TRAVEL DIARY:

California has been in my heart ever since I was a young teenage girl. I would sit in the living room, dreaming of the day that I would get to visit and potentially move to the sunny state. Aside from being amongst other dreamers, I wanted to be surrounded by the ocean, and the palm trees. As a Dallas, Texas native, I have always been surrounded by flat lands, and a weak scenery. I was far from any acceptable beach-Galveston is totally unworthy of me stepping into it-and I desired to visit California soon.

In March of 2019, I was able to visit Los Angeles with my friend Alex, for a quick girls getaway trip.

Not only did we truly enjoy each others company, we had so much fun within the three and a half days that we were there. We explored both LA County and Orange County, while staying in a somewhat safe neighborhood in Long Beach.

So, if you are desiring a quick girls trip or if you’d like to wander in Los Angeles, keep reading as I share insightful things from my trip.

WHAT TO DO IN ORANGE COUNTY:

Ahh, the OC. If you watched “The O.C” in high school or middle school, you probably secretly anticipated the day that you would get to visit Orange County. The Ryan and Marissa drama from the show only highlights a few things about this county, but the settings were completely accurate. The OC is boujee. Not to say that everyone here is high maintenance, but my opinion is relevant and was formed after observing and people watching. This didn’t actually bother me either!

We explored the Pacific City outlet, after spending half of our day on the beach. Make sure to park your car in a nearby neighborhood to avoid paying for parking, and embrace the short walk to the shore! You will actually enjoy doing this, as you encounter skaters, cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts while you head to the beach.

Side note: We visited the beach while it was so cold outside! With that being said, if you visit in March or April, bring sweaters to the shore. I wish that we stayed longer, but because we were shivering, we had to shorten our time at the beach.

After taking several photos, laughing obnoxiously, and taking in the beautiful sunset, we decided it was time to eat. Rwanda, my friend from LA that lives in Orange County, met up with us to watch the sunset and grab dinner. We decided to head back to the Pacific City outlet for dinner and grabbed some tacos from Ola Mexican Kitchen. The views from this restaurant were incredible! We sat by the window, watching the moon reflect in the ocean as we mingled over Mexican food.

WHAT TO DO IN LA COUNTY:

We had SUCH an eventful day in LA. After reviewing several “Experiences” on Airbnb, we decided to book with LA Picture Experiences for a full on tour and photoshoot. Tickets were only $50 each, and we didn’t have to suffer behind the wheel in the LA traffic, so it was worthwhile. If you want some bomb photos and a tour without it being full on touristy, I recommend booking through them! The photos above are some of the pictures that were captured from this experience.

We started off our journey with a hike to see the Hollywood sign. I am not much of a hiker, so this journey had me breathing heavy once I reached the top. The views that you get from this hike are amazing! You can see LA and soak in the famous Hollywood sign all at once.

We then took off and headed towards Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. We stopped at Melrose Ave, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Boulevard, LACMA to take pictures and sight see. While I enjoyed my pictures, I wasn’t really impressed with Beverly Hills or West Hollywood. Perhaps I am more of an ocean and mountains type of chick! Nevertheless it was fun exploring with Alex and totally worth your wander if it is your first time in LA. You simply can’t visit LA without going to Hollywood Blvd, or it never happened.

We ended our tour and decided to grab some hoodies from one of the touristy shops on Hollywood Blvd. It got chilly at night, and we still had another adventure planned to visit the Griffith Observatory. After grabbing some dinner, we headed off and embarked on ANOTHER, UNPLANNED hike. While I can dramatize the situation, the hike allowed us to soak in the city lights of LA. It was insanely energizing and beautiful at the same time. Electrifying, if I may add. Once we got to the top and reached Griffith Observatory, we decided the museum was a cute yet unfulfilling idea. We then left for Downtown Long Beach.

Downtown Long Beach has so much to enjoy! The Pike Outlets along the Long Beach pier, contains retail stores and restaurants for you to enjoy. It was only appropriate for us to eat at Yard House, in the state where it was originally founded. We were blessed to skip the long wait due to a funny, long haired, older surfer dude, giving up his spot in line. If you want more of a relaxed, and diverse, type of night, I would recommend going to the Pike Outlets.

On the morning of our last day, we decided to stop at Venice Beach. The beach is not too far from LAX, and we couldn’t leave LA without visiting Venice Beach. Filled with a cluster of unique people, we walked the pier and soaked in the sun while in the sand. I couldn’t help but take more scenic pictures, as the clouds sat perfectly on top of the palm trees planted above the beautiful shore.

OVERALL:

Transportation: Traffic here is a BEAST. Goblin, straight from hell, type of beast. At all times of the day too! We literally sat in traffic for 45 minutes while being 2 miles away from our destination. If you think you have passed your road rage days, boo, you will be triggered. May God bless your soul while you are here. The public transportation is also existent, yet weak here, so depending on where you stay, you will probably want a rental car. Also, LA is SPREAD OUT. You may think “Oh, I am going to Malibu and then Santa Monica, and perhaps Hollywood Blvd in one day”, but girl you are wrong. You would spend so much time in the car! So be strategic by using the GPS to map out how far your activities are before you just hop in with the car with excitement and spontaneity.

Friendliness: People here may seem stuck up, but we have stuck up people in Dallas too. With this being said, I am used to it. And for the most part, people here are friendly, they are just accustomed to fake people and therefore have their guards up. However, it is family friendly and you can have a lot of fun with your friends and family here.

Solo Travel Safety: You can definitely plan a solo trip here! Not only is it safe, but everything that you truly need is within your distance. For example, we stayed in Long Beach, and there were several shops and food options within a 1-3 mile radius. So yes, plan a solo trip to LA! I actually plan to visit here solo several times 😉

Costs: We split the cost on everything, so if you are planning a girls trip, I recommend doing the same thing. We got our rental car through Enterprise or Hertz, I can’t recall (sorry, bad travel blogger move here). And then we split our Airbnb board, Airbnb Spot in Long Beach, and gas money. Aside from that, food, airport fees, and the tour were independently paid. The roundtrip from Dallas to LA was about $200, split fees with Alex were about $350 and fun/food money costs about $200.

My Thoughts: I believe that everyone needs to visit LA at least just once. Why? Aside from the beauty within this place, it has so many stereotypes from opinionated people attached to it. People say the city is full of fakes, crazy liberals, witches, weirdos, people with lost dreams, and so on. I truly believe that it is important to form your own perspective and to not allow others to tell you what to believe. I knew as a little girl, that I wanted to visit and possibly move to California, so visiting LA was simply a must for me. And I am so glad that I decided to go, because now I know if I would plan on moving here one day.