Nobody Parks in LA

Finally, we made it to the other coast. Southern California offers the the highest highs and the lowest lows. You’ll find the art, the traffic, the unique food, the palm trees, the dreamers, the crowding, the endless treats for the eyes, the sunshine, and many, many people sleeping rough among the plenty.

Sometimes we feel our hearts belong to this happy place. On the other hand, this part of California is not RV friendly AT ALL. So many people live in campers here that many of the communities created laws against anything greater a certain length parking overnight. In Santa Monica, where we stayed with family, we discovered that RV parking is not allowed ANYWHERE. A system exists for home owners to request a short term permit to park an RV on the street for a few days, but that ship had sailed.

We spent hours looking for a campground or storage facility. My dear husband even walked into an impound lot to ask if they might allow us to leave it there for a couple days. We tried the airport which approved an overnight parking permit, but would not allow a vehicle to take up more than one space. I know most of you won’t find this shocking, but the LA area does not generally offer open RV campgrounds spaces in July. The planners, happily parked at those campgrounds, were all set for a stay months in advance. We like spontaneity, and accept that the more densely populated places don’t always accommodate spontaneous. Our joy comes with a price.

Fortunately my cousin’s large driveway fit the camper. Sadly her electric car, which charges in the driveway, did not fit with the RV there. We spent much time driving the camper down the street to LA, where it could be briefly parked, in daylight hours, for just long enough to charge that ecologically minded vehicle.

With the parking problem more or less solved, we attempted to visit some of our favorite places. Once again we found going nearly anywhere in the city to be frustrating, if not impossible. Yes, you can drive around, just don’t try to stop or park. We rented a car for a couple days to give us access to the city. That helped us enjoy Venice, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and more!