Trippin' Through LA

This LA district called Melrose is an eclectic mix of funky clothes, music scene, and this is where the HIP and TRENDY hang out!

Want to hear live music?  Go to The Gig and hear the local LA music scene.

There are great restaurants, hip n' trendy clothing stores to shop for LA clothing styles, and also, a cool place to hang out and watch people at Louise's while hanging around Melrose.

Quick Tips:

Find a LA Weekly rag mag and check out the listings for the cool places to hear more live music and places to dance all types of dances in the LA area.

The Key Club in Beverly Hills, The Mint in WeHo, The El Rey at the Miracle Mile on Wilshire are nice places to hear live music and dance the night away with your sweetie.

Best Way To Get Around:

There are so many things to see and do while in LA, so I will do my best to give you "the hook-up."  Forget walking in LA!  Rent a car to work in movies and TV shows.

Work in the movies and TV shows?  Call Central Casting at (818) 562-2730 and register to work as background extra.  Central Casting is the biggest casting agency in Los Angeles.

Want to get paid working seeing an audience TV show?  Call Chris-owner of On-Camera TV in Burbank, CA (818) 295-2700.  Chris will refer you to Dominic, so ask Chris to hook you up with Dominic who works for Chris.

Best Things Nearby:
The amusing thing about camping at Doheny-there is a 5-Star hotel directly across the street from the campground! You could sashay your fine self over to the hotel for happy hour or a midnight snack! Or walk across the other entrance of Doheny and grab some fast food from McDonald's or some other fast food eatery. Down the street a ways is Costco and Smart and Final for your camping supplies. Wal-Mart is not too far nor is the 99-Cent Store or Big Lots.

Best Things About the Resort:
What else can you say? It's the white, soft, sandy beaches that draws people to Dana Point in droves! Oh-If you noticed I checked off swimming pool-it is because the hotel doesn't mind visitors using the pool. Cool.

Resort Experience:
No electric, but RV, campers, and tents don't seem to mind the idyllic, beach setting. I camped at campsite 91 only twice within the last two years. This infrequency camping at this particular site indicates the massive popularity Doheny State Park commands. The reasons for Doheny's popularity entails the convenience leaving your RV or TV at the campsite, walking 1/2 mile to the Dana Point Harbor, hopping on a ferry to San Clemente! I rode the ferry to San Clemente in about 50 minutes from Dana Point Harbor. FYI: I bought my R/T ferry ticket from Camp Pendleton MWR at Mainside when I was buying my groceries when I was camping at San Mateo Campground, South of Doheny.

• Campground Type: State/Province Park
• Campsite Type: Camper/Trailer
• Price Range: $20 - $30
• Cleanliness: Very Good
• Campground Facilities: Very Good
• Recreational Facilities: Very Good
• Campsite Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

Best Things Nearby:
Shops, Gourmet Restaurants, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Camping-Doheny State Beach is about 25 miles south of Laguna and Laguna Nigel, Starbucks at the Ritz-Carlton on PCH 1 heading towards Doheny. This Starbucks makes their coffee just right-not bitter and not watery.

Best Things About the Resort:
Beautiful scenic ocean views, clean air. close to Disneyland and Peacock Suites Resort (#4029)



1745 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Anaheim, CA,   92805
Phone: (714) 535-8255
www.shellvacationsclub.com

Do more bumbling around here!  Go to Crystal Cathedral in Orange, CA.  Go shopping at Hilo Hatties like in Hawaii.  Located at The Block at Orange
20 City Boulevard West
Building H, Suite 118,
Orange, CA, 92868
Phone: (714) 769-3255
Fax: (714) 769-3267
Store Hours: Sunday thru Thursday 10am to 9:30pm, Friday & Saturday 10am to 11pm.

Resort Experience:
I have driven up and down this PCH coastal road avoiding traffic on the H. 405 heading to LA. I like stopping here because this place gives you time to reflect, have a cup of coffee or Jamba Juice, take your shoes off, curl your toes in the sand, eat at a beach side cafe, shop and reluctantly muster the energy to get yourself back into your car to head North to LA. Ahhhh.

Oh-please do not forget to stop by and eat dinner at Dennis Rodman's restaurant in Newport Beach-5-star chef at Rodman's.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom


• Activities: Very Good


• Amenities: Very Good


• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good


• Family Friendliness: Very Good


• Service: Very Good

Since traffic poses as a major conundrum traveling through LA, my best advice to you are the following:

During commuter hours driving from downtown LA to Santa Monica-

Take Sixth or Third Street (I know it's a long drive, but it sure beats driving on the freeways-H. 10, H. 101, H, 405, H.5-avoid these freeways!), head west.  

