Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles

We managed to sleep through breakfast yesterday and decided to start our first full day in LA with a run. We had explored our local area after we arrived on Sunday and our first discovery was a running shop just a few blocks down the road and a triathlon shop over the road. Wow! We were told about a good route to run and this is what we did yesterday. We ran from our hotel to a disused railway where the surface is now tanbarked and after a few miles we came to a sidewalk by the beach which went for several miles. On our return trip Mr B went for a swim in his running shorts before we ran back to the hotel, a total of 15km, so it was a good run. We did however miscalculate the time of day and have sunburnt shoulders and necks! The weather is a bit deceptive as it doesn't feel too hot, in fact it has been quite windy and cool at times.

Later in the day we walked along the boardwalk by the famous Venice Beach and had lots of strange offers. I did end up buying a Hip Hop CD from a gorgeous young black man who was over the moon that his music was going all the way to Australia. He insisted on taking a photo of me holding his CD! I am so NOT into Hip Hop so I hope somebody else will benefit from it!

For dinner last night we went to Joe's Crab House and were supplied with paper aprons and the appropriate tools to eat a basket each of crabs' legs and made lots of yummy mess - lots of fun too!

Today we returned to the running shop where I bought the very latest touch screen garmin and Mr B will now inherit mine. It is so amazing and was so reasonably priced - I can't believe it. Later we drove to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive etc and we went on a guided tour of all the fancy homes of the stars - utterly mind boggling. The average house costs 20million dollars - far out!!

Next we visited the Cheesecake Factory to try some of their amazing cheesecake. Yes, I think another run is required (in fact several)! There is just one thing I still haven't found and that is good coffee - nowhere, just nowhere and I can't even find a decent cup of tea. In the hotel breakfast room they have flavoured coffee (disgusting) or herbal tea which is ok but I just want a nice ordinary cup of tea (there's no kettle in this room) or a good cup of coffee. So far I have had a bitter strong cup and a dishwater tasting cup. Hmmm, will keep my fingers crossed that I have more luck in Vegas where we drive tomorrow. We swap hire cars for our convertible Mustang in the morning. Woo hoo - how exciting! I believe the weather is very much hotter there so I may put away my jacket tomorrow.