Month: November 2013

The Venice Canals are man-made canals that recreate the appearance of Venice, Italy.

 
Walk along the canal’s peaceful banks and admire the beautiful homes mixed in with quaint cottages. It a mellow setting and perfect for just strolling or walking your dog.

 
It is about a mile from the famous and circus like Venice Beach where life is a little more hectic. You can easily do both in a day. Plus visit Marina Del Rey only about a mile from the beach. We will be doing a blog on Marina Del Rey soon. They tell me there are walking tours, I found this link:

http://www.venicebeachwalkingtours.com/venice_canals/
Plus there are many events in the canal and around Venice Beach. Check this link. http://www.venicepaparazzi.com/events/2013-venice-calendar-of-events/

Here are directions to the Venice Canals.
STARTING POINT
Begin at Pacific and 25th Ave.

DIRECTIONS TO THE START
Transit: From the Spring/1st stop in Downtown LA take the 733 Bus towards Santa Monica. Disembark at Main/Grand and walk about 10 minutes south on Pacific Ave. until you reach Ave. 25.

Car: From the 10 Freeway West merge onto the 405 Freeway South toward Long Beach/LAX. Then merge onto the CA-90W for 3 miles and turn right onto Lincoln Blvd. After 0.5 miles turn left onto Washington Blvd. Then after about 1.3 miles turn right onto Pacific Ave. Drive until you reach Ave. 25.

 

 

A great one day excursion and you might be able to find some discounted prices on Groupon like we did.

 

It is a wonderful experience as you get to sit in the pilot seat and taxi and then actually fly the airplane. He shows you the controls (not a lot to learn) and then it is off to the runway to take off.   With his watchful eye, you get to feel the exhilaration of  take-off as well as landing.

The hour long flight takes you over San Diego county either inland or along the coast. We choose the inland route  this day as  a  thick  coastal marine layer was floating over the coast leaving zero visibility.

Flying high over the country side at the wheel of a four seater airplane has to be experienced.

We had a fun landing with a unexpected bump that came at the end forcing the plane up in the air a little. I looked at the pilot and asked if that was normal and he said, ” not really.”

Always an experience with us.

See my landing video below with the quick bump at the very end.

Continue reading “The San Diego Zoo Safari Park”

Continue reading “Oceanside, California”

Welcome to staycationscalifornia.  Featuring info, photos, links,  events, places, cites, sites, attractions , etc.  in California.   We are going to explore areas that you can do in a day or the whole weekend.  Perfect for staycations or the weekend traveler.