Los Angeles Trip

Day 1

My trip to Los Angeles back in December was definitely an exciting trip because I lived in NC basically my entire life, so visiting a city like Los Angeles was a game-changer. They don’t call it La la land for anything because there is always something to keep you busy. After I arrived at my Airbnb in the evening, I headed out to the Marina del Rey waterside. There were vast shopping outlets and dining complexes across the harbor port. It got very dark by the time I was walking around the marina boardwalk. From a distance, I saw the Burton Chace Park which was lit with Christmas light. Since it was late at night, I decided to call it a day. While waiting for my ride, I stopped by Trader Joes to grab some prepackaged food for the next few days. It was totally worth it instead of eating out all the time while I was in LA.

Day 2

            I woke up early in the morning, so I would have plenty of time to explore around. I wasn’t familiar with the area, so I took a ride to Burton Chace Park. The park offered unobstructed views of the harbor boats, yachts, and sailing boats near the dock. I noticed dozens of seals sunbathing at one of the docks as I was walking around. I started walking across the Yvonne Burke Park which eventually led me to the marina beach area after a half-hour. While walking across this park, I came across joggers, bikers, and people walking their dogs. I had to occasionally stop to ask for directions, but I reached the marina beach after about 20 minutes. The beach was quite busy with a Zumba session going in the middle, and another group of guys playing volleyball far off on the other end of the beach. There was a group of people doing yoga on paddleboards in the lagoon. After spending some time at the beach, I started walking towards the Venice Canals. On my way, I grabbed tacos from a Mexico local spot. I just ordered carne asadas which came with soft tacos that had sliced beef that was marinated in lime juice, red chili sauce, and seasonings.   

I headed towards Venice Canals which was another 10-minute walk. This vibrant neighborhood consists of houses that line four canals about a mile long each. There were sidewalks and bridges that strollers can walk to take. Almost all the houses were structured in a Spanish colonial style and each was painted in different colors. I really enjoyed walking around the canal since it bought a European vibe to Los Angeles. It’s quite a surprise that it wasn’t until the 90s that this place was renovated into the luxury place it was today. After walking around the canal, I walked across to Venice beach. I was skeptical about visiting Venice beach due to everything I read online. I didn’t walk to the boardwalk where there was the huge skate park and street performers since it was a bit far away. I primarily walked around the beach and the Venice pier. Since Venice beach provides shelter to many homeless people, there were a lot of encampments on the side of the beach. I was able to grab a spot on top of a sand dune, overlooking the beach and surfers. After a while, I walked over to the end of the Venice pier. There were many locals with their fishing poles towards the end of the pier. Due to the air pollution, I was able to only get a vague view of the other end of the LA. I was feeling a bit tired, so I walked towards pacific ave to grab a coffee.

It was actually a local who suggested to me to try the coffee from the Cow’s End café since the place is very popular in the area. Honestly speaking, I loved the ambiance of this café since it was a comfy hangout area, and they even had an upstairs patio. After resting in the café for a while, I headed out to walk towards Santa Monica. On my way, I ran into a boutique selling Turkish rugs. The owner informed me all the dyes are natural, and they are a blend of wool, silk, and cotton which creates these beautiful, heavy woven rugs. While chatting with him, he told me a quicker route to reach Santa Monica.

Since it was a weekend, there was a huge crowd walking in and out of the Santa Monica Pier. It was like a small amusement park, having everything from a Ferris wheel to the usual carnival games. There were local vendors selling tapas, tamales, ice cream, stuffed animals, etc. Since the Pier area looked very crowded with tourists, I walked around the nearby Palisades Park that had palm and eucalyptus-lined paths. The park offered a break from all the crowd near the pier, and stunning views of the ocean and the Santa Monica mountains. After walking the park, I rented out the BIRD bike and rode along Santa Monica Blvd. I had to ride inside the bike lane paved on the road since the sidewalk was very narrow and meant for pedestrians. It was very serene since it offered a break from all the hustle from the Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier, and there weren’t even that many cars on the road. Though, I had to be careful because there were many parallel parked cars just near the bike lane. I probably rode about for an hour until I got very tired once I reached the hilly areas, and I ordered a ride to drop me near Beverly Garden Park.

As I was getting off near the garden park, I saw a long cue to take pictures by the pond in front of the Beverly hill Sign. I walked along the less-touristy side of the Beverly Garden, coming across a variety of cactus, cypress, and roses. After a while, I started walking towards Sunset Boulevard which eventually led me to Rodeo Drive. It was a 2-mile long street, giving off an unparalleled hub at the intersection offering everything from luxury, fashion to entertainment. I explored a few of the branded stores, ethnic jewelry stores, and art galleries to get a feel of this high-end place. While I was exploring the art gallery, I ran into a gentleman who worked at the gallery. He shared that he came to Los Angeles from upstate New York back during the 70s to work as a producer in the film and music industry. There was still time before sunset, so I thought I could head over to the LACMA. There was a huge crowd near the Urban light, which was a forest of city street lights commonly seen in Instagram photos. I didn’t hang around the area for too long because I wasn’t interested in checking out the art museum or the automobile exhibition. Before it got too dark, I ordered a uber back to the Airbnb.

