Enjoying LA

 El Segundo: a new favorite place

El Segundo is a sweet little town nestled around and in between a Chevron refinery, Hyperion wastewater treatment plant, LAX, and Mattel headquarters. However, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Satellite Development Center, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, LA Air Force Base, and the Space Force's Space and Missile System Center give the area the nickname "Aerospace Capital of the World." These companies make noise one way or the other in the Defense Department scheme of things, but we discovered the largest noisemaker to be the never-ending zoom of jets coming and going from LAX. But more on that later...

I really fell for this little town. Narrow streets, mom-and-pop local establishments, friendly people, lots of hills, and cute houses with blooming flowers created a quaint small town feel. But the best part was Coen, Courtney, and Kyle. Did I mention Coen?

Papa burping Coen. He was successful.

After the burping comes the napping.


Adventure awaits not just for Coen, but for Courtney and Kyle as well.

 

We spent a good bit of time helping Courtney with the baby and chores around the house, but also enjoying Kyle's delicious cooking. He prepared a salmon with teriyaki sauce that was really yummy, and smoked a pork butt that rivaled any we've had. And he gave us leftovers to enjoy! However, we had to take advantage of an opportunity for a "first" by stopping by a California original. 

Delicious! But I had to pass on the Animal Style fries.


Descanso Gardens

We took a field trip, baby and all, to a lovely spot, Descanso Gardens. It was 150 acres of camellias, roses, lilacs, and annuals - all in bloom - and trees of all shapes and sizes. The baby slept almost the entire time as we stroller-ed the grounds. What an angel! (www.descansogardens.org)

Dave noticed how many plants we observed are also common to Florida, many in our own yard - nandina, bromeliads, rhaphiolepsis, camellias, and legustrum, to name a few. I loved the California poppies, blooming everywhere - in gardens and along highways. Descanso Gardens was a quiet spot in the middle of the city, and the perfect spot for Dave and me to enjoy.

California poppy

Natal lily

Tree Aeonium

LAX 

Our RV park was on the beautiful Pacific Ocean, overlooking the Santa Monica Bay, right below the flight path for planes taking off from runway 7L. According to FlyLAX.com, "With winds typically coming from the west, over the Pacific Ocean, the runway complex at LAX spends the majority of the time in 'Westerly Operations,' with planes taking off over the Pacific Ocean..." Right over us. If for some reason the winds changed, and they did our first 2 days in LA, the planes land from the west. Right over us. The good news: We mostly got used to the sound of the planes, and took Tylenol PM before bed. I also used ear plugs. We slept great! The only plane that "made you look" was an Airbus A380. This is a 4-engine big ole monster, and it rattled the camper when it took off.  Check out the A380 size comparison with two 737's and two cars. 

It's so hard to say goodbye

Our final evening we invited the three Californians to the camper for burgers. The breeze off the ocean cooled the evening pretty quickly, so we moved into the camper for dessert. Once more, Coen was a darling, even though he soaked through a diaper, creating more laundry. But what's one more Onesie?

After a few tears from both Dave and me, and saying those very hard goodbyes, we began packing up the camper to prepare to leave LA. I will truly miss El Segundo and our Cali kids.

"...And I'll take with me the memoriesTo be my sunshine..."  -Boyz II Men

 


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