My 2,000-Mile Trip Out West

When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was all of the gorgeous colors and cool murals on the walls. The second thing I noticed was how incredibly crowded it was! There was barely room to stand. We got some drinks from the bar first and only had to wait about 10 minutes before our table was ready. The wait staff is super nice here!

We got to our table and looked at the menus. They have a huge menu! I ordered the chicken quesadillas, since I was told by my fiancé’s brother that they are the best. Well, he was right, but I figured that it would be hard to mess up a quesadilla.

The second time we went, it was a little earlier in the day and a weekday. It didn't matter, as they were still packed, and this time, we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table.

I ordered chicken tacos with a side of black beans and rice. They were absolutely delicious! What was also really cool was that they were made with two tortillas each and piled with meat. That way, you could really turn two tacos into four. I could only eat one because it was so huge. I took the other one home and made it into two tacos, which I ate the next day. It was easy to see why this restaurant was voted number one in Redondo Beach!

Driving winery to winery is a great family activity - really! We had six adults and a 13-year-old. The wineries all have alternate beverages served in nice glasses for underagers. First, we went to the Domaine-Chandon Winery. They specialize in Sparkling wine (otherwise known as champagne). Here, you pay $5 and get to taste four wines, and then you keep your glass as a souvenir. Now, I'm not much of a champagne drinker, so I wasn't really very into this winery. However, it has very beautiful scenery, including a little rock garden fashioned into mushrooms.

Next, we went to the Robert Mondavi Winery (much more my style!). My fiance and I tried a 1996 reserve Cabernet, and it was wonderful! Here, you have to pay $5 a taste, and you don't get any glass to keep. It's still cool to see, though, because it is a more popular wine which you can buy in most of the U.S. We were hungry by this time, so we went to the one little grocery store/cafe on this Napa Valley strip. They had awesome sandwiches!

After eating, we went to the winery that became my favorite: Grgich Hills (pronounced Ger-gitch). This winery had a different feel to it. It was much smaller - all it consisted of was the tasting room, which had the wine barrels inside it! We paid $5 each and tasted FIVE wines. They even had little pretzels for you to clean your palate. They pulled out their 1996 cabernet for us after we talked to them a bit. I also think it helped that we had a Frenchman with us (the boyfriend of my fiance's mom is French but speaks with an English accent!). Oh, yeah, we also got to keep the Grgich Hills glasses, which were huge!

Our final stop on our little wine tour was Sterling. They are also a pretty popular winery across the U.S. They had a 4th of July special. You paid $20 and rode to the top of a mountain on a chair lift to taste four wines, one of which was a 1975 Reserve Cabernet! Despite my enthusiasm, it really wasn't that good, and they didn't even let us keep the wine glasses. One thing Grgich hills did was give you a nice helping. Sterling, however, barely gives you a sip! Oh, well! Expect to spend A LOT of money if you go to Napa Valley! You will have a nice buzz afterward, though!

The Huntington is more than just an art museum. When you walk in (admission is $20 for adults, $15 for students, and $10 for kids), you can go into a museum that consists of first edition books and manuscripts from famous authors from all over the world. They have the Guttenberg Bible first printing, Canterbury Tales, some Mark Twain, Emily Dickenson, Harriet Tubman, and Henry David Thoreau, among many others! The other half of this building is devoted to antique furniture, spoon, and coin collections from different time periods.

Outside of this first museum, you can walk through the different gardens. It starts with the Desert Garden, which makes you feel just like you are in the desert! We were amazed at all of the plant life we had never seen before! Next, we walked to the Australian section, where we saw a eucalyptus tree - they look like someone colored them! The Zen garden and Bonsai courts were both so relaxing and beautiful! The rest of the area consisted of a Rose garden, Statue garden, and art museums containing mostly American, British, and French pieces. There is a special children's garden that has many interactive things, such as water bells, a prism tunnel, a fog grotto, and fountains for playing. Bring your walking shoes! Don't worry about bathroom breaks - I was able to find a restroom every 10 minutes or so.

Food is available in the English tearoom and also at an on-site restaurant. There is so much to see and do, you won't even know where to go first!

This is one of the coolest places I have ever been! It's like a 5-mile party! Besides being the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, there are some of the coolest people there. You will see everything from a man in a Lord of the Rings costume to a homeless guy claiming to be "the biggest wino." It is so much fun! You can rent bikes to cruise around on, or you can rollerblade or skateboard. It has been used in movies like crazy. If you have ever heard of Muscle Beach, you can see it (and the totally hot guys) for yourself! It truly is the most awesome beach experience you will ever see!