Los Angeles and San Francisco (Sep 2024)

Reached LAX around 910pm, we got the car and proceed to the town house rented. The unit was very nice. Wifi signal was good. Each room has an attached bathroom. There was a welcome pack with food and cooking ingredients inside which we were happy with. The parking inside the garage was a challenge as the room was just enough for our MPV, we had to park diagonally. Naturally my parents took the room at the ground floors, we took the rooms higher up. We could not sleep well due to jet lag.

The next day, we went to see the Hollywood sign from the Lake Hollywood Park. Dogs were chasing each other in the park. Many people were taking pictures and there were hardly any parking space available. We nearly parked some distance away, until we decided to take a leap of faith and drove up all the way to the park. We passes by some very posh houses, and the road was uphill and winding. Finally we reached our destination, and the good news was, there was a lot big enough for us.

After the photo taking session, we went to Walmart near Burbank for grocery shopping. There was a phone buying machine inside Walmart. This walmart did not come with dining area, so we had to buy our food and ate them in our apartment.

Afternoon turned out to be jet lag cure time. All of us were dozing off and missed the sunset watching time at the Griffith Observatory that day.

We went up to Griffith Observatory to admire the LA night sky after our siesta. Parking was at US$10/hour and we had to walk up the hill, it was challenging to find a lot. There was a telescope that we could queue to see Saturn, with the help of the staff.

After that we went to queue again at another telescope (much longer queue) and saw the same thing.

Observatory was closed around 10pm. We drove to In N' Out Burgers for supper. There were many people inside and many cars waiting at the parking lots for their take away deliveries. The burgers and fries were best eaten at the restaurants itself as the fries became soggy after reaching the apartment.

The next day we went to Getty Villa, followed by Getty Centre. Getty Villa was near Santa Monica beach, and housed the ancient artefacts and collections whereas Getty Centre was 30 minutes drive away, and housed mainly paintings. Once you have paid for parking at either location, you didn't have to pay for the 2nd location, you just need to get your parking coupon at the 2nd location validated by the parking office.

We drove to Hollywood Walk of Fame, and realised that the neighbourhood was pretty seedy. We didn't stay long.

We had dinner at China Town in the evening. The food was good.

On Day 3, we went to Santa Monica Beach. The parking was US$15 per entry, one can choose to park further away to get cheaper parking. The weather was gloomy nearer to the Santa Monica beach, but once you drive about 10 minutes out, blue sky and sun. I suspected the gloomy weather was due to the sea fog.

There was a guy blowing bubbles near the pier to earn some tips. Santa Monica beach is also the end of Route 66 so there were many souvenirs sold that had Route 66 as the design. There were police patrolling the pier, yet we can smell some marujuana smell blown from somewhere else.

We drove home to do shopping at Target Supermarket near our house Most of the shelves near the medicine area were locked up, and you had to request for the attendant nearby to unlock for your viewing and purchasing. We spent the night at the Grove shopping area. The Grove was lively and vibrant. There was a tram line that ran across it, so we hopped on to take the short tram ride. There was an Apple Shop inside the Grove. We went to take photos at Beverly Hills sign board after.

We checked out of the apartment at 10am and drove up to San Francisco via Oakland Bay Bridge. It took us around 6.5 hours including lunch break. We had lunch at a town along the freeway, and the town was very warm. We were surprised that diesel was cheaper than petrol at the kioks along the freeway.

We finally checked in at Seaside Inn at 440pm, and drove to Safeway for grocery shopping. The weather was gloomy and the sea was choppy but there were still sailors in the sea. Many joggers and cyclists were seen near the Marina Green. Prices at Safeway San Francisco were more expensive than at LA.

Muir Woods National Monument was the destination for the next day. It was pretty cloudy and misty when we drove to the National Park. The parking was strictly for those who had prepaid and reserved their parking well in advance as limited lots were available. The sequoias were so tall. We were literally in a land of giant as we navigated along the board walk. After the walk, we went to Marin Headland to take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. Dinner was at China Town.

