10 Days in Southern California

Desperate to escape the Canadian winter, I cashed in a flight credit I received from United this past summer. If you're travelling solo and have a flexible schedule, seriously consider responding to those gate announcements pleading for volunteers to be bumped to a later flight. For accepting a two hour delay in Houston, I scored USD $700 in credit. This was more than enough to cover a return flight from Toronto to Los Angeles, even over Christmas holidays. 

Southern California's bright winter skies and mild temperatures were the perfect antidote for the winter blues. 

Downtown Los Angeles gets overlooked by too many visitors who flock to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. Spend some time downtown and you'll find a wealth of architecture: from Frank Gehry's hyper-modern Disney Concert Hall to beautiful art deco high rises, restored and unrestored, like the Eastern Columbia Building.

Several of L.A.'s modern masterpieces are found along S Grand Avenue: The Broad Museum, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The Disney Concert Hall is open to visitors and offers architectural tours along with other quirky experiences. My friends and I followed an immersive multimedia tour led by Schrodinger’s Cat, created by Janet Cardiff and George Bures (free). You can visit the public areas of the hall most days, but check the hours before your visit. 

On the next block is the famous Broad Museum, a 120,000 square foot gallery dedicated to contemporary art (1950-present), that offers free admission to its permanent collection. So dedicated are they to the cause of contemporary art, explained a boasting employee, that they traded away a Van Gogh for Untitled, by Richard Rauschenberg. I'll leave you to judge the merits of that transaction. 

Because of its popularity, you need to book free tickets online for timed entry. Otherwise, you'll need to join the long line for unreserved entry that routinely wraps around the building. You'll find the works of Warhol, Basquiat, and Beuys, and quirky pieces like this statue of Michael Jackson and Bubbles by Jeff Koons . Visiting pieces include infinity mirror rooms by Japan's Yayoi Kusama. 

Art Deco is a narrative of architectural symbolism that has its roots in a 1925 Paris design exposition. Arguably, the style found its ideal expression in the booming cities of the United States. Like the Art Nouveau style that preceded it, Art Deco is strongly decorative and ornate. Geometric patterns, silver and gold, botanical motifs, chrome, and steel are its hallmarks. Manhattan’s Chrysler Building is arguably the country’s most famous monument to Art Deco whereas Miami is the city where you can surround yourself with the most buildings of the style. But Los Angeles, too, has many fine examples. 

The Los Angeles Conservancy offers half a dozen walking tours led by their volunteer docents. (2-3 hours in length, $15). 

A perfect ending to my first full day in L.A. was the Szechuan feast curated by my friend's parents in their hometown of Pasadena, just northeast of Downtown L.A. The San Gabriel Valley is one of the most ethnically diverse regions of the United States, with Hispanic- and Asian-Americans making up the majority. 

East Hollywood is home to several iconic buildings belonging to the Church of Scientology. I have to admit that I have an eerie fascination with cults. After watching Going Clear, Scientology and the Aftermath (Leah Remini), and My Scientology Movie (Louis Theroux), I pinned a few of these place on my google map. I parked nearby and tentatively made my way towards this towering blue fortress, pulse quickening. I'd like to say that I wasn't the least bit nervous that someone would jump out of the bushes and drag me inside for a compelled e-meter audit. (That would be a lie.) Totally uneventful! Apparently you can go for Sunday Brunch at the Scientology Celebrity Centre. Maybe next time...

Next stop on my own personal list of buildings from TV/film: the John Sowden House on Franklin Avenue. This house by Frank Lloyd Wright features prominently in I Am the Night, a miniseries about George Hodel, a prime suspect in the Black Dahlia murders. The property is now an exclusive event space, but it's Maya-inspired facade can be enjoyed from the street. This part of the city is a treasure trove of F. Lloyd Wright works. The Ennis House, Storer House, Sturges House, and Freeman House are private properties with varying degrees of visibility from public streets. The magnificent Hollyhock House sits atop a hill in Little Armenia. It's interior can be visited by independent (timed-entry) visit or with a guided tour. This is a must see for Lloyd Wright fans.

