Angelika Thanksgiving is known as the most sacred of all holidays in the USA. Every year on the third Thursday in November, families gather at home to eat turkey, and since American families like to move and often live scattered across the country, everyone and their brother travels back to their hometowns for the occasion.
On Thanksgiving, most employees not only have Thursday off but also Friday, which can be combined into a 4-day weekend. A pure luxury in the USA, where paid vacation is rather scarce. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, usually announces a few weeks before Thanksgiving that the entire Thanksgiving week can be taken off at the company's expense, giving most Apple employees a free holiday week without having to use their vacation days. Unfortunately, this does not apply to people working in Apple stores, as the Friday after Thanksgiving is a popular shopping day (called "Black Friday"). It is also not guaranteed that Tim Cook will give the whole week off, but we always take a bit of a gamble and book something for the week before the announcement comes, especially since I love to travel.
This year, we drove our small Honda Fit, nicknamed "Brummi" by Michael, on the I-5 freeway for six hours south to Los Angeles. Although the I-5 freeway is the fastest route, it is also one of the most boring roads in California. It goes straight through the flat areas of central California, where fruits and vegetables for the entire USA are grown. Drivers whizzing by also see large herds of cattle. The landscape is flat, the ground is bone-dry, and for years there has been a dispute in this area over who gets how much water, because water is needed for the fruits and vegetables to grow, and water is scarce in California. Farmers in this region often feel cheated by politicians in Sacramento. Due to the long drought period in California, they receive less water for irrigating their fields or have to pay more for water, which has led to fallow agricultural land. As you drive along the I-5, you frequently encounter signs with anti rationing slogans like "Food Grows Where Water Flows."
As a driver, you fight against fatigue on this route. That's why we always stop at Harris Ranch. The location is 300 kilometers south of San Francisco on the I-5 in the town of Coalinga. There are only fields for miles around, and suddenly, out of nowhere, the ranch with a restaurant, hotel, Tesla charging station, and souvenir shop appears. The restaurant is huge and has three different areas: a bar, a steakhouse, and another restaurant where families with children usually gather because they are not allowed at the bar. We usually go to the bar because you can get a table faster there. However, the restaurant is not for vegetarians, as it offers juicy steaks in all varieties, which is naturally due to the fact that Harris Ranch is one of the largest beef traders and producers in California. It has been family-owned since 1937, making it a true Californian institution.
After his stomach is full, it takes another three hours to get to Los Angeles, provided there is no traffic. However, traffic jams are a part of everyday life in Los Angeles. This year, we wanted to return Venice Beach (Rundbrief 09/2013), a district of Los Angeles that is located right by the ocean and is characterized by bohemians, sun worshippers, surfers, old hippies, good restaurants, the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Muscle Beach, where Arnold Schwarzenegger once honed his muscles, and a large number of homeless people.
Venice Beach was independent until 1926, but now it belongs to Los Angeles. This time, we stayed in a beautiful vacation apartment that we found through Vacation Rental By Owner (vrbo). It was only 100 meters from the beach. The vacation apartment resembled a loft, and the bed was only accessible via a ladder. We knew this, of course, when we booked the apartment, but at night the climbing was a bit annoying, and so we often lay in bed and thought twice before going down to the bathroom. The owner of the apartment was an architect by profession and had her house at the back of the property. The vacation apartment was furnished like something out of an issue of the German interior decor magazine "Schöner Wohnen" (Beautiful Living). There was also a rooftop terrace exclusively for us, and since the sun was shining brightly, we often sat above the rooftops of Venice Beach and enjoyed the view.
Our vacation apartment also offered two bicycles that we were allowed to borrow. Los Angeles is considered a total car city, which is true, but we are always amazed at how many bike paths there are now, especially in the neighborhoods or small towns that are directly at the Pacific Ocean. And it's not just tourists on the bikes, but a colorful mix of families with children, road cyclists, and casual Sunday riders.
The Marvin Braude Bike Trail, also known as "The Strand," runs 22 miles (about 35 kilometers) almost always parallel to the beach and stretches from Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades through Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach to Torrance Beach. Only a small section leaves the beach, and cyclists have to weave through side streets in Marina Del Rey, but even here, there is a bike lane separated from the road for most of the route.
We cycled the path both north and south and discovered the charming coastal town of Manhattan Beach. To Michael's delight, the ocean there was very suitable for surfing, so we drove there twice more by car. Michael put on his wetsuit, which he had brought from San Francisco, rented a surfboard at the beach, and surfed the waves with the locals.