I just read my post and realized that I was calling the airline "blue jet" and not the correct name of "jetblue"....

The Long Beach airport does have a "days gone by" atmosphere. They had us board the plane either at the front or back entrance depending on your seating assignment. Climbing up the stairs out on the tarmac in the sunshine was a quite different experience than what you usually get at an airport (I've flown through Burbank which also has exposed tarmac loading/unloading). When we arrived on Thursday night, I was supprised to find that baggage claim was outside right by the taxi stand.

Takeoff on Monday had us going directly over San Pedro/LA Harbor and then we banked over Catalina and headed inland over Newport.

I also forgot to mention that the day we were in Westwood/Hollywood, we also went to La Brea Tar Pits and walked around the park viewing the different excavations.

Keith

I loved reading all this since we are coming to California from Boston in September and I'm taking notes. What is the Pageant? Also, does anyone have advice about our trip from San Jose south. We want to take the scenic route to the Hearst Castle. I can't seem to get a sense of how long it will take to make the drive, take in the view along the way and make a reservation for the Castle. We arrive in San Jose at noon. Can we do the drive in the balance of that day and see the castle the next morning? Thanks in advance for the advice.

The pageant is "the pageant of the masters" where real people are in a picture frame and bring famous painting to life. IT IS AN INCREDIBLE THING. A MUST SEE. It is in Laguna Beach, California.

The most scenic route to Hearst Castle from San Jose is to take Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1).

It will take you about 3 1/2 hours.

Next time you visit LA, go to Amemba in Hollywood instead of Virgin. Just give yourself enough time, we usually plan to be there at least an hour, usually winds up being more.