Back Downtown, I strolled through Union Station, a harmonious fusion of Art Deco and Spanish Mission architecture. Nearby is LA's historic Chinatown. With the help of a downloadable audio tour created by the Los Angeles Conservancy, I spent about ninety minutes wandering the neighbourhood, listening to its fascinating history. This, I learned, is Chinatown's second incarnation. From the 1800s, Chinese Americans faced systemic discrimination in California. Still, immigrants continued to settle in Los Angeles and set up businesses. The shops and homes of the first Chinatown were denied access to proper services by the city (sewers, paved roads, electricity, and adequate water). This created a health risk. By the 1930s, a combination of anti-Chinese sentiment and pressure to claim the land for other projects led to calls for Chinatown’s demolition. The unsanitary conditions provided a pretext. Close to 3,000 Chinese Americans were displaced. 

In building the current Chinatown, community leaders sought to create not only a community hub, but a destination for non-Chinese Angelenos. The exaggerated, almost theme park-like architecture was created to appeal to an American clientele who would be too fond of the neighbourhood - it was hoped - to allow it to meet a similar fate. 

LA's Arts District (Alameda St to the River, between 1st and 7th Streets) is a neighbourhood with a gritty past that is in the throes of gentrification. Sleek restaurants, cafes and breweries sit alongside many of the original artists' studios. LA Art Tours' Graffiti and Murals Tour is led by a group of local artists. Guides will take you around the district, using the murals to teach you about the history of street art. My guide, Galo, was a wealth of information and thanks to him, I can now identify the stylistic differences in chola fashion of the 80s and 90s. 

Angel City Brewing is a sprawling space with loads of seating, games, rotating art displays, a food truck and a patio. It was easy spend a couple hours out here in the sunshine, trying a few of the brews on tap. 

There are a handful of food trucks in the district. Some are on the street but others are tucked away down alleys or in building courtyards. It pays to ask around. I had some great tacos at ¡Chingón! on Traction Avenue. 

In downtown LA, everyone in your group should be able to find something to their taste at the Grand Central Market. It dates back to 1917, but these days it's full of trendy food counters. It can be a busy place, with prices that match its popularity. Eggslut has a devoted following and if you're hoping for one of their sandwiches, be prepared to wait in a line that snakes through the market. There are numerous licensed spots to score a pint or a cocktail. Delicious Filipino rice bowls at Sari Sari! Open 8 AM - 10 PM daily, though individual vendor hours vary. If you're wandering around downtown LA, this is also a good spot for clean, monitored, public bathrooms (basement level). 

On HWY 101 to Santa Barbara there's some nice canyon scenery leaving north LA, before passing through the long stretches of big box plazas in Oxnard and Ventura. As you get closer to Santa Barbara, the road is hemmed in by the ocean to the south and the mountains to the north. Downtown SB is Mission Revival picture perfect. It's the image that I think many people my age have of southern California towns thanks to shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

Pictured above is the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. This is the architectural jewel of the city and as a public building, it's open to visitors. Stroll around the impressive grounds, visit the mural room, and climb the clock tower for great views. There are free guided tours led by volunteer docents. I was lucky to be led on a fantastic tour by a retired attorney who had worked in the building for decades. 

After a tasty lunch at nearby Cafe Ana, I joined a walking tour offered by the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara ($10). 

Next was a snack from the Santa Barbara Public Market before walking the length of State Street down to the harbour, the pier, and along East Beach. Pausing to watch a beautiful sunset, I then headed to the Milpas neighbourhood to meet my friends for a great (and filling!) Mexican dinner at Los Agaves. Don't be surprised to find a line-up out the door on weekends. 

Accommodation in Santa Barbara can be steep, so I opted for a more economical room in nearby Carpinteria. From there, I'd set out for Palm Springs the next morning, with one brief stop at the famous Griffith Observatory, which was so busy with holiday tourists a few days earlier, the access road had to be shut down. 

I didn't know much about Palm Springs. Usually when I'd heard it mentioned it was in the context of a destination for Canadian Snowbirds (senior citizens, that is) or alternately, as an LGBT party hotspot. I was drawn for the desert landscapes, sunshine and hiking opportunities. But the town itself has its own charms. 

