After an evening of fun on the strip and a show it was time to say goodbye to lights of Vegas. Our next stop will be Los Angeles… The city of glamour and celebrities.

Something you don’t think of when you do a self drive from Las Vegas to LA, is the traffic you will encounter on a Sunday. Thousands of cars travelling back home after a fun filled weekend with lights, shows and parties – at least this gave us a bit of time to enjoy the slow drive out of Vegas and appreciate the scenery.

Stop over for lunch at Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner, this old fashioned diner opened in 1954 and when you walk in, you step back in time. Grab a table, if any are available ane enjoy one of the best milkshakes and burgers you will very have!

From here it is about a 2 hour drive to LA depending on traffic and of course how many times you want to stop and take pictures. We just wanted to get to LA as soon as possible to be experience the glitz and glamour. As we exit the freeway and drive into LA, we are met with the Capital Records building, which is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label “of note” in the United Statesin 1942 by Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn E. Wallichs. Capitol’s roster includes Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Mary J. Blige, The Beach Boys and Neil Diamond just to name a few.

We drove up Vine street looking for our AirBnB, not knowing that we were in fact driving past all the famous stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! The Hollywood Walk of Fame comprises more than 2,600 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

After finally finding our apartment, we dropped off our bags and hit the streets – there isno time to wasted once you in LA! As we left our apartment, John Wayne’s star was basically at the entrance to the building, how awesome to see this iconic actor’s star.

Our apartment was perfectly situated, a few blocks away from the famous “Dolby Theatre”, and yes I will use the word famous a few more times – how can one not if you are in LA?

As you do when you are a tourist in a new city, you find the best way to get around and to see the sites. Once again, the Hop-on Hop-off bus was  the best way for us to explore the city and to get to know more about the rich and yes dare I say famous. The ticktets for a multiday pass cost R600 per person, so hop-on the bus, sit back, relax and do the route in full without hopping-off, just to get your bearings.

After our round trip it started getting dark so we decided it was time to head back to the apartment for an early night, there was a supermarket close to our apartment and as we stayed in a self-catering unit we decided to cook for ourselves. This is probably a cheaper way of eating and drinking a glass of wine.

We had an early start the next moring as we wanted to explore the interesting sights and sounds of LA. It was a short walk to Dolby Theatre, which is stop 1 of the Hop-on Hop-off bus. You will see people impersonating Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk, to Transformers, to Cat Woman – all trying in vain to make a few Dollars.

From Hollywood Blvd you will make your way to Sunset Blvd where you will stop at Guitar Centre, known as GC, that opened its doors in 1985 – this is largest music store on the planet, were you will find an endless selection of new and used gear including all of the biggest brand names. Regardless of your taste, age, or skill level, everyone gets treated like a rock star at Guitar Center Hollywood. From vintage masterpieces to debuts of the latest equipment and instruments to hit the market, there’s a reason why Guitar Center Hollywood is world-renowned, and also why musicians come from around the world to specifically visit this store.

Our next stop was the Comedy Centre, it is the home of The Comedy Store, the greatest stand-up comedy club in the world. Founded on 7 April 1972, on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood by comedian Sammy Shore, his wife Mitzi and comedy writer Rudy DeLuca. It started because Sammy needed a place to work out of when he wasn’t on the road. Sammy was the long time opening act for Elvis, and was the first all stand-up comedy nightclub in the world. From here the bus will take you down Santa Monica Blvd where the next stop will be at the yes you guessed, famous Beverley Hills sign – this is a good stop if you want to take some pictures and take a walk down to Rodeo Drive. Well in my opinion a must do! It is something out of the movies – massive homes which are apparently just the homes of lawyers and plastic surgeons, we are not even talking about celebs.

Walking down Rodeo Drive you do feel a bit under dressed and out of place. Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis – these are cars you see a dime a dozen. House of Bijan, the most expensive store in the world, word is the minimum spend is something like $120 000 and they will do a credit check on you first to see if you can afford it before they let you into the store. The owner Nicolas Bijan parks his yellow Rolls Royce outside the shop next to his own yellow parking meter. He had to pay the City of Los Angeles to have his own yellow parking meter but he still needs to pay for his own parking each day. No matter how much money you have you still pay for parking in LA. Here a suit will set you back $10 000 and a tie $1 000 – guess I need to work a bit longer before I can go shop at House of Bijan…

After all the shopping (or not) we stopped at the Farmers Market for something to eat and what a treat that was! There are many delicatessens with the yummiest food to choose from, just grab a seat anywhere and watch the world go by while enjoying your food – try the steak roll with gravy, it’s deicious!

After lunch (and resting your feet for a bit), get back on the bus and continue the tour. The next stop is Parmount Studios, we did not get off at this stop as there is so much more to see and do – maybe next time!

We started the next day bit later and made our way to Beverley Gardens Park where you get onto another bus that takes you on the coastal tour. This route does not have as many stops, so sit back, relax and take in the city with all its splendour.

We got off the bus at Third Street Promenade, where you will find some shops and good deals on clothing. From here we took a not so short but again scenic walk down to Santa Monica Pier, which is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. It is over 100 years old, with a breakwater constructed in 1934. Santa Monica Pier marks the end of the “famous” Route 66. It was a nice warm day and people were out and about, sitting on the beach and some were surfing – true Californian style.  For lunch we went to Seaside on the Pier, a beautiful seafood restaurant overlooking the pier and serving the most delicious fish and chips with an ice cold beer. This was what life is all about.