From the very end of Sixth Street from downtown LA (15 miles driving due West!), turn left onto San Vicente/La Cienega in West Hollywood (WeHo).  Turn right onto Wilshire-head WEST.  You will be passing through Beverly Hills.  DO NOT SPEED through BH!  There are 25 MPH signs posted everywhere, and BH cops are NOT "officer friendly!"  Just ask Zsa Zsa Gabor!  

Hungry?  Turn right at Rodeo, turn right onto the very next street.  Go park your car off Rodeo in BH and eat at McCormick and Schmick's for happy hour, right next door to Tiffany's Jewelry Store.  You will be happy you ate here.  Take the elevator up from the parking structure and follow your nose to seafood and gourmet food!  Mmm!

If you are traveling on Third Street from downtown LA-

Right turn on La Cienega from Third Street.  Thirsty?  Jamba Juice is on Third and Beverly. Left on Beverly Boulevard.

Hungry?  Park car at Beverly Shopping Center and eat at either Todai (Japanese Seafood Buffet) or Hard Rock Cafe.

Left on Santa Monica Boulevard (if you make a right turn-you will hit Barney's Beanery and the Gay/Lesbian District heading back to LA) from Beverly Boulevard.  Right turn on Wilshire.  Follow Wilshire and pass Westwood District.

Want groceries before heading out of town?  Turn right onto Gayley from Wilshire—turn right into Whole Foods Market's driveway—five-star grocery store.  

Right turn on San Vincente from Wilshire—veering into the left lane.  Follow San Vicente heading west.  If you veer to the right lane on San Vicente, you will be heading onto Sunset Boulevard and Bel Air.  Wrong way!  Turn around!  Banks are everywhere around here.  Post office is here, too.  

Stop and shop on San Vicente's Brentwood District (OJ Simpson Land).  Pricey $$$$.

Turn onto Seventh Street.  Follow winding road all the way to PCH. 1. Stay in Left-hand lane!  Tom Cruise lives somewhere in this neighborhood with neighbors such as Tom Hanks, Billy Crystal, Jim Carrey, etc.

Turn right on PCH 1 heading North via Malibu to all campgrounds along PCH such as Leo Carrillo, Sycamore, Thornhill Broome, and McGrath are 18 to 35 miles up the coast.

There is another shopping center in Malibu where you may buy groceries, bank, post office, and pharmacy.  This is the last stop where you may buy items that are reasonably priced.  Howe's Market is very expensive which is located on Trancas Canyon and PCH 1.

As for Malibu Creek State Park-turn right at Malibu Canyon and PCH 1 via Pepperdine University landmark, drive almost 8 miles on road, campground is on your left hand side.

This URL:  http://www.reserveamerica.com will give you maps how to get to each campground I have listed.

Here is the URL to view the photos of the tents I have had and a couple I still own:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/B0007IS62Y/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all/103-4851951-7662216?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=sporting-goods#gallery

Columbia Tents-Gardner Peak and Bugaboo Tents VERSES OTHER TENT MANUAFACTURERS I have purchased in the past.

The whole back story of why I have decided to purchase Columbia Tents rather than purchase Columbia's tent competitors:

I made some grave mistakes by buying cheap tents!

My first GRAVE MISTAKE was purchasing Swiss Gear 10-person Dome Tent at Sears-item #00674119000 Mfr. model #74119 "Interlachen" four room cabin dome tent sleeps 10 people-lousy, weird design-my nieces and nephews complained the tent design was cramped, the zippers were getting stuck on the zipper protective fly, the room dividers were inefficient for privacy, and the tent poles were so cheaply made that the poles shattered into fragments. The fiberglass poles caused slivers to lodge into my hand. Painful.

I also bought the Swiss Gear 13 x 17 ft. Dome Tent Sears item #00674115000 Mfr. model #74115 "Alpine Lodge" family dome tent is weather-resistant with many Swiss Gear features like removable dividers, gear loft, pockets, factory-taped fly seams, 3 exit entry doors during the same time. The Alpine proved just as worthless as its counterpart, Interlachen!