Day 3

            Since my friend was flying to LA later in the evening, I decided to do some café hopping and do a morning hike beforehand. The neighborhood of my Airbnb was really safe, so I just decided to walk to the majority of the places. It was usually a common sight to see high-end sports cars drive by most days I was there. As I was walking to the hiking spot, I came across a café hidden away in one of the streets. They had a variety of plants on the side of the front area of the café as you walk in, giving a comfy and homely feeling to the place. I ended up sitting in the café for a while just finishing up some work. After grabbing some coffee and pastry, I ordered my ride to the Baldwin Hills area.

            Near the trail, I noticed a bunch of college students who were distributing flyers and selling athleisure to advocate and bring awareness for domestic violence. While I was chatting with one of the girls, I learned she joined this club to carry onwards the work of her mom who was a member of the domestic violence community. I started heading towards the trail which zigzags around a very steep and straight staircase in order to reach the top of the scenic overlook. You had to climb almost 60+ steps in order to reach all the way to the top, giving a good leg workout. 🙂 Once you reach the top, it’s a panoramic view looking at downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood hills. Since it was a Sunday mid-afternoon, the park was crowded with joggers and visitors. There were three men boxing off to the side with Latin music playing in the backdrop. I was really tired from the hike that I just grabbed lunch and headed back to my room.

My friend arrived around the evening, and we headed out to Koreatown. Since it was a little past 8 pm, most of the shops were closed. However, we were able to find a local restaurant hidden away in the mall area. I ended up ordering the rice cake soup with dumplings, and my friend ordered the Tteokbokki (rice cakes) and Kiolbassa sausage to share with me. We were searching for an ice cream spot afterward when we ran into a few locals who suggested we try either of the ice cream spots in Mandang Mall since it’s very popular among locals. We didn’t feel safe walking over there that late at night since Koreatown is considered part of East Hollywood. Thankfully, our ride dropped us right across the Wilshire Theater. One store had shaved ice dessert and the other store was the Somi Somi where they offered ice cream soft serve with taiyaki cone.

Day 4

            After picking up our rental car in the morning, we headed towards the Santa Monica pier. Since it was a weekday, the fairground was closed but there were still local vendors and some shops opened. We hung around the pier for quite a bit looking at postcards and souvenirs. It was so beautiful to overlook the ocean from the end of the pier. Before heading to Malibu, we grabbed some tacos and coffee before we started driving. Of all the American road trips that exist, the Pacific Coast Highway in California is one of the most iconic and was definitely on my bucket list. I would love to do another road trip on the pacific coast highway, covering areas like Big Sur, Monterey, San Francisco, and other coastal areas in California. However, I must admit that this coastal trip definitely lived up to high expectations with the intense coastal cliffs and the ocean on one side and mountains on the other side.

            Once we arrived at Point Dume beach, it was way more peaceful than both Venice and Santa Monica beach compared. This area was once used as a sacred space by the Chumash, a native American who primarily lived in the southern coastal regions of California. However, this site is now commonly used by the filming industry and travelers globally. Since it was near sunset, we started hiking the point dume to reach the top of the cliff. Once we were at the very top, we were able to overlook the north Pacific Ocean with the waves hitting the rocks at the bottom. It was a little cloudy but it cleared up soon just in time for the sunset. We hiked further up to get an incredible view encompassing the entire Santa Monica Bay, north Malibu Coast, and inland Santa Monica Mountains.

During our last day in Malibu, we decided to explore another cliff point before driving to the Los Padres National Forest and Solvang. Most of the restaurants in Malibu were very expensive, so we just grabbed a coffee and a small bite from one of the cafés. We drove to El Matador, which was another coastal point on the pacific coast highway. We later came to know that the place is a very popular filming location for movies like Notebook and Pearl Harbor. There were amazing rock formations with an arch cove near the shore. Since there wasn’t much of a trail to take, we started driving to the Los Padres National forest after a while. The scenic drive travels through some of the most picturesque and diverse terrains in southern California. It was probably around early evening when we started driving towards Solvang, a city in southern California known for its Danish-style architecture and its very popular among the holidays. To be honest, we regret making a trip to Solvang because there wasn’t much going on since it was only the first week of December.

I planned so much in the prior months before this trip, but I ended up doing everything differently when I arrived in Los Angeles. I think there can be a tendency amongst travelers to jump from place to place in a quest to cram in as much as possible. I am certainly guilty of this, and if you are not in the right frame of mind, this can be exhausting. Despite all of that, I really enjoyed the laid-back California vibe which is hard to miss. In fact, this chill vibe prevails everywhere, regardless of profession. I was quite surprised to see locals just roaming around LA at the time of day you’d typically expect people to work from their office areas. One of my Uber drivers was working on the road with his laptop by his side in case of any work-related meetings. Back in high school, I had these thoughts cemented in my head that LA was entirely about glamor and overhyped touristic attractions. However, putting aside all the usual stereotypes about this city of angels, Los Angeles is definitely the place to have a fun time. As someone who loves being active and taking advantage of great weather, I love the outdoorsy lifestyle of LA. I’ve encountered the occasional cloudy day but for the most part, it’s been clear blue skies and low to no humidity, giving me the advantage to do some mini hiking. Growing up, I wasn’t really a beach person but Malibu has definitely really changed that. With the intense cliffs and sky blue ocean, there’s a unique character that adds to this paradise.