HERE’S a tip when travelling to Los Angeles, hire a car and
drive.
As a regular visitor to the City of Angels, I find driving a
great way to explore the city and its surrounds. And don’t let the thought of
driving on the infamous LA freeways stop you, for they are not as scary as you
may think. Signage is good and quite easy to follow, particularly if you know
what direction you wish to travel. The freeways are labelled numerically and by
direction, which makes getting around quite easy. For instance, the 405 North
will take you North whereas the 405 south will indeed take you south – simple.
With the fundamentals of navigating the LA freeways taken
care of, it’s time for the fun stuff – hiring the car. Remember you are in LA
and the opportunity to travel in style is there for the taking, depending on
your budget, but the car hire companies are willing to negotiate on price if a
particular car takes your fancy.
On one of my recent trips a little haggling had me cruising Hollywood
Boulevard in a sleek black Hummer, which was fitting as while driving this
infamous road I found myself caught up in a media frenzy courtesy of the latest
Terminator movie premiere. With red carpet laid out and barricades in place, super
sized limos were lined up outside the Kodak Theatre depositing the beautiful.
For a moment I thought they mistook my black Hummer with tinted windows and a
mysterious air as containing someone of interest, but no, I was waved on without
thought.
Whilst driving the Hummer through the LA streets was fun, it
was the car I scored on my latest trip that afforded me the biggest buzz to
date.
Having decided we wanted to drive north to Santa Barbara, on
arrival at Enterprise car hire, my friend and I were given the choice of hiring
either a red Dodge or a silver convertible Mustang.
No prizes for guessing which one we chose and within the
hour we were racing past the traffic on the 405 north in the carpool lane.
Now here is another tip, the traffic on LA freeways can be a
nightmare, but if there are at least two of you travelling, use the carpool
lane. Why more LA residents don’t utilise this opportunity is beyond me. It’s
amazing how many people travel solo and end up being continually stuck in the
manic traffic gridlock.
As we headed
to Santa Barbara we left the 405 and changed to the 101 north. We did this
without incident and found ourselves cruising the freeway with the roof down,
while Bob Segar crooned about his love of Hollywood nights.
From LA
proper the 101 carves through the hills framing the Los Angeles basin and
eventually hugs the coastline. This route is a pleasure to drive, even if you
don’t have the luxury of a convertible.
After a few hours exploring the sights of Santa Barbara we
were headed back to our base at Long Beach when the Mulholland Drive turnoff caught
our eye. As this road is home to many famous people, an exploration of this
area beckoned. But instead of Mulholland, a wrong turn had us navigating the Mustang
around the winding Topanga Canyon Boulevard through the Santa Monica Mountains.
Being late afternoon on a clear spring day the view we were afforded was
nothing short of spectacular. We chose to take advantage of a lookout which offered
the opportunity to stop and further take in the view of Los Angeles and its
surrounds without fear of plummeting off the road into a rocky canyon below.
Our unexpected exploration of the mountains ended when
Topanga Blvd deposited us onto the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), just north of
Santa Monica.
Being familiar with this area and knowing the car did not
have to be returned until the morning, we decided a stroll along the famous
Santa Monica Pier followed with dinner and drinks on Third Street Promenade was
on the agenda.
On-street parking is not a problem, we easily found a place
for our Mustang to rest one block from the pier and two blocks from the
Promenade.
Although the pier is a famous landmark on the LA coastline
and worth a visit because of its history, it is very touristy and a little
tacky. I found pelicans dive-bombing into the Pacific for their supper a more
appealing way to pass the time.
From the pier walk 3 blocks inland to Third Street Promenade
where a myriad of shops and restaurants await your patronage. With stomachs
rumbling we settled on dining at Bravo, a quaint looking Italian restaurant. A
good Pinot Grigio accompanied by a delicious serving of Bruscetta as local
buskers serenaded us in the relaxed atmosphere was just what the doctor
ordered.
As night descended, fairy lights illuminated the tree lined
promenade and created a wonderful ambience. To walk off our meal, we wandered
past shops such as Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Gap, H&M and
Victoria’s Secret.
Without the luxury of a car, we would not have had the
opportunity to experience LA as we did, so when you are next in LA, drive. And
if you do happen to find yourself a little lost, stay positive as you could
find yourself having more fun than expected.