The tent space for the Interlachen and Alpine are quite small and trying to size up a tarp as a footprint to protect the tent floor was trying my patience terribly. I returned both tents to Sears-I abhorred these two tents! The tent poles shattered and frayed; the rain fly allowed rain to blow into the tent. Terrible design for both Interlachen and Alpine tents!

Second GRAVE MISTAKE: I purchased the Coleman's Outsider Tent from Big 5 in the Fall of 2003. The Outsider Tent COLLAPSED when it rained in the winter months of 2003. I was livid when everything I owned was waterlogged and damaged while camping in the Coleman Outsider Tent! I immediately returned the Coleman Outsider Tent to Big 5 the next business day!

I have purchased tents from Target and Wal-Mart, too. However, I purchased a large 6-7 man tent from Target with two doors, but the zippers broke, leaving the tent unusable and no access into the tent. I did buy this small, hiking junior tent from Target. I decided to keep the junior camping tent from Target as a storage tent for my camping gear/food which I keep inside my Gardner Peak Columbia Tent.

By keeping the Target junior tent inside my Gardner Peak Tent, this keeps animals from raiding my food supply-I lock this small tent making it very difficult for a small animal to pry open the locked, zippered tent. This sobering fact is especially true when you accidentally leave the Dutch "D" door open . . . animals such as squirrels, birds, rats meander into an open tent hunting for food.

I make it a habit to not use the bulky, plastic tubs to store my camping supplies since it takes up a considerable amount of space in my Toyota Limited Edition 4WD 4-Runner. Still, animals are tenaciously able prying open the plastic lid! Using the junior camping tent as a storage bin-it rolls up compact and small or lays perfectly flat when your food/camping supplies are consumed. Stowing a junior camping tent is far more conducive traveling with less bulk in your car or SUV.

Also, I owned a cabin tent with screen room from Wal-Mart, but this tent did not last the rainy seasons or high winds. The Wal-Mart cabin tent proved to be unstable, wobbly, and very little moving room when I have my queen-size bed set-up inside this tent.

Moving on-I purchased an Aerodome Tent from Marshall's in the men's department (odd place to buy a tent, huh?). I still have the Aerodome tent for changing on the beach, cooking in this tent due to the open door ventilation feature, storing my food and camping supplies such as firewood, cooking stove, etc. when I just bought too much food/camping supplies stored in my Target junior camping tent. So, the Aerodome is a cool tent that has a great zipper that I can lock when I leave my tent to go play on the beach or leave my tent to get food/camping supplies.

The tents made from 2003 to present from Wal-Mart, Target (except for the junior hiking tent), and Sears have cheap zippers on all their tents and slight/nil poorly designed gear space. I have all my pictures to document all the tents I have owned to show how each tent weathered through each season's use.

 

So...why do I bother writing about tents? I am writing about all the tents I have purchased, so you as my fellow camper will avoid purchasing the cheaply made tents, avoid feeling miserably cold and wet, and ruin your experience camping while camping next to me! A sad camper is a miserable, crabby camper. I do not need to see such suffering when camping should be a wonderful, fun, lifetime experience!

I heard of Columbia Tents by clerking many different sporting good shoppers' opinions who were using different tent brands for camping-from novice to survival expert. From one shopper's opinion-I decided to check out the Columbia First-Up combo Tent. I stopped by Sportmart and purchased the First-Up Bugaboo Red 10 x 10 Tent for $300. This tent was a combination tent where you could set up just the awning, but have the alternative setting up the camping tent underneath the awning.

I did not realize that it was so very difficult to set up the First-Up tent by myself, so I had to have FOUR campers who were camping a few campsites from my campsite helped me play a tug-of-war setting up this First-Up...expanding the awning support system is not easy to set up much less pull apart! Yanking and pulling-attaching the tent in the middle of the awning, resetting the position of the 10 x10 over the campsite...aw, it was a nightmare, a hassle and embarrassing asking for help setting up my First-Up tent! Note: Do NOT attempt to set this tent up by yourself! Why? You just CANNOT set up this type of tent by yourself unless you clone yourself instantaneously when camping solo!

Well, a day later after setting up the First-Up tent I installed the two room dividers. Not much space in a 10 x 10 tent frame. The first heavy rain storm flooded this tent completely! A female California Park Ranger named, Max helped me disassemble the muddy, water-filled tent and loaded the messy tent into my 4-Runner. I immediately returned the $300 tent with water and mud inside the tent back to Sportmart! The Sportmart manager was miffed because this tent is SUPPOSED to be waterproof! Yeah-right!

