Monday, May 26th -- Today, we left Cliff House Inn, near Ventura, CA and drove on the infamous Los Angeles freeway system to Irvine, CA. The distance was over 100 miles and involved numerous 3 to 7 lane highways, tricky or confusing signage, at speeds of 65 mph and upward. In a word, it was "insane." But we made it with no incidents and without getting lost. The trickiest thing was anticipating which lane or lanes to get in prior to exit ramps or freeway merges. Google Maps was most helpful for this. Also, having quick acceleration in the car (i.e., electric motors) is nice for changing lanes (i.e., squeezing in-between other cars).
Irvine was the destination because we were visiting Betsy's cousin Carol, her husband, John and their son, Jason, who has moved back home following a divorce. We arrived at about 1:30 pm and spent the afternoon talking, catching up on each other's lives. Although both Betsy and Carol have been on the west coast for a long time, they had not seen each other for decades (in Connecticut). Jason spent the afternoon upstairs writing, catching up after a 3-day weekend and two days with his 3-year old son (his name is Awesome). The son splits time with mom and dad, and their dog, a Corgi, also splits time but opposite the son. We only saw photos of the son, but had lots of time with the dog.
An hour before dinner we visited one of two man-made lakes/parks that are available to Irvine residents and guests. The swimming area of the lakes had just opened. There are abundant recreational facilities, and even fishing, on the lakes (catch and release only).
They took us to dinner at Maggiano's, a large, busy Italian restaurant. The meal was generous and tasty. The wait staff was very attentive. Since there were five of us, we drove two cars to the restaurant, so Betsy and I said our goodbyes and motored to our hotel (Ayres Suites) in Mission Viejo, about 12 miles away. We arrived about 8:15 as it was getting dark.
Tuesday, May 27th -- This was a driving day from Mission Viejo to June Lake, CA, a distance of 350 miles. We had breakfast in the motel, and were on the road by 9:00 am. With stops we arrived at June Lake about 4:00 pm. The first third of the distance was more LA freeways with thousands of cars and now lots of semis. Although we were east of LA proper, going northeast passing through Ontario, Riverside, and San Bernardino, the inbound traffic was heavy, less so going our way. We traversed the Mojave Desert and went past Edwards AFB. Once clearing most of the desert, we had a nice, low traffic drive along the east side of the Sierras. We saw Mt Whitney, and the adjoining mountains, which still have some snow at the highest elevations. The LA area was cloaked in low marine clouds that kept the temperatures cool. As we traveled north, the skies cleared but the air stayed comfortable.
June Lake is just before the eastern portal to Yosemite NP, at 7,600 feet elevation. We checked into the Heidelberg Inn, a large rustic, vaguely alpine lodge. Rooms are arranged on two levels arounds a large central public space (with a huge central fire place), with access by two sets of stairs. We got some exercise, wandering around part of June Lake and then circling the neighboring lake, Gull Lake. We eventually walked 3.6 miles, most of which was on trails. There were lots of mountain cabins scattered about a single main road.
Dinner was at a "New York-thin crust pizza, in Sierra-style."
Glad you survived the traffic around the LA area. June Lake looks like a nice calm spot, not many people or much traffic. Enjoy! ET
ReplyDeleteYou both are doing an excellent job documenting your trip. Thanks for providing the second link as the first sent me to my blog from years ago.. Obviously a lot of planning went into this trip.. good job… PvT
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