Don’t sit too long as you need to get down to Ocean Park Beach, we decided to walk along the promenade where people cycle, jog and ride on electric scooters. The beach gyms and volley ball courts are scattered all over, just like in the movies. But don’t be fooled by what you see on TV, tents line up on the sidewalk with homeless people.  Unfortunately, there is a big population of homeless people in California that actually shocks you seeing that all the rich and famous live there. They do however have an unemployment rate of only 3% which is rather astonishing.

The day got away from us and we realized we had to get back to The Dolby Theatre as we booked an evening celebrity drive. We could not make use of the bus, so we had to get a taxi and race back to Hollywood Blvd. Running up and down the stairs trying to find where to go, we made it just in time to take the tour. Honestly, this tour was a bit over rated as you speed by the houses in rush hour traffic and who knows what is on the other side of the high walls. At least we got a nice view of the Hollywood sign, which was a plus.

For dinner, we went to Cabo Cantina for bottomless tacos and a very big and very expensive Margarita before we headed back to the apartment for a well deserved rest as this was our last night in LA.

The following day, the sun was out and the sea breeze was just perfect, so we drove the route we did the night before on the Celebrity tour ourselves, to see if we can take better pictures, in slow motion this time! Looking around and driving can get tricky as you sometimes forget to look the road signs – this we discovered when a policeman pulled up next to us asking for our license and registration, as they do in the movies. Trust me, you go cold when this happens. “Sir do you know you made an illegal turn?” Were his words to me and actually yes, I did think that as I made the turn. Luckily after finding out we were from South Africa he gave me a stern warning to please check the signs and he let us go.

Today we are driving up the coast from LA back to San Francisco, something we have been dreaming about for years, but one thing was missing – a Mustang cabrio. The SUV we hired, was as close as we were going to get. This route follows CA Hwy1 along the continent’s edge through Malibu, with lots of great views. I loved the Malibu coast drive, zipping along the edge of North America through one of California’s most famous towns and then between mountains and ocean. Most of the time, travelling northbound on Hwy 1 will be easy. If you get a late morning start on a summer weekend, you may find the roads packed, with long delays to get through the traffic lights between Santa Monica and Malibu.

Our next stop was Santa Barbara, yes the town we all know from the TV soapie years ago but it is still stuck in our minds. Tall palm trees welcome you into the town, Mediterranean-style architecture and red-tiled roofs have earned Santa Barbara the nickname “American Riviera.” Its east/west-oriented coastline creates a moderate climate that’s exceptionally nice, even for sunny southern California.

We stopped to stretch our legs and then hopped into the car for the next few miles as we wanted to get to our stop for the night, Pismo Beach. Along the way you will see strawberry fields, the Channel Islands, citrus groves, Rincon Beach – a favourite spot for surfers, Santa Clause Lane, don’t get too excited, unfortunately, you won’t find the jolly old fellow there. Exit #89, the street name is left over from a 1950’s tourist attraction that closed many years ago.

Finally we arrived at Pismo Beach, a classic beach town, located on California’s famous central coast, half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Long white beaches for taking a pleasant stroll or for just enjoying the spectacular views of the Pismo Beach sunset awaits. Enjoy the great weather, fabulous wineries in the area, and take a leisurely walk on the award-winning boardwalk adjacent to the Pismo pier.

Our second last day on the trip, we started feeling a bit down, but we still had a bit of a drive to get to San Francisco, so we just made the most of it.

From Pismo beach the next stop was Carmel by The Sea, along the way stop at Elephant Seal Vista Point, where you will find hundreds if not thousands of Elephant Seals. I have never in my life seen anything like it, they basking in the sun and roll over each other to get to the water or to dry land – this is something you have to see at least once.

You enter Carmel, this little town is probably the most quaint we have seen on the entire trip and Clint Eastwood was once the mayor. This is a place I definitely want to visit again, we stopped for a coffee and a short walk along the beach to take in the breathtaking views early in the morning, this is all you need to have a long and happy life.

Back to reality and the clock was ticking, from here we drove along the beautiful cliffs to Monterey Bay the little town from the TV series, Big Little Lies, where they drive over the long bridge on the waters edge. We stopped to take some pictures on the bridge just to say – I was there!

Now the final stretch back to San Francisco. As you near the city you drive away from the coast and more inland. The traffic starts to increase and the scenery changes from cliffs to high rise buildings and lots of people.

We checked into our hotel for our last night and had some Chinese food and wine while we reflected on the incredible journey we had over the past two and a half weeks. From cities to forest to cliffs and ocean, we have left small parts of ourselves along this trip and will return one day to leave even more behind. It was not only an experience of a lifetime but a privilege to be able to have done such an amazing trip!

 Things to do in Los Angeles:

Madame Tussauds Hollywood

City SightSeeing Hop-on Hop-off

Warner Bros Studio Tour

Hollywood & Monestars’ Homes

Grand City Tour

1 Day Go Los Angeles card

1 Day Universal Studios Hollywood

2 Day Disneyland Resort Ticket

Written by

Theo Kleinhans & Gordan Millar