Summer 2021, Day 55; California vacation, Day 5

As we were packing up to leave the resort, we surprisingly found ... the coffee maker. I wasn't impressed with this resort as I was with past retreats, but it was still pretty nice, and the family loved staying here.

But, it was time to go. We drove to a Costco first to fill up, then worked our way north to Westwood to visit UCLA. Michael is taking an online video game design class through UCLA in a couple weeks, and this was a chance for him to see another college campus (after visiting Cal Tech on Sunday and UC Irvine on Monday) and be excited about what lies ahead, even if UCLA is a dream school for him. The campus is gorgeous, although we couldn't quite find the building that houses the video game program. Plus, almost every building is closed -- I forget how much more locked down California is than Utah.

We left UCLA and headed to near the Miracle Mile, where Lori heard of a good taco place, Quesada's. The tacos were delicious, if not a little small, and we then headed for the Hampton we had booked in Sherman Oaks.

After settling in, and not sure what to do next, I suggested we go for a drive. We headed west toward Oxnard, then returned along the Malibu coastline. We stopped at one windy beach where we saw para-surfers (and one talked to us, suggesting the boys would love it). We also found a seafood shack/restaurant that I'm sure is popular with surfers -- we ordered dinner and ate outside, overlooking the ocean. 

Driving back we cut through Topanga Canyon and found a nice overlook of the San Fernando Valley. After a quick jaunt to Target to buy toothbrushes (we all had the same color and it was driving Lori nuts), we called it a night after a long, busy, fun day.

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