We're finally home from California after two weeks away, and I have to say that two weeks is just a little bit TOO much vacation. Ten days, I think, is my max. Maybe it was that we also spent ten days in MA this summer, and I had spent a few days in DC. But it was an adventure, and we had a great time! We came home with lots of pictures, souveniers and a nice tan :-)

We started out in San Francisco, which I blogged about when I talked about Muir Woods and Pier 39. Then we drove down the famous Pacific Coast Highway (not the whole way, just to Monterey, and then zipped over to much-faster route 5) so we could see the coastline. GORGEOUS. . This was taken at the Pigeon Point lighthouse, which was one of several stops we made along the way, just to take pictures.

We spent another 9 days on Redondo Beach, staying at the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club. They're not paying me to say this--but the Portofino was one of THE best hotels I've ever stayed at. We got an ocean-facing room and we woke up to sea lions and sea turtles in the little bay of the marina every morning. The staff was the nicest I have ever met. They were absolutely amazing. Very detail oriented, very clean, and very, very nice. Made for an awesome vacation. I highly recommend them.

From Redondo, we drove into Hollywood, LA and onto both Torrance and Hermosa Beach. Hermosa was the best beach of all, and I could have spent a week there alone. ;-). We went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum (which was SO fun and really cool). That's me and Marilyn out front. You can touch, get close to, and take pictures with all the wax figures--a really, really fun experience. My kids loved it, DH loved it, I did. We were all posing and acting silly by the end of the self-guided tour.

We also did the tour of the star's homes. We didn't see any stars at home, though Dr. Phil had just arrived home when we passed his house--and his gate was closing behind him :-(. Dr. Rey from Dr. 90210 fame was home (I saw his car) but we only saw his landscaper and security guard ;-). This is the famous Lana Turner house, where her boyfriend was murdered by her daughter. I thought it interesting that it was on a street named Bedford (I grew up on a street with the same name). We also drove down Rodeo Drive and past the Ivy restaurant, but didn't see anyone of note.

I did, however, see Linda Hamilton of "Terminator" fame on my plane. That was my big celebrity sighting, LOL. Oh, and I saw one of the guys who played the arguing brothers in Ocean's 11 in LAX. That was it.

Either way, it's always nice to come home, even with the jet lag :-). I do miss the beach (I LOVE THE OCEAN!) and miss room service and someone there to make my bed and clean the room every day, LOL. But it's always nice to come home to your own bed, your own pillow, and to a dog who is glued to your side for hours and hours because she was so sure you had abandoned her ;-)

Tell me--have you ever taken a long vacation like that? Are you a short vacationer, a close-to-home vacationer or a long-distance trip taker?

Shirley