Chapter 5: The Cities of California

Chapter 5

10/11/2020 - 10/22/2020

10/11

My last morning in Utah. I woke up to an empty parking lot. A dust field. I reorganized my car and vlogged a short video documenting what my car usually looks like every morning.  You could check it out here! My destination for the day was Los Angeles. I was heading straight through Vegas, so I stopped and made pasta in a ’Bank of America’ parking lot. 

The second half of the drive was reliving a nightmare. 2 years ago I traveled with my friends on a cross country road trip and ended up breaking down due to the heat. This exact road. We had to be towed back to Vegas and my car was completely dead. I blew a head gasket. We flew back to Philadelphia and had to ditch half of our stuff and MY CAR. Soooo, this was an exciting moment. Conquering what had to be conquered. You could check out that entire story under Making It Halfway: A USA Road Trip on journal entry ‘day 31 august 2nd.’

I packed up leftovers and headed through the Mojave Desert. Hot and dry, but not as hot as I remembered it being when I was here. Luckily, I finally saw the LA skyline. I was here. LA baby!!!! I was heading to a high school friend’s apartment who currently lives in Valley Village. I haven’t seen or talked to Matt in literally 4 years, so I was stoked to finally catch up! His new roommate Paige literally just moved in a couple days prior to my arrival, so we were both in the same boat. A new city. My plan was to stay with Matt and then meet up with my friend Jake to stay in Vegas for a couple of days. After Vegas, I was going to head back to LA and then head south to San Diego!

10/12

I slept in for the first time in weeks, I needed it. An energy boost. AND I slept on a comfy air mattress. Not the hard surface of my backseat! Paige, Matt, Nate (Matt’s friend from work), and I grabbed brunch at a cafe in West Hollywood and then headed to Griffith Park. Covid closures was weird here. Hollywood was literally shutdown. No studios open. No tours. No tourists. However, restaurants and bars were open all night. At the top of Griffith Park was the Griffith Observatory, of course closed due to covid. We got to checkout the LA skyline, and the Hollywood sign. A clear day with no clouds. Hot. For the rest of the day we chilled out by Matt’s pool and then I picked Jake up from the airport. We booked a last minute Airbnb at Long Beach and grabbed some food. 

10/13

We drove around LA for a bit, picked up some Instagram famous hot dogs at ‘Dirt Dogs’ (a flaming hot Cheetos hot dog, I couldn’t resist), and then headed to Vegas! Jake has a ton of free points to use, so we stayed at the Paris Hotel for super cheap!

10/14

Gambled alllllll day lol. In the evening we had to find Jake a pair of jeans because he literally didn’t bring any nice clothes for a good dinner. Jesus, omg. Straight men. We went to Gordon Ramsay’s Steak House and I enjoyed my first good dinner in weeks. I got a killer lamb chop, potato puree, Mac & cheese, and a toffee pudding. And of course a cabernet! I always pair a red whenever I’m out to dinner. 

10/15

We woke up late. Actually, we woke from our friend Zoe’s wake-up-call on the hotel phone lol. Jake’s flight was at 9:15 and we just woke up at 8:05. Great. We didnt even realize it was her when we answered lol whoops. We rushed to the airport and then I came back and called for a late checkout. I slept in until 11ish then headed to the casino. I played my first ever table game, blackjack. I typically just play the machines, so after loosing $100 at the tables I was out. I walked to a machine that felt right. It sorta felt out of the ordinary. There was a white napkin and an ash tray on it. Dirty, so I headed to it. I played for a couple of minutes and ENDED UP WINNING THE JACKPOT, $1000. Holy moly I was so happy, I had no idea what was going on lolol. All of a sudden a lady came over and started counting $100 bills at me. This never happened before wow. I headed upstairs to the pool and tanned for the afternoon. I took the long 4 hour drive back to LA and stayed with Matt again. 

10/16

Pool day again!! That evening Paige, Nate, and I headed to Venice Beach. Nate and Paige were also both from the East coast, so it kinda felt nice. Nate having lived here only for half a year already knew a ton of stuff to do and super cool spots. It was kinda crazy how much information he already picked up. AND we have the same birthdays, so instant great vibes. Scorpio brothers. As we were driving down into the beach, the entire sky engulfed us. The entire area was fog. Nate said this was the first time this has happened since he lived here. Of course, this happens when we’re here lol. You couldn’t see anything, Everything was just fog on the beach. I liked it though. We watched the skaters do some tricks at the skatepark, and then walked through the canals of Venice. The houses were absolutely crazy.

