I recently spent the past week in Southern California and fell in love every day. Packing my suitcase and ready for an adventure, I left on a Wednesday needing a vacation. I have always had a special place in my heart for the West Coast ( everything here reminds me of my childhood in Chile). I was waiting for his trip since November so when the day finally came I was more than ready to board my plane.
In chicken scratch I hand wrote a list of things I wanted to do.
These things included:
Going to Malibu/finding a job/apartment/ watching the sun set/swimming in the ocean/catching up with friends/eat in and out burger/go camping/ have an amazing time
Day 1:
We arrived late into LAX so we drove directly to my moms best friends house up a beautiful hill close to Glendale. The next morning we got ready to drive to “LACMA ” (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) to view the 40th Wrap Exhibit. The inside of the exhibit held vintage wraps by Diane von Furstenberg from all over the country. The exhibit had beautiful pieces and was laid out in such a way that would make you look twice. They had so many wrap dresses that you could spend all day just staring at all the details put into each and every one of them. It was definitely a beautiful experience.
Day 2:
The next day we decided to escape the heat and head to Malibu. We drove along the PCH and found the most amazing organic health store. We randomly found it in Malibu during one of my ” I need frozen yogurt now” moments. It was possibly the best Frozen Yogurt ever. It was sweetened with honey and had probiotic and tasted healthy for being a sweet snack. The place was called Sunlife Organics and I will come back a few times a month when I move to California. While there I grabbed fresh raw Tahitian coconut water to bring along to the beach.
We headed North past Zuma Beach and parked along the road and walked down to the beach. Not expecting anything but a beach, when we arrived the view was breathtaking. We were surrounded by beautiful rocks and caves you could walk around in. Coming from Florida, we have flat plain beaches with no waves, rocks or an empty beach. It was the most relaxing day I have had in a while. It’s always a reality check when you’re in a cave by the water knowing that during high tide all this is underwater. I love mother nature and how amazing she makes you feel. Humans can create things and objects, but she creates mountains and trees and things as humans we can’t even begin to explain. It’s all truly breathtaking.
We drove through the valley that afternoon to get back home and stopped at In and Out Burger: Lettuce burger with onions and extra sauce please! oh and can’t forget the Chocolate shake!
Day 3:
Today we spent the day relaxing. We went out with some friends the night before and due to the time change finally catching up to us, we were exhausted. We laid out for a bit and then got ready to go to Venice Beach. We decided to go to Venice Beach to get dessert because the weather was perfect and it ended up being a good night out. It wasn’t really crowded and the place we went to was really cozy inside.
Day 4:
We wanted to see the entire view of the city so we spent the morning hiking up Runyon Canyon. The view was like a picture for a postcard. The only downfall was the dry air that my body wasn’t used to. Afterwards, we drove through the Santa Monica Mountains back to Malibu.(yes I am obsessed). The drive through the mountains was magnificent. I felt so free-standing in-between the mountain range.
We made it to Malibu just in time to watch the sunset and watch the surf. It ended being the perfect day.
Day 5:
I spent this day as a “me” day. Even though I traveled with my friend, I needed a day to look at apartments and pass out my resume to different shops. Knowing I need a job to move first,I knew this was my next crucial point. I spent all day wandering the city in search for the perfect job. I came to a huge reality check knowing I’d have to figure this all out within a few weeks. I sat back and took a moment to relax when I thought to myself: “What would be my perfect dream job?” I would want a job where I can utilize everything I have every learned and put it to good use. Being a communications major I know that it’s a broad spectrum, I’d have to narrow it down.
It came down to: writing, fashion,beach,blogging, social media, adventures, helping others.
If I could combine all these things into a job my life would be perfect.
After spending the morning and afternoon job hunting, I decided to drive down to Newport to visit an old friend from high-school. I love catching up with old friends, you can spend months without speaking but once your reunited it’s as if no time has gone by. This was the perfect last full day in California.
Day 6:
Waking up today was kind of depressing. Knowing I would be heading back East, I didn’t want to face the reality of going back home to my parents,work and responsibility. I spent the day with my moms friend Julie and her husband Howard having lunch and learning new things about LA. I had to catch a redeye home to get to work tomorrow so hopefully I can sleep on the plane!
California, I’ll be back sooner than you’ll expect. Everyone person I met was beautiful on the inside and out. The weather was dry and sunny and cool at night: perfection. The food was healthy and perfect for my diet preferences. Everything about this state has my heart and I’ll be back before you know it for good.
Until my next adventure…. xoxo