I grew up with parents who shared their love of classic rock. And somewhat remarkably, found a group of friends in high school whose parents had also spread the gospel of the Stones, Zeppelin, Petty, and many others. This love of music still brings my friends and I together decades later.
The guys fly to Los Angeles
One of my very best friends had just turned 40, and to celebrate he wanted to head out to Los Angeles to a tribute to Robbie Robertson – the late great songwriter for the Band and guitarist for Bob Dylan. The tribute show was to showcase acts that had played with, learned from, or impacted by Robbie’s music. It would take place out in Los Angeles at the iconic LA Forum (now the Kia Forum) where the Band had played in 1974 in a famous recorded show with Dylan himself.
Choosing where to lay our heads in LA
But I’m an east coast boy – outside of a handful of trips to to the San Francisco and San Jose for work – I had yet to really explore LA. In fact, I’d only spent one night in the LA area. To us – the massive sprawl of LA provoked an interesting question – what area should we stay in?
The tourist spots are in the northern part of the city – including Hollywood and Beverly Hills. There are beaches all along the coast – with Santa Monica and Venice being being popular spots to stay as well. However – the beaches further south such as Hermosa and Redondo were supposed to be fabulous to see too! Not to mention that the Forum is sort of smack in the middle of the sprawl.
That’s how we ended up at the Sonesta Los Angeles Airport LAX. Despite planning to stay closer to the action, it’s actually ideal for exploring LA – especially if you want to see a little bit of everything rather than staying in one area. From LAX – we could shoot out along the coast and be up to Santa Monica’s famous pier in 15 minutes. The hotels at LAX also have the benefit of being significantly more economical than the higher end places in Hollywood and Beverly Hills – which meant more money for …breakfast burritos.
There are tons of hotels to chose from at LAX, but many are dated. That’s how we found the Sonesta LAX – it’ had just’s just been completely renovated. There’s new restaurants and bars on site, and beautifully clean rooms with brand spanking new bedding.
The california-themed art at the Sonesta LAX
So away from a rather rainy Boston, we flew west to celebrate Phil’s 40th. We started with a couple of cocktails at Logan before our flight absolutely tore across the sky and got us into LAX in under 5 hours. By the time we had checked into our room at the Sonesta LAX, it was almost 9pm local time. The bar at the Century Taproom was beginning to bristle with people as we settled into some brick oven pizzas. The bar staff was great, recommending local beers such as Stone Brewing’s IPA – a beer that quickly became a favorite of of ours, alongside the Three Weaver’s Cloud City.
For two elder millennials, our room was perfect. By the time we’d had a couple of drinks and some food, it was nearing midnight in LA – but our body clocks had it close to 3AM. We settled into the perfectly comfortable beds and fell sound asleep without any interruptions or noises.
Day One: Roadtrip to Venice and the classics
When we awoke the next morning, we pulled back the shades to find a beautiful view of the distant mountains and the sun shining. It was time for adventure.
We took our rental car first to Venice stopping at a highly-regarded breakfast restaurant called Great White. When in Rome – or in this case – southern California – you have to get the breakfast burrito – which was absolutely incredible. It had crispy hash browns added to egg and bacon and gorgeous avocado – and came with a beautiful smoky salsa that was only slightly spicy. The cold brew was strong and smooth. Satiated – we parked just down from the beach and explored Venice beach – taking in the sights and sounds – though the sea was a bit cold for us as the temperatures were just grazing into the 70s.
The amazing breakfast burrito at Great White
From there, we continued further up the coast and enjoyed the views as we drove past Santa Monica pier, and up the Pacific Coast Highway. We drove up to El Matador State Beach and spent some time exploring the tide pools and rock formations. This little beach has a bit of a climb down but once you’re at the sea level it’s amazing to explore.
