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| The Wandering Route |
I woke up early this morning but held out in my tent waiting for the rain to stop. It finally slowed down around 7:30. I packed up and left. I met Charlie and Roc at Lily's Cafe just past Zuma Beach. We fueled up and headed out.
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| Under the Boardwalk |
I hit the bicycle trail at Santa Monica. It was a real joy to cycle on the pavement with soft sandy beach on either side. Countless games of volleyball were being played by people with a wide-range of ability levels. The surfing enthusiasts were out in force, patiently waiting for a perfect wave. We met Josh at Big Dean's Oceanfront Cafe. It's nice having another cyclist in the group.
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| Four Strong |
We cycled to Redondo Beach on the bike path, stopping only for a milkshake on the way. When we arrived at the hotel Josh had booked, the man at the desk informed us that they had a two person limit per room. This was a little hard to believe because the room he booked contained two double beds. We began calling hotels in the immediate area for a room, but there was no vacancy. The area was booked due to large gatherings for Special Olympics and Crossfit. I tried the Warm Showers website. Three people responded to my request for accommodations, but all couldn't house us.
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| Busy on a Weekday |
Charlie and Josh struck out on highway one heading south. After being turned down several times, they found an inexpensive room at the Driftwood Motel. The price was right - the rating low. Yelp had it listed as a one star hotel. I took a picture that seems to summarize the situation. I'll leave you this evening with the most recent Yelp review by Mike C., who, for some reason, stayed at the Driftwood last month:
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| An Evening to Forget |
Ohhhh Driftwood Motel...
**ONLY REASON FOR 2 STARS INSTEAD OF 1 IS I KNEW COMING HERE THAT IT WOULD BE BAD...I GOT WHAT I DESERVED!**
To call this place a dump would be an insult to all the charming lil dumps in Torrance.
So, the story goes: Everywhere else was sold out and we just wanted to get to the beach asap so we ended up at the Driftwood. Believe me, we had no delusions of grandeur...but wow was this place run down.
- Leaking toilet with the bathroom smelling of urine.
- Warning on the gate of the pool mentioning recent issues with diarrhea.
- Refrigerator in the room didn't work.
- No ice machine
- T.V. had 3 channels.
- Floor felt like it was going to cave-in. (Upstairs Room)
- Loose carpeting on the stairway made me trip and almost fall down the stairs.
Annnnnd then there's the owner...
- Called at first to verify prices found online and was hung up on.
- She came to the window when I got there in her nightgown...at 3:30 pm on a Thursday.
- Very rude...a smile might have cracked her face.
I woke up in the middle of the night and stepped out of the room for a smoke. She proceeds to walk across the parking lot, walks upstairs and yell at me, insisting that I go back into my room and go to bed. I mean...I just...I dunno what to even say about that. THEN, after finishing my smoke and going back into the room to bed, I get a phone call from her saying that there were noise complaints!!!! Remember, this is around 2am-ish.
WTF?! Who does that to a full grown adult?!
LESSON LEARNED...NEVER AGAIN DRIFTWOOD, NEVER AGAIN.
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| Pinching a Penny |
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| Long Night Ahead |
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