Roger which we had spotted in the main road – Katella Avenue – thinking it would be the same as the one where we had such a good breakfast in San Diego. But it wasn’t. still the food was good and we enjoyed it. A bit cheaper than the Sheraton too.

With a short stop at Avis to pick up maps of Los Angeles and San Francisco we were on our way at about 10.00 – about an hour later  than I had intended. We found our way to Sunset Boulevard quite easily and then we went up Vine to Hollywood. We stopped off there as Matt had been told that there were a lot of poster shops in the area. If there were any they were remarkably well hidden because we couldn’t find one of them.

Magazines and newspapers from all over the world

We did find some very interesting shops however including an incredible newsstand, the owner of which was fascinated to find we were from Zimbabwe, and a toy shop where Matt and I could have spent hours. Apart from anything else there were hundreds of masks and items of fancy dress. We allowed ourselves about an hour in the area just strolling around and spotting the names of stars embedded in the pavement before moving on.

We drove all the way down Sunset through Beverley Hills, Belair etc to the beach and the Pacific Highway. Rab had always wanted to see Malibu Beach but was a bit disappointed in it as it was a narrowish strip of brown sand. Not quite as pictured!! 
 

Malibu on a smoggy day

We stopped off for a drink at a diner right on the edge of the cliff – not the most safe place we thought as on the opposite side of the road a house had started sliding and half of its swimming pool was heading toward the road. I blew my top, regrettably, due mainly I think to the tension of driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road when we had a near miss at a junction. My fault of course, as driver, but that didn’t stop me berating my companions for not keeping a good lookout. Apart from this incident I had encountered no real problems, but it was a bit of a strain driving in such unfamiliar conditions.

Break over we headed on north up the highway in slightly overcast, rather misty weather. Well, just how much was mist/fog and how much was the renowned Los Angeles smog was difficult to tell. Our guide the day before had told us that it was an amazingly clear day but it was pretty mucky by our standards. The drive was enjoyable and the countryside interesting. Both Rab and I felt it looked a bit shabby and neglected and most of the beaches were not a patch on those in the Cape (back in South Africa)

Lunch was good at Santa Barbara

We got to Santa Barbra at about 14.50 and decided to take a look at the town and get a bite to eat as we were all feeling a bit peckish. It is a really beautiful little place – and as the sun was shining it looked even better – with plenty of palms and miles of beach. Rather like Camps Bay only more so, with Spanish style buildings scattered about. We heard on the local radio that practically the whole place was demolished in an earthquake in 1925 and rebuilt then.

Driving out on the pier in the middle of the bay – a rickety rackety affair – Rab and I shared half a large crayfish for $6.75. Really delicious it was too. Matt had a more mundane choice – a burger with local French fries, which are more like sautéed jacket potatoes. It was lovely out there and we felt we could have stayed a deal longer but we still had quite a long way to go to our overnight destination – Pismo Beach.

Pismo Beach

It was well after dark by the time we got there and to make matters worse I took the wrong turnoff which meant driving for miles along the secondary roads instead of the freeway. We finally made it and found the hotel Rab had selected from the AAA handbook – the Seacliff. It was a Best Western and was perched right on the edge of a drop of a hundred feet or so. Very clean and comfortable.

The Seacliff at Pismo Beach

The AAA handbook suggested a restaurant for our evening meal – again I took a wrong turn which took us well out of our way – but we were disappointed in our meal. Pismo is famous for clams, so naturally we ordered the speciality of the house – Clams au Gratin – and got a couple of enormous clam shells filled with potato and white sauce with cheese on the top. There may well have been some finely minced clam meat as well, but we couldn’t be too sure. There probably was because there was a fair bit of grit. Matt had the Fish Dinner for Children, part of which was a candy bar. He didn’t get this, so as we were paying, he asked casually how much the Hershey Bars on the counter cost. This prompted the proprietor to provide him with one – cheeky blighter.

Back at the hotel we watched the preview of a new TV series – Blue Thunder which Matt had been looking forward to having seen the original movie on the QEII. I was a bit disappointed in it although Matt said he thought it was good. I can’t see it taking off!

And so to bed.