The Palm Springs Art Museum is a lovely, medium-sized gallery with a great contemporary collection and guided tours included with admission. A drive through the residential area of Las Palmas is a crash course in Mid-Century Modernism. It was my second day here when I realized why this design style kept conjuring up ideas like "retro space age".... The Jetsons! 

Just outside town is the Agua Caliente Reservation, home to some fantastic walking trails. The main draw is the palm-filled canyon pictured above, but there are half a dozen trails to explore. I spent a good 4 hours hiking here. From the lush Palm Canyon, the landscape changes to drier, creosote-filled vistas as you gain altitude. Palm Canyon is very popular and starts to get busy after 11 AM, but beyond the canyon, I encountered fewer than a dozen fellow hikers up in the hills. 

The next day in the desert was to be devoted to the famous Joshua Tree National Park and other sites in the High Desert. On the road out of Palm Springs you'll pass nearby the Windmill Market, a well-known purveyor of the Palm Springs date milkshake. In the early 1900s, date palms were introduced to the Coachella Valley from the Middle East. An Algerian variety thrived and by mid-century, the region was producing 48 million tonnes annually. Today, more than 90% of all dates consumed in the U.S. are grown here. I happen to be a big fan of dates, and this concoction didn't disappoint! Hadley Farms and Shields Date Garden are two other famous growers that mix up a great shake.

Consider stopping for gas in the town of Yucca Valley. If your tank is low and you intend to spend the day inside Joshua Tree NP, you could find yourself in a sticky situation. 

Twenty minutes northeast of the town is Noah Purifoy's Outdoor Desert Gallery. Purifoy, who passed away in 2004, is best known as the co-founder of the Watts Towers in LA. He created a number of sculptural works using charred wreckage collected after the Watts Riots of 1965. 

In the 1980s, Purifoy moved to an acreage in the High Dessert where he lived the last 15 years of his life. He eventually created ten acres of sculpture on the desert floor made entirely from scrap materials. Wandering around this outdoor gallery for an hour was a highlight of my trip. The nature of the work and the barren setting conjures a post-apocalyptic vibe. The museum is free to enter but relies on donations to keep operating. Don't forget to find the donation box near the parking lot and show your appreciation. 

From desert to coast, next stop, the town of Oceanside. My decision to stop here for the night rather than any of the other beach towns along this stretch of the coast may have something to do with the fact that I'd just watched three seasons of Animal Kingdom. I'm glad I did. What I found was a laidback, friendly town with great scenery and few historical attractions. 

The pier and the Strand are perfect places to stretch your legs, especially after a long drive. It's an almost 5 km walk along The Strand (paved) and the beach from the north end of Oceanside Strand Beach to mouth of the Buena Vista Lagoon at Saint Malo Beach. Even in early January, it was warm enough to ditch the jacket and soak up the vitamin D.

The pier offered a great vantage point to watch the dozens of surfers, lured by what an Oceansider described as "an epic run of swell". Patient watchers could also spot dolphins surfacing and these gorgeous pelicans hanging around the bait shop. Lots of options to grab coffee or lunch along the South Coast Highway, which is Oceanside's main commercial street. 

On my way into town, I'd spotted a white building atop a hill that I'd  guessed to be a church or temple of some sort. I noted the highway exit and looked it up on Google Maps later. As it turned out, it was on my way to the San Luis Rey Mission, so I decided to stop by. The Rosicrucian Fellowship of Oceanside has an entire campus in the Loma Alta hills. Though the buildings were closed and no one seemed to be around, the sign at the gate said that visitors were welcome. Wandering the property, I found their Vegetarian Cafeteria, the Healing Department, Little Theatre, Rooming House and Healing Temple. 

At the Healing Temple, visitors are urged to stay silent so as to not disrupt the healing energy field. I found a spot to sit near the Healing Temple and watch the paragliders soar through the canyon, then thought to look up these Rosicrucians on the internet. As it happens, they're a spiritual movement drawing inspiration from the Kabbalah, christian mysticism, and the writings of Danish-American occultist Max Heindel who died right here in Oceanside in 1919. Spiritual healing, clairvoyance, reincarnation, mediumship, and the "wisdom of vegetarianism" are all topics covered on their website. With the feeling I'd wandered onto an abandoned cult compound, I tentatively explored the gardens before getting outta dodge.