After our climb back to the car park, we were thirsty. Heading back down the PCH towards LA, we stopped in at Malibu Brewing Company located at the Trancas Country Market. This beautiful little set of shops is reminiscent of Cape Cod, albeit with the relaxed vibes of SoCal. We each got a sampler of four beers and enjoyed the outdoor seating. We popped into the Vintage Grocer’s as well – mainly for more beer for later – but they had an excellent selection of hot dishes for takeaway – such as Jamaican beef patties and Indian samosas.
Malibu Brewing Company
Bellies then full, we jumped onto Malibu Canyon. It’s impossible not to enjoy the beautiful canyons, twists and turns, with the windows down. After a little exploring through Bel-Air and Beverly Hills (it turns out LA still has extremely long lines of people picking up their kids from daycare!) we drove up Sunset Boulevard and set our sights on the Scum & Villainy Cantina. We make no secret of the fact that we’re fans of Star Wars and this place seemed like a perfect little stop.
However – it was entirely disappointing. The bar itself is really cool and does make you accurately feel as if you’re in Mos Eisley. But the drinks are over sweetened and seem meant to look good rather than be proper cocktails. They do have some novelties where upon ordering a specific drink, you can play a dice game to receive a shot. Unfortuneately the shot was a honey whiskey and frankly hard to take. I’m glad we tried it, but not exactly somewhere I’m desperate to go again.
Cocktails at Scum & Villainy Cantina
We walked through parts of Hollywood, tracing the Walk of Fame and pointing out some of our favorites to each other. We spotted the Capitol Records building – with it’s impressive architecture. Further exploring this part of Hollywood, we saw Intelligentsia coffee. I’ve seen places serve beans from this brand before and thus wanted to try it. But, the espresso was super acidic and honestly not worth the cost. It’s a shame because the beans are of great quality, but their machines need to be tuned and baristas a bit better trained to draw shots.
Driving into downtown LA, you could feel the excitement as the Dodgers were in the National League Championship Series. We had to try Angel’s Flight – which was interesting – but after that we strolled across the road to Grand Central Market. This place was buzzing with people jammed into the bars and breweries watching the NLCS. That alone would’ve made the market a great experience, but the food was excellent as well. Grand Central Market is full of little boutique shops, small counter-served eateries, as well as bars and breweries. We had starters at a few places (tacos!), but ultimately our favorite was the Thai restaurant called Sticky Rice. I got the Khao Soi – a northern Thai curry noodle soup and it was absolutely incredible.
Angel’s Flight
From there we headed back to the Sonesta LAX. It also offers incredibly convenient parking (or valet if you prefer) – with spots reserved for guests in the garage right next door.
Day Two: Lie-in at LAX, Palos Verdes, and the big night out
Another great night sleep at the Sonesta LAX, and perhaps our still east-coast set body clocks got us up fairly early. We got some strong espressos from the Landing Restaurant, which were surprisingly good. I admit I’m a coffee snob, but these were well rounded, not acidic and had good crema. Honestly, I was a bit surprised to find this quality of an espresso at the hotel. It became an easy morning routine.
We decided we wanted to head south to some of the other beaches in the area, but needed breakfast beforehand. We headed to Phanny’s per a recommendation from a colleague who grew up in the area. Whilst this breakfast burrito was different from Great White – it was still outstanding. It wasn’t as fancy, but was larger and extremely filling. The accompanying salsa was also excellent and had quite the zing.
From there we drove further south to explore Palos Verdes and Pointe Vicente lighthouse. This cliffy outcropping sticking out over the pacific has great views and was just really peaceful to explore. We spent the rest of the morning at Torrance Beach. Putting our feet in the water was a novelty for us New Englanders in late October! The beaches in this part of LA are really wide, and beautifully sandy. They have great facilities in terms of showers and places to rinse the sand off, and they all have lifeguards huts. They also comb and clean the beaches often which is really nice.