So, after returning the First-Up tent at Sportmart, I bought the Bugaboo Dome Tent from Sports Chalet for $169. Sportmart didn't have the Bugaboo Dome Tent in stock. Now this Bugaboo Dome Tent is the bomb, this tent is TRULY a wonderful tent!

This tent survived gail-force winds, heavy horizontal rain-the kind that Forest Gump described in the movie, hail the size of golf balls in the winter of 2004/spring 2005. FYI: The Bugaboo Dome Tent fits in tight campsites. To set up the tent by myself, took me exactly 10-minutes. By the way, I was dry, warm and living the "cush" life while the weather outside was disgustingly cold & wet-horribly miserable for camping.

The Bugaboo Dome Tent has so many wonderful features such as drink holders that will keep your can of soda from tipping over...it is a well-balanced drink holder design. Two lights with two remote controls supplied, but call Columbia/North Pole to have them send you the batteries in two days.

This tent has generous storage/gear space, too. Very cool and quite impressive! The only design flaw I didn't like with the Bugaboo Dome Tent was its odd shape at the entrance Dutch "D" door. It seems it wasted about 1½ to 2 feet of usable, interior space substituting for a mud runner for shoes.

As life happens, things happen for a reason <lol>. My brother sent me E-mail that he was returning from serving in Iraq and he wanted to go camping with me. So, I went to Sport Chalet and purchased the Gardner Peak Tent for my brother and his daughter to camp in style with me. The Gardner Peak Tent was on sale for $189, so I bought the tent!

The Gardner Peak Tent is an awesome tent as well as the Bugaboo Dome Tent. The Gardner Peak took me about 15-minutes to set up and it has a gargantuan, impressive living space inside, plus ample storage for your camping gear. The Gardner Peak has two lights with two remotes. I called North Pole and had them send me the batteries for free.

Please look at the pictures I have online via www.amazon.com to view the Bugaboo Dome, Gardner Peak, and other named brand tents I have purchased in the past. My pictures do not lie! My pictures are eye openers regarding tent usage applications and the results of using each tent.

It is true from the other camper's critique stating the Gardner Peak has dividers that are semi-private which separates the tent into two spacious rooms. I solved the problem with the gaping dilemma by taking my Tahitian and Hawaiian pareaus and clipping them to the room dividers with clothes pins. No problem-piece of cake. Privacy restored!

I had no problem with the zippers on my Gardner Peak Tent. I must admit that the camper who wrote about the zipper problem must have purchased an odd-ball/lemon which is very rare occurrence for Columbia/North Pole to manufacture a "lemon" tent!

I purchased from Wal-Mart a folding queen-size bed for about $48. I also purchased a queen-size Aero Bed Mattress from Target for $99 which I slipped the air mattress into the queen-size folding bed. I placed the queen-size bed set-up on one side of the Gardner Peak with a round Papasan chair I gave to my niece as her birthday present. Please keep in mind by visualizing my niece's side of the Gardner Peak: she still had plenty of space for her clothes and miscellaneous camping gear, plus the queen-size bed and round 60-inch Papasan chair! Huge!

Meanwhile, the other Gardner Peak entrance had a Wal-Mart $22 twin fold-up bed with a twin toddler Aero Bed mattress $70 from Target slipped into the twin bed. I slept on the twin bed set-up. My twin bed, my MACSport folding reclining chair, and all my camping gear felt dwarfed by the gargantuan sleeping space inside my Gardner Peak Tent!

My niece was in heaven claiming, "Auntie! This is NOT camping!" Ha! Funny thing is my brother decided to camp in the Bugaboo Dome tent on another Coleman queen-size bed set-up I purchased at Wal-Mart for him while my niece and I slept in the Gardner Peak Tent. My brother just loved the Bugaboo Dome tent so much that he begged me to let him have the Bugaboo Dome Tent as an early birthday gift. Alright-ok! So, soft-hearted sister here gave my brother the Bugaboo Dome tent...ho-hum!

Ok-so, now-I do not have a small camping tent just for me. What do I do? A very dumb thing! I returned to Sport Chalet and decided to buy the Eureka Zeus Exo 2 Tent for two people. I set the Eureka Zeus Exo 2 Tent up at my campsite...Oh, my! The Eureka Zeus Exo 2 Tent felt like I was sleeping in a COFFIN! I was simply claustrophobic! I returned the tent immediately the next business day!

