LAX to Malibu to Ventura

We caught a mid-afternoon direct flight from Indy so we got to LAX at 4:00. That was just in time to sit in rush hour traffic! We have NO idea how people deal with that daily. Luckily the scenery was pretty and we only took 1.5 hours to go 22 miles. Yep.

Anyway, we went for a quick dinner that evening at a place called Sharky's. It was like Qdoba but all organic, healthier and better- ha! We both got meals for under $20 which is incredible by California standards.

SO GOOD! 

We spent the evening in Woodland Hills (a suburb of LA) just to get a jump on the coastal drive. We got caught in traffic again going from Woodland Hills to Malibu. It was so intense. Again with we have no idea how people deal with the traffic out here on a regular basis. They need to figure
something out with the madness. Anyway, we made it to Malibu and it was LOVELY!

It isn't vacation without hot cocoa

We stopped in at a local chain called Marmalade Cafe. It was superb!

Chorizo and eggs...YUM!

We hopped across the street from breakfast to see the beach. We'd seen evidence that a lot of surfers were in the area and I LOVE watching surfers.

Gorgeous morning

Views from the beach

How cool is this old beach house?!

Petefish.

I'd always wanted to see Pepperdine University's campus so we headed there next. The views from campus were unparalleled. They should be considered a year of tuition plus room and board is a cool $65,000. YEP!

Chapel and the ocean...awesome

It was a really, really hot day. It was 90 degrees and full sun! We wanted to hike Corral Canyon anyway. That was a mistake. We made it a mile up and had to turn around. It was just too hot to go on. The views along the way were amazing, though.

Corral Canyon views

Point Dume State Beach

We decided we'd be better served by spending some time at Point Dume State Beach. It was a really nice, HUGE beach. Those Pepperdine kids are sure spoiled to live in this area!! We eventually made our way up to Ventura for the evening. We stayed on the harbor with a great view of all the sailboats. Jackson LOVES sailboats!

Happy boy with boats!

The sunset over the harbor was amazing. Our room had an enormous balcony so we soaked it all in.

Sunset...LOVE

We're still on Eastern time so we grabbed a quick dinner at Chipotle (we're on a Mexican kick) before calling it an early night. I'm talking like 8 p.m. Cali time. What can I say? We're getting old. ;)