Hermosa Beach
Driving back towards LA, we got hungry and stopped at Hermosa Beach. Having walked along this beach, and up the pier, we settled in at Palmilla Cocina located in the pedestrian area right off the pier. I got filet mignon tacos – which were fabulous, and the coconut margarita to go with it. You might be seeing a little theme pop up here – yes – tacos and burritos. SoCal has some amazing food. With the sunshine, the veggies, salsa, and avocados all feel much more fresh than what we get sometimes back east.
Coconut marg at Palmilla Cocina
The big night out in LA at the Forum
That night we were headed to the show at the Forum. Realizing the Forum had only chain type restaurants in the immediate vicinity, we stopped at the Three Weaver’s Brewery for a couple of beers on the way. Whilst the neighborhood isn’t really anything to write home about, it’s great to have a fresh pint. And of course, sitting outside is always amazing.
The show was incredible, and we got to hear some amazing acts. The indigenous songs from the Coyuga and Mohawk peoples were incredibly moving, and then they helped sing a beautiful rendition of Acadian Driftwood. Eric Church sang ‘Up on Cripple Creek’. And I was amazed to listen to Van Morrison sing ‘Days Like This’. My favorites though were Nathaniel Rateliff singing ‘Across the Great Divide’, and the trio of Mavis Staples, Trey Anastasio and Bob Weir singing the class Robbie Robertson song, ‘The Weight’. It was a beautiful tribute and an amazing night of stars.
The venue itself was decent if a little dated, but I loved the mid-century architecture of it. However – it is a bit of an island in LA – there’s very little in the way of food and bars open nearby after the show ends. We were unable to find an ride back to the hotel via any rideshare apps – and ended up walking for quite a bit before being picked up. So have a plan before your show ends!
The tribute show to Robbie Robertson at the Kia Forum
Day Three: A drive along the Angeles Crest Highway
The third day beckoned bright and sunny. So, we decided to head up into the Angeles Crest mountains north of the city. We wove up to La Canada Flintridge and saw the pines urging us onwards to the Angeles Crest Highway. It’s a twisting and turning road that winds its way through canyons and over mountain passes.
Signs warned us to go slow through the turns and to be wary of any signs of inclement weather. This bit of white knuckle driving was gorgeous, and we drove until we found the turnoff for Mount Wilson Red Box Road – which leads up to an observatory. Next we found the Eaton Saddle Trailhead. It’s the site of a tourist railroad that ran to a hotel during the early parts of the 20th century. The wind blew, but we fresh air nursed our hangovers as we hiked up through old tunnels and on to gorgeous vistas of the valley below.
The views from the Angeles Crest Mountains
From there we headed to the observatory – though most of it was closed up – but we enjoyed a bit more sun and views.
Heading back down into Flintridge – we enjoyed more tacos at Los Gringos Locos. The slow cooked pork was incredible, but the real star was a giant margarita that I could barely get through!
After a late afternoon nap back at Sonesta LAX, it was time to head out. This time we drove up to Santa Monica and explored the pier. It was a busy Friday night, and the pier was bristling. We had a drink at the very end of the peer, watching the fisherman and enjoying being outside.
An indulgent Santa Monica dinner
We walked up the famous Ocean Avenue taking in the sights and sounds. Hearing our bellies rumble, we decided on having a bit of a fancy dinner – properly celebrating the 40th birthday. For this we selected Meat on Ocean. This beautiful, open air steakhouse looks out at the Pacific Ocean. I selected a prime ribeye with chimichurri sauce that was incredibly flavorful. We ate and drank until completely sated. With the night heading for the wee hours, we found one more cocktail on the way home and crashed hard into the brilliant beds.
The Ribeye at Meat on Ocean
In the morning we headed for the airport, but had one last breakfast burrito in El Segundo. All in all, this was a great intro trip to LA – we got to see a little bit of everything from Hollywood to the beaches and mountains – and we enjoyed copious amounts of tacos and burritos!
Thank you to Sonesta LAX for hosting. As always, all opinions of Pure Wander and it’s contributors are honest and true.