10/17

I decided to treat myself and go get a haircut! I skated through the neighborhoods of Valley Village and stumble upon an outside market. There was a crystal and jewelry stand, so of course I turned back around and gave it a visit. I bought a gorgeous sterling silver lion head ring. It was calling my name. The two men loved my energy so much that they gave me free sage and a pair of quarts earrings. My god, these were a $40 pair of earring OKK!!! So generous. My barber was a super cool woman. We gossiped about everything. Tonight was my last night in LA. Paige had a tinder date and Matt had work lol. Nate and I ended up going out and exploring the city. We stopped at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and then grabbed drinks and dinner at a restaurant. 

10/18

Last morning at the pool. I headed to San Diego in the afternoon to try to avoid traffic. But you’re never avoiding it, it’s LA. The 7 lane highways. Super cars zig zagging in and out of traffic. Hectic compared to what I was used to, but it was honestly super fun to just drive around on the highways lol. I just enjoyed the different driving experience I guess idk. I took a short detour to Laguna Beach, a pretty little beach town directly in between San Diego and LA. It felt amazing to be on the beach. I just sat and watched everything. It was so peaceful. I skated around and looked at all the small shops. I grabbed stuff from my car and skated back to the beach - people chanting me on to do some sort of flip on my longboard. Like no, I have no idea what that means. Idk any flips or tricks, I just know how to stop and go lol. I watched the sunset on the beach. Good people and good vibes everywhere. I was so happy. A girl came up to me and we just talked for a bit. She offered me a free blunt!!! It was nice. I packed up and headed to San Diego where I was going to stay with my friend Lee. He literally sprained his ankle that same day so I had to wait and stay later. Of course his leg is in a boot as soon as I get there lol.

10/19

I got a parking ticket for parking on a street that normally is never monitored. His roommate also got nabbed :( It was unfortunate lol. I’ve been trying to get a new tattoo somewhere on this trip, so when I found a dope good deal, I made an appointment. I loved this moth flash the artist had so I said what the heck! I’ve always wanted some sort of butterfly or moth. Something to represent growth and change. A new phase. We headed to Balboa Park that night and walked around the gardens.

10/20

Grocery shopping in the morning and a solo visit to the San Diego Museum of Art. Some Rembrandt pieces were on display which was super cool. I walked around Balboa Park for a bit. Something caught my eye. A yogi called me over to his meditation stand. Literally the only stand on this huge stretch of pathway. It was kinda just meant to be. I headed over and he immediately felt my high energy. We talked and then he invited me to a wisdom talk and vegan meal in a couple days. Such a cool guy. I headed to La Jolla and decided to have a little photoshoot on the beach with a mirror. I watched the sunset, lit some candles, and literally stayed until 11 lol. So fricken nice. 

10/21

Last time I was in San Diego I stayed with my cousins Anna and Lex. That night, we grabbed dinner at The Fish Market on the bay. My god, such a good meal. Loved catching up with them! 

10/22

Lee took me around to the different beaches. First stop was North Island and Coronada beach. Houses here blew my mind. Next stop was Ocean Beach. Super hippie beach neighborhood. There were a ton of vans and hippies just vibing out. I loved it. We stopped in a couple antique places and then we walked down the pier. Next stop was La Jolla for a photoshoot! FINALLY!!! I’ve been trying to  get a photoshoot in California since the first night in LA. I continuously messaged so many people on Instagram, but eveyerone wanted at lest $200 for a shoot. Like jeeeeze, I wasn’t about to drop that on one shoot. LA was so cut throat. Like on the east coast so many photographers love to collab for free just to build their portfolio. I finally found someone who would do it! My last night in California lol. It took this long, but thankful!! We did a quick shoot on the beach. You could check it out here: Feeling Beachy. We headed to Lee’s friend’s house where they just put in a stripper pole. My god, here we go. It was the highlight of the night lolol. The last night in San Diego, California.