Touching the ocean at the finish point
This month, the Urban Hike goes long... really long! Almost 23 miles covering L.A. & O.C. as I tackle the entire length of Beach Blvd. from La Habra to Huntington Beach, and visiting La Mirada, Buena Park, Anaheim, Stanton, Garden Grove and Westminster along the way.
Some of my more interesting discoveries during the hike:
- Buena Park is O.C.'s Koreatown, spotted numerous restaurants, shops and oddly enough, a sushi academy (huh?) . . . plus a Pub that opens at 7 a.m. -- guess it's never too early to get your drink on!
- Knott's Berry Farm's free-to-public Independence Hall, a replica of the building where the declaration is signed. And also a lot of free-roaming chickens and ducks!
- The Old World German Village in Huntington Beach, a very cute mini-mall of assorted shops, bakeries and of course, pub & restaurant - where I enjoyed a few refreshing drinks and some pastries while watching football fans go World Cup crazy.
- Coming upon Adventure City in Anaheim, which basically looks like a traveling carnival... but permanent, along with a sprinkling of ghost towny hobby shops and a miniature replica of the White House.
- The Sea Breeze pet cemetery that's unusually full of flowers, even moreso than an actual cemetery... I was wondering whether there was a Pet Memorial Day of some sort recently but upon closer inspection, Caroline on Crack and I discovered most of the flowers were fake.
- The traffic lights in O.C. (or at least those along Beach Blvd.) take a loooong time to change, even when there are no cars on the green.
- DDR X! Finally had a chance to play the latest version at Huntington Beach's Century 20 cinema in Bella Terra. Wicked cool.
- Sun protection -- which I woefully neglected and regretted once the day got really sunny, thankfully I tend to tan versus burn, but I'm sure the two shades darker by the end of the day isn't doing my skin any favors in the long run.
Of course, I had my fair share of eating & drinking revelations too, will post on that soon on my other blog. But here's a preview shot of the tasty & healthy Som Tam (spicy papaya salad) I had at Thai Nakorn in Stanton.
P.S. For the July Urban Hike on Sunday the 25, I'll be tackling the length of Colorado Blvd./St. from Glendale to Arcadia -- a considerably shorter 14 miles, and one that should include some more scenic attractions such as the Arboretum, Old Town Pasadena and main drag of Eagle Rock. Here's the route and hope you can join:
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5 comments:
What pace do you walk at? Can slow pokes join you or do you prefer experienced walkers?
I pace around 3-4 miles an hour, though it's relative to how visually appealing the landscape is (i.e. how often would I stop to take photos) and hikers of all levels are definitely welcome (even if only for part of the hike.) I tend to make a lot of pitstops along the way (esp. to check out foods & drinks) so that gives some time for the slower folks to catch up.
Hope you can join the next one!
A bar that opens at 7 AM? You need to come down to Newport anbd visit Blackies at the pier. Yeah - it closes at 2AM. But it opens at 6AM!!! Ah! The degen surfer's hangout.
I want to try Buena Park's K-town! Who knew?
It is really nice to run along the beach. It is more relaxing and you more interesting to see the ocean than street and building.
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