I shopped at Big 5 looking for other Columbia Tents-none. REI-nothing. Sport Chalet had the Cougar Flats, but that cougar Tent is too, too big just for me camping solo, besides I have the Gardner Peak Tent! Target had nothing of excellent quality, same with Wal-Mart-zilch.

I have this old Greatland Insta-Set Tent which I purchased at Target that pops up in one to two minutes. I decided to use this tent until I found the Columbia tent I wanted. My old Greatland tent did not survive this past camping trip because the gail-force winds RIPPED my tent while camping on the beach! Of course, I have had my Greatland tent for about twenty years. My Greatland tent has been camping with me throughout Baja California, Hawaii, and Europe! Sadly, it is time to retire my Greatland Insta-Set Tent and buy another tent when I do my solo camping. This Greatland Tent design was probably one of the last well-made designs sold at Target. Since twenty years have past, sadly the quality at Target, Sears, and Wal-Mart for their tents have gone downhill in quality design features.

I came home weary from my Greatland Insta-Set ripped tent 1-week camping fiasco 2 days ago and went online in search of another 3- to 4-season tent. Well, to my delightful dismay, I found the Mt. Bachelor tent via www.amazon.com on sale for $90 with free shipping, so I bought this tent today.

Mt. Bachelor tent is reminiscent to my Greatland Insta-Set tent which I am very fond of the easy set up. However, the Mt. Bachelor tent has more cushy perks that it runs rings around my old Greatland tent! I can install my twin bed set-up inside the Mt. Bachelor tent easily with more ample storage space whereas in my Greatland Tent, I barely fit my toddler Aero bed inside with my twin bed frame with my large Coleman Heater including only two, very small storage pockets for keys. There is plenty of room for my other camping gear such as my Coleman big heater, my broom/dust pan, rake, clothes, etc., inside my new Mt. Bachelor tent!

Furthermore, Columbia/North Pole, LTD. provides a light with a remote control and free batteries. This Mt. Bachelor Tent like all Columbia Tents has the cyclone venting system whereas other tent manufacturers do not have this patented system featured. Maybe Kelty, MRS or Marmot might have another type of venting system, but it is not the same effective venting system Columbia offers.

I received my Mt. Bachelor tent via UPS/USPS on Saturday, December 17, 2005! Fast delivery, Amazon.com-AWESOME!

Overall, I have had years of experience camping as a military personnel and continuing into my civilian camping experience. I am sold on the Columbia/North Pole Tents. Still, I am hesitant to pay $750 for a MSR Wind 4, four-person, All-Season Expedition Tent made by MSR muchless purchase a tent made by Mountain Hardwear Space Station Tent which is a four-season tent made by Mountain Hardwear for almost $5,000 UNLESS, I will be camping at the North Pole or severe climate location such as North Canada for six months or more.

So, for now-I am very happy with the Columbia/North Pole Tent manuafacturer and their tent designs built for sturdiness, cushy perks, and keeping me dry and warm on miserably wet camping days to keeping cool during sunny, warm summer days with their patented cyclone venting system.

Incidentally, the Columbia zippers are not cheaply made! The zippers are very high quality which is very nice and very cool! I want you to know I lock my tent when I leave my tent to get supplies. The Columbia Tents allow you to lock your tent with a heavy duty combination lock. Another great feature from Columbia.

Have questions? Please view all the pics I downloaded to prove my point regarding tent designs. I am confident you will understand why Columbia Tents are 100% better than other tents purchased at sporting good stores and department stores. Believe me-I did a lot of shopping searching for the right tent to use for camping! I did a lot of researching finding the right tent for me online.

When camping you are out in Nature's element, so you must choose carefully the type of tent you will be using in that location or several locations all year round. The point is to use the tent you buy obtaining the greatest usage value dollar for dollar living away in the wilderness and away from the concrete jungle. Living in a tent protects you from severe weather exposure, so choose wisely.

One more thought: there are two tents that have caught my eye I would like for you to check out. Please tell me if these two tents are worth their weight dollar for dollar:

Berg's Thermo Tent for the tropics, and Heilberg The Keron GT Tent for Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. McKinley.

Hmmmm...I wonder if I should go test these tents for durability and comfort for these two specific locations: The Great White North heading towards the North Pole and Thailand?

See you somewhere around the planet!

Fabler