LOS ANGELES - As my cab pulls up to the hotel, I suddenly realized that I had nothing planned for my one precious layover day in Los Angeles. I usually spend days in advance of landing in a city researching where I can go, where the best places are to indulge in local cuisine, what time the sun sets — I’ll even go as far as investigating how big the hotel swimming pool is. But there I was with absolutely no clue as to how I should spend my one day in the City of Angels.
Luckily, as I walked into the lobby, I noticed some guests renting bicycles at a desk in the hotel. At that very instance I decided I would let two wheels take me on an adventure ride around L.A.
After picking up my bike, I headed out in the direction of Fisherman’s Warf located along the boardwalk in Redondo Beach. That’s when my heart began to race — not from my bicycle ride, but rather from all the exciting seafood dishes that the chefs at a restaurant called Quality Seafood were making right in front of my eyes.
There were endless varieties of fresh, locally caught oysters, giant lobsters, crabs and just about any kind of fish that you can imagine sitting in front of me. But the best part was the option of either ordering pre-made foods like their clam chowder, ceviche, deep fired clams or the catch of the day that’s prepared to your specifications.
It was quite the scene watching people hammer crab legs on their tables to loosen the sweet goodness inside and slurping down clam chowder.
After my near-heartburn dining experience, it was time to work off the calories so I rode my bike over to Hermosa Beach and nearly fell off at the sight of a group of attractive people flashing movie star good looks and bulging eight pack abs while playing volleyball on the beach. To help digest my lunch, I lied down on the warm sand, listened to the sounds of the Pacific Ocean lap the shore and soaked up the sun and beautiful view — the abs, of course!
After spending some quality time with Mr. Sun and getting some colour on my winter bleached Canadian skin, it was to move on again.
Left: Lily hires a bike and heads out to discover the beaches of L.A. Right: After all that cycling, Lily worked up an apetite for some great California seafood.
The bike ride had turned into an exhilarating experience that was highlighted by the breathtaking sights around me — to my left I admired the endless sea of soft sand that drifted off into an azure Pacific; to my right stood state of the art, million-dollar beach front homes, each architecturally different from each other. Till this day, I wonder how I didn’t fall off my bike staring at everything except the road ahead.
I made my way to Hermosa Pier and noticed a bunch of surfers paddling out into the ocean in hopes of catching a few waves. I stopped to watch and was awed at the determination of the surfers as they paddled out in search of that “perfect wave.”
Often, a towering wave would wipe them out, but always, without a thought, the surfers quickly turned their surfboards around to headed back out into the ocean.
After my long afternoon of sunbathing and watching hopeful surfers, I decided it was time to part ways with Mr. Sun and look for some shade, which is why I stumbled into a bar called Watermans, one of a strip of bars and restaurants just off the Hermosa boardwalk.
The bar was jammed-packed that Sunday afternoon with surfers and blond bombshells — I actually thought I had accidentally stumbled into an Abercrombie & Fitch party as the patrons looked like they jumped off an A&F poster.
There I met an interesting local who told me how he had just moved to L.A. and was enjoying every minute of his new life. I definitely was not able to disagree with all the amazing things that he told me about California (one of the things being their year-round amazing weather)!
After a few drinks, and sharing our admiration for the active and lively Californian lifestyle, we rode our bikes out to Manhattan Beach to watch the sunset.
The clouds dramatically changed colours as the sun got smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared into the horizon. The perfect ending to a perfect day.
I never thought that a spontaneous day with no plans would have given me the most interesting eight hours of my life.
So forget about renting a car the next time you visit a beach destination: bikes are environmentally friendly and the fitness-savy way to go. And you never know who you might meet along the way.