The San Luis Rey Mission is one of the 21 mission churches set up by Spanish monks of the Franciscan Order with the goal of converting California's indigenous peoples to Catholicism. San Luis Rey was the 18th mission to be built, consecrated by Padre Fermín Lasuén in 1798. The church standing today dates to 1811. It's a beautiful example of Spanish Mission architecture. The exterior arcade in late afternoon sunlight was magical. The church interior features a gorgeous painted wood beam ceiling and a trio of altar niches. 

Back along Oceanside's main drag, I had to disappoint a couple of flawlessly polite, underage recruits from nearby Pendleton Marine Base, who begged me to buy them a few bottles of vodka. Wondering at the wisdom of sending kids who aren't old enough to drink into a war zone, I marvelled at the painted sky and the marquees of the Sunshine and Star Theatres. A picturesque ending to a busy day. 

La Jolla, Pacific Beach, and Coronado Island are all part of the greater San Diego area. 

In swanky La Jolla, stroll the La Jolla Shores Beach and Ecological Reserve or drive a further 10 minutes to the stunning Torrey Pines: 2,000 acres of coastal state park that includes cliff hikes, opportunities to spot wildlife, and the gorgeous, long stretch of pristine beach. La Jolla Village is full of designer shops and posh restaurants. Award-winning chef Maeve Rochford's Sugar & Scribe is a great spot for brunch or lunch, enjoying gorgeous food and a spot on the sunny patio. 

You can get quite close to La Jolla's resident seal and sea lion populations (though be responsible, keep a sensible distance). The stretch of rocky coast between La Jolla Bridge Club and The Cave Store was busy with pinnipeds on this sunny January morning. Just past The Cave Store is the entrance to the short but lovely Coast Walk Trail, a great spot to spot roosting pelicans. Watch out for the packs of a dozen chatty, hyper-fit locals who come roaring around the trail's blind corners with their running clubs.

Pacific Beach is where I decided to sleep, being close enough to downtown San Diego but more affordable than Coronado or the Gaslamp District, and less distant than La Jolla. Walking the beach, watching the surfers, meandering on the pier, biking along the Oceanfront Walk path; this seems to be what PB is all about. Mission Blvd, the first big street back from the beach, is full of restaurants, bars and cafes for all budgets. 

I didn't end up spending a whole lot of time in the City of San Diego proper. I did join a historical walking tour of the Gaslamp Quarter, which has a pretty impressive collection of Victorian buildings. 

Speaking of architecture, there are several impressive modern structures that photographers might appreciate, though they're really only accessible if you have a car. The Salk Institute in La Jolla and the brutalist Geisel Library in Torrey Pines are standouts. I'm no fan of the LDS church, but architect William S. Lewis' San Diego Temple is stunning.

If you're travelling with kids, you will likely be spending some time at Sea World in Mission Bay, or at the world-famous San Diego Zoo.

Historic Balboa Park is one of San Diego's big draw cards. Despite the name, this is no mere park. It's a 1,200 acre cultural complex built in 1915 to host the Panama-California Exposition. Blocks of romantic Spanish Revival buildings house museums, art galleries, gardens, and cafes. Some of these institutions charge a set admission, others are by donation, others are completely free. The Botanical Building, Museum of Photographic Arts, and Mingei Museum filled up my time here. But even if you don't enter a single building, Balboa Park's architecture and atmosphere are worth a visit. So is the Old Cactus Garden. (Succulents, anyone?) 

If I had a few million dollars, I would retire on Coronado Island. Reached via the impressive Coronado Bridge, this community feels entirely separate from wider San Diego. The beach is stunning and the residential streets are impossibly charming. The shops and cafes along Orange Avenue exude an old school resort community feel with retro gems like Clayton's Coffee Shop, classic beauties like the Lamb's Players Theatre, and the landmark Hotel del Coronado, of Some Like It Hot fame.  I spent a whole day on this 8 square mile treasure. 

The beach in front of "Hotel Del" (as the locals call it), is excellent, but busy. South of Coronado Beach, a huge tract of the waterfront (including the beach) is a restricted US Military area. For some solitude, drive towards the south end of the peninsula to Silver Strand State Beach where it'll be just you, a few families, and 5 kilometres of sand.