The next day we went to Embacadero followed by Pier 39. The uber driver who picked us up was a Chinese who had been in San Francisco for the past 10 years. He lamented that San Francisco was much safer last time compared to now. Someone has broken the window of his car two times when his car was parked outside his house. He was thinking of returning to China instead of staying in USA.

There were many vintage trams ferrying the tourists. Blue sky appeared at around 11am as forecasted. The uber ride back to the motel passed through some very steep road, which seemed to us as steeper than 45 degrees. The driver was still in gear D and when asked, told us the steepness was nothing to be worried about.

I walked across Golden Gate Bridge and back by foot, and admired the sunset. Took some night shots at the viewing area with the help of another fellow tourist. I was the last person on the bridge, once I was out, the patrol guard drove back to his office in buggy.

Checked out at 11am and drove to LA. Saw a Proton Saga hotwheel car in a 7-11 outlet at Tracy Hill. We stopped at REI near LA followed by dinner at Panda Express. The queue at Panda Express was quite long.

Returned the car at LAX and took the shuttle bus to the terminal building.

Notes:

1. Pump petrol using cash, you get the best price.

2. Pay for bridge tolls using Fastrak website by car plate registration. That way the toll charges will not reach the car rental company and you will not be slapped with hefty admin charges.

3. Marujuana smell is unavoidable in Sant Monica Beach.

4. Do not wander into the wrong area in San Francisco, especially where the homeless congregates and during night time.

5. Prebook parking lot for Muir Woods and prebook entrance tickets for Getty Centre and Getty Villa the moment they are available.

6. We saw Waymo (driverless cabs) in San Francisco and shopping trolleys that follow shopper home like a robot.

7. Hollywood Walk of Fames was not worth the trip.

8. 18% tipping these days.

9. Be mindful that the next petrol kiosk might be quite far away when driving between SF and LA.

10. Bus 28 serving the Golden Gate Bridge area has two different directions stopping at the same bus stop. Do note the direction/ask the driver before you hop on to avoid heading in the wrong direction.

Phone:

Birthday card by SQ

P1.

Town House in LA

P2.

P3.

Lake Hollywood Park

P4.

P5.

P6.

P7.

P8.

Phone machine in Walmart

P9.

Griffith Observatory

P10.

P11.

P12.

P13.

P14.

In N' Out Burger

P15.

Getty Villa

P16.

P17.

P18.

P19.

P20.

P21.

Getty Centre

P22.

P23.

P24.

P25.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

P26.

Halloween

P27.

P28.

Santa Monica Beach

P29.

P30.

P31.

The Grove

P32.

P33.

P34.

P35.

Beverly Hills

P36.

Marina Green

P37.

Muir Woods

P38.

P39.

P40.

P41.

P42.

P43.

P44.

Marin headlands

P45.

P46.

P47.

P48.

P49.

San Francisco

P50.

P51.

P52.

P53.

P54.

P55.

P56.

P57.

P58.

P59.

P60.

P61.

P62.

Embacadero:

P63.

Oakland Bay Bridge

P64.

P65.

Pier 39

P66.

P67.

P68.

P69.

P70.

P71.

P72.

P73.

Clam chowder

P74.

Fisherman's Wharf

P75.

Fort Mason

P76.

P77.

Marina Green

P78.

P79.

Crissy Beach

P80.

P81.

P82.

P83.

P84.

P85.

P86.

Seals:

P87.

Golden Gate Bridge:

P88.

P89.

P90.

P91.

P92.

P93.

P94.

P95.

P96.

P97.

P98.

P99.

P100.

P101.

P102.

Burbank during senset

P103.

Videos uploaded to Youtube:

V1. Lake Hollywood Park



V2. Getty Villa



V3. Getty Centre



V4. Tram ride



V5. Marin headland



V6. Oakland Bay Bridge



V7. Seals near Pier 39



V8. Sunset near Golden Gate Bridge





V9. Night view of San Francisco



Thank you for reading this blog, please feel free to visit my other travel blogs at www.lamtravels.blogspot.com