March 1st through 15th, 2026
After a long stay in Tucson, we headed west. We had big plans for 2026, and this was the start of our adventure. We were going to spend some time in California and then head farther north to explore Oregon and Washington before checking out a bit of Canada. Then we'd come down through Montana and Idaho before Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. We'd wrap the year up in Tucson again.
We spent an uneventful night in Quartzsite, Arizona, before arriving in California. We made sure to fill up the motor home and car with fuel before getting there, anticipating high prices after the Iran War began the day we left Tucson. Then, Margot drove all 72 feet of us through Los Angeles and up the Pacific Coast Highway to our stop in Malibu Beach. It was nuts, but she cruised right through it like she'd done it a million times. We wouldn't recommend it for the timid, but the stop was worth it.
Our campground site was lovely, with a view of the ocean out our front window. We could hear the waves most of the time when the surf was up. Margot was still recuperating from her ankle replacement surgery, so she found places for physical therapy at our stops. She was happy with the place she found in Malibu Beach.
We were right down the road from the Getty Villa and we had to spend a day there. Malibu has seen more than its share of wildfires, and the Palisades Fire happened only the year before. It was so shocking to see so many driveways and front steps that led to nowhere but the ocean on one side, and foundations running up the hillside on the other side of the Pacific Coast Highway. The community worked very hard to save the Getty Villa, and we wanted to see it.
The Villa is a "must see" place for anyone in the area. It's a big museum and grounds that make you feel like you are in a big Roman home from a long time ago. It was relaxing, educational, and beautiful. It was one of our favorite days there, just enjoying each other's company surrounded by beautiful things. Even lunch was good.
We had to take the short trip to the visitor center for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a place Monica insists is named after her. She bought a sweatshirt and we enjoyed visiting with the park rangers. They were having a big event to recognize their volunteers, so we didn't stay long. It's a lovely place for Angelinos to get away from it all.
Though we love and live for national parks, we also really enjoy visiting the official presidential museums. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum wasn't far away, so we stopped there after making it through the Santa Monica Mountains. It was a good museum, and we learned a lot. One of the coolest things was an entire Air Force One indoors and facing huge windows. You went through a door and got a tour of the inside as you walked to the other end. Margot was using her wheelchair, but she was able to leave it at one end, walk through, and pick it back up at the other end after someone brought it over. So nice!
We weren't the closest to L.A., but we were able to meet Steven for dinner in Redondo Beach. It was a long but lovely drive, and the beach was really nice. It's always good to hang out, catch up, and enjoy each other's company.
We had to have dinner on the beach at a fancy place to watch the sunset, of course, and we chose Geoffrey's Malibu based on many recommendations. We had high expectations, but honestly the food wasn't very good. The views and the attentive service were phenomenal, though, so we excused it. It wasn't cheap, but it was fun.
Our last national park visit was to the Channel Islands National Park. It's tough to visit, especially in a wheelchair, so we saw it from a boat tour. The marina from where it left was fun, and we had time to hang out and grab some lunch. The boat was also fun, though the waves were pretty big at times.
The tour was more about whale watching than it was about the islands, but the tour guide told us all about them, too. We saw a few gray whales with their babies as they made their way up the coast to Alaska. We were there in prime whale watching season, it turned out, so that was cool. The tour went on a bit too long in our opinion, but no regrets. We always love time on a boat.
We didn't want to leave! How can you beat the time spent in an area you could never afford to actually live in? Everyone was so happy there, and for good reason. We wish Malibu well in its recovery from the wildfire and hope they don't see anything like that again. It's a special place, but we had to move on and continue north. 2026 was off to a great start.
