| Your next L.A. getaway needn't be a continuous battle | | | | But no matter. Malibu has plenty of beaches. During our |
| with the city's freeway traffic -- consider staying in a | | | | brief visit, we stopped by Zuma Beach which, on a |
| place that is close enough to get to major attractions, | | | | weekday, did not have the crowds of beach-goers |
| but well out of the city. | | | | you should expect on a Saturday or Sunday. With |
| If such popular destinations as Malibu, Santa Monica | | | | plenty of parking, it was just a short walk to a beach |
| and the Reagan Library are on your must-see agenda, | | | | that seemed to stretch for miles. |
| then we've discovered a hidden gem that you can use | | | | Santa Monica |
| as your weekend headquarters. The Westlake Village | | | | Just 12 miles down the coastline from Malibu is Santa |
| Inn, located about 12 miles north of Malibu, near | | | | Monica. The words "trendy" and "hip" seem to pop up |
| Highway 101, is a surprising oasis of class and style | | | | a lot in the descriptions of the some 400 restaurants |
| that is situated right in the middle of a group of | | | | packed into this little piece of real estate. Throw in a |
| suburban communities little more than a half hour's | | | | few art galleries, some luxury hotels and - oh yes - |
| drive northwest of Los Angeles. | | | | celebrities, and you have the makings of an |
| The surprising part is not that it's upscale - the cities | | | | eye-popping getaway. |
| along this stretch of the 101 are among the area's | | | | Santa Monica is a great place to soak up Southern |
| wealthiest - but that the inn really is a destination unto | | | | California sunshine. Palisades Park offers great views |
| itself. Wedding planners long ago discovered the lush, | | | | and you'll feel relaxed just looking at all the expansive |
| thickly vegetated, well-manicured grounds that are | | | | beaches and, in the distance, Catalina Island. It's no |
| perfect for wedding pictures that seem almost like | | | | wonder that half of L.A. seems to be down here |
| they were taken at a tropical plantation on some | | | | jogging or walking. Ocean Avenue, with its many |
| South Seas island. With its recent renovation, the hotel | | | | modern buildings, is wide and tree-lined and stretches |
| is betting that more tourists will make the same | | | | along the coastline. |
| discovery. | | | | The Santa Monica Pier is the dominant feature on the |
| The first thing you notice driving into the inn is the | | | | water's edge - and also over the water -- and is a |
| expansive golf course, part of 17 acres altogether that | | | | favorite for families. We lingered with our five-year-old |
| are devoted to the inn and its grounds. If your room or | | | | in Kids Cove, the part of the pier's Pacific Park that |
| suite is not looking out on the golf course, it likely will | | | | has kiddie amusement rides and, when all was said |
| have a garden, lakeside or pool view - anything but | | | | and done, our daughter declared her time on the pier |
| ordinary, given the inn's spectacular setting. Although | | | | "the best day ever!" |
| there are several units in each one, the buildings look | | | | Just up from the pier are blocks and blocks of |
| like Italian villas with graceful European-style | | | | shopping in the popular Downtown Third Street |
| architecture and gardens, fountains and waterfalls | | | | Promenade, an area where city fathers have taken a |
| scattered throughout the property. There's a small | | | | street and turned it into a pedestrian mall. There are |
| picturesque lake right on the property, and a couple of | | | | fascinating shops and an unusual number of movie |
| gazebos that are popular sites for wedding photos | | | | theaters along this walkway that seems to attract |
| and functions. | | | | people from all walks of life - young and old, wealthy |
| The recent make-over has spruced up the rooms and | | | | on down to the homeless. There are plenty of street |
| suites to the point that they can compete with the | | | | musicians on weekends, along with entertainers willing |
| nicest upscale lodgings. They include such touches as | | | | to do whatever it takes to get a round of applause |
| fireplaces, vaulted ceilings, Jacuzzi bathtubs, double | | | | and a tip. |
| sinks and plasma televisions along with something | | | | If you're looking for trendy - oh, there's that word again |
| we've come to really appreciate: free wireless and | | | | - the place in Santa Monica to look is Montana |
| high-speed internet. The two restaurants at the | | | | Avenue. There is a 10-block section of this street that |
| Westlake look promising although our hectic schedule | | | | has become the center of the universe for |
| iddn't allow us time to sample them this particular trip: | | | | celebrity-watchers -- a kind of an eclectic collection of |
| Bogie's, a place that is popular for cocktails and | | | | specialty stores and quiet little sidewalk cafes and |
| dancing, and the Mediterraneo, a classic bistro. | | | | more nail salons per square mile than anyplace west |
| You could just hole up at the Westlake and have a | | | | of New York City. |
| great weekend, but one of the property's true | | | | Reagan Presidential Library |
| advantages is that it is close to some prime L.A. area | | | | About a half-hour drive northwest from Westlake |
| tourist attractions: | | | | Village is the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which |
| Malibu | | | | we made a point to visit in Simi Valley. The library is a |
| Less than 20 minutes away is the 27-mile-long coastal | | | | fascinating collection of artifacts, photos and records |
| community of Malibu, home to the movie stars but also | | | | that help us to learn more about our former president. |
| available as a playground for mere mortals. As you | | | | Located on a magnificent piece of land overlooking the |
| drive down the canyon from Highway 101, you pass | | | | Simi Valley, the Reagan Library is well organized and |
| hiking trails and recreational areas along the way | | | | includes interesting bits of memorabilia at every turn. |
| where, if you wanted to spend some time exploring | | | | Outside the library is a piece of the Berlin Wall, as well |
| the Santa Monica Mountains, you could. Then, in just a | | | | as Reagan's final resting place. Inside are clothing, |
| few minutes, the view opens to the vast Pacific | | | | jewelry, desks, private papers - just about anything |
| Ocean and soon you'll be taking a right or left turn onto | | | | you can imagine - taken from various points of |
| the Pacific Coast Highway. | | | | Reagan's life. Especially interesting was the full-scale |
| The Malibu coastline has a few patches that look like a | | | | replica of the Oval Office - which gives you a real |
| real town with shopping centers, restaurants and other | | | | sense of what that room feels like, and how large it is. |
| commercial buildings but, by and large, the drive along | | | | And if that's not enough, consider the aircraft parked |
| the coast is 27 miles of beaches, beach "colonies" | | | | on the library property - the real Air Force 1 used |
| (with movie star homes) and state beaches. It's one of | | | | during the Reagan presidency. |
| the most scenic drives in California, so it's no wonder | | | | AT A GLANCE |
| that real estate in Malibu is some of the most | | | | WHERE: Westlake Village Inn is located in Westlake |
| expensive in the state. | | | | Village, one of the upscale suburbs northwest of L.A. |
| Most people come to Malibu to enjoy the beaches, | | | | WHAT: Westlake Village Inn is a classy, |
| which are quite accessible in some areas. In other | | | | European-style hotel that is ideally located for short |
| areas, the perfect beach might be hidden from visitors | | | | daytrips to L.A. area cities and attractions. |
| by the expensive homes and bungalows that line the | | | | WHEN: Year-round. The Southern California sunshine is |
| beach. Many of the rich and famous are not tickled | | | | bright and Westlake Village is just far enough inland |
| that tourists can walk the beach and end up on what | | | | that it is enjoys warm temperatures year-round. |
| they like to consider their private beach front. Some | | | | WHY: It's an alternative to staying in busy downtown |
| have gone so far as to erect barriers to make it more | | | | L.A. where there will be more traffic - yet it's close to |
| difficult to reach "their" particular stretches of beach. | | | | many attractions north and west of the city. |