I had been to Los Angeles many times and seen a lot of the city over the years. When I was in Los Angeles for business one week, I realized that I had never experienced anything outside of the city. One of the booming business areas I had always heard about was the San Fernando Valley, so I wondered if I should try to find a way to spend some time there while I was in my meetings that week. As the week came to an end, I decided to at least see if extending my trip a bit was feasible. I found it relatively simple to move my flight back by a day, and I already had a rental car. Now all I needed was a last-minute San Fernando Valley hotel room. I wasn’t sure where to look for accommodations, so I grabbed my phone.
I found an app called HotelTonight. I clicked on it to see what it had to offer for San Fernando Valley hotels. I was quite impressed by the choices presented. I was leery of continuing on to the booking process, though, as that can be quite involved and difficult. That was certainly not the case with HotelTonight. I had a hotel room in the San Fernando Valley booked and ready to go within minutes. I was all set. I jumped in my car and headed to my new hotel, excited about the opportunity to get a look at this area.
Since it was a Saturday, I expected things to be a bit different from the normal workweek. I was probably right, but the first event I happened upon in Burbank was their farmers’ market. It was a pleasing, intimate setting filled with locals. There were also a lot of vendors there selling a lot of different products. I couldn’t resist buying some light snacks and walking around looking at everything for a while, talking to locals about their experiences with the farmers’ market and what it’s like to live in Burbank. The people here are happy and making the most of their home city of just over 100,000 people.
There is a lot more going on in Sherman Oaks than many people who have not seen it would realize. Yes, Ventura Boulevard runs through town and this is the center of a lot of activity, but I wanted to walk around a bit more and enjoy the beautiful weather. I found a beautiful, enormous park that had a track, basketball courts, a swimming pool and more wide open space than you could ever think you’d see in Southern California. I walked around and took in the fresh air and the sunshine, watching families at play with their children and their dogs.
Calabasas was the smallest city in which I had stopped so far, with a population of approximately 25,000. It’s a family-oriented, largely residential area with a few different points of interest for tourists. I walked around in the main area of town, window shopping and talking to people. One of my main conversation topics involved getting advice on where to eat lunch. I got a lot of different recommendations, but decided on a locally owned American food place. I had an enormous sandwich and a very nice salad. I was satisfied and ready to move into the afternoon and evening.
It seemed as though the farther into the day I got, the smaller the communities got. Westlake Village is home to approximately 8,000 people. It was convenient for what I wanted to do at this point, which was purchase some gifts for the important people in my life. There was a very nice wine store, so I purchased some California wine to take home. I also found some other local shops that had items that were perfect for the non-wine drinkers in my life. I filled a few bags and took in the scenery of the community before moving on to my last stop of the day.
Santa Clarita is home to a large amusement park, but I wanted to get outside again and see more of the landscape. There is a lot of hiking to be done here, and I spent some time near the ruins of an old collapsed dam. It was an interesting environment. All of this walking had worked up my appetite, so I decided to act on a recommendation I got from some other hikers and stopped at a tavern for some comfort food. It was exactly what I had hoped it would be, and I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and light conversation that came with it. I was full, tired and ready to call it a day.
As I made my way back to my hotel, I thought about how I had really made the most of an opportunity that was present. I had spent some time getting to know a new part of Southern California, and I was glad I did so. I was also grateful that I had found HotelTonight. Booking a San Fernando Valley hotel room was easier than I ever could have guessed, particularly when one considers the fact that I needed it that night. I looked forward to coming back to this area someday, and I would do so with the help of HotelTonight.
