Flying to California Today: Long Beach, Palm Springs, Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach, California

We’re flying to Los Angeles on Saturday, and we’ll pick up a car and drive to Long Beach in the afternoon. That’s where the Queen Mary is permanently docked now. We will start out Sunday on a whale watching and dolphin cruise and later check out Shoreline Village, which was built to look like a Cape Cod fishing village. I love poking around docks and seeing all manner of boats.  The next day we’ll go to the old Queen Mary and see an exhibit called “The Ice Kingdom, CHILL, where there

We're visiting Long Beach, Palm Springs and Laguna Beach, Southern California
We’re visiting Long Beach, Palm Springs and Laguna Beach, Southern California

will be ice skating, a giant igloo and gigantic ice creations.  And I thought we were going to California to escape winter!  We will also spend time in ‘Retro Row’ where all manner of vintage clothing and ’50s style barbershops and cafes can be found.  Then we’ll take a gondola ride, Venetian style, around Alamitos Bay and Naples Islands.

Then we’ll drive to Palm Springs, and take the tramway up to the top of a mountain. Hope to see some of the fantastic mid-century houses that it’s famous for. In Palm Springs we’ll also take a Jeep tour out in the desert and see a date garden.

After Palm Springs we’ll head to Laguna Beach. A long hike will happen on that day in a 20,000 acre wilderness, with a local guide.  Throughout the week we will meet people and see different sites of these cities. I have been told that it’s a very expensive place to live and the people are very laid back.  It’s going to be a fun week in the sun!