Life has been crazy. Graduation is 2 months out and I’m barely keeping a float. So I made the most obvious choice for my spring break…. I escaped town. I went to stay with my friend, Zach in LA for a few days.
I met my friend Zach freshman year at Belmont and he has since graduated and lives out in LA, Burbank to be exact. He’d encouraged me to come visit and this break was the perfect opportunity.
I got out to LA on Saturday night, after a long day of waiting at the airport and traveling. If I’d realized that the Continental and United systems would finally be merged that day, I would not have picked that day to travel.
Upon arriving in LA I noticed two things: 1. The traffic is as bad and crazy as everyone says it is and 2. There is advertising for TV shows and movies EVERYWHERE. It’s on billboards, bus stops, and all over buildings. Right away some of my favorite things were the weather, a breezy 65 degrees and all the bright city lights. I may have grown up a suburban girl, but for as long as I can remember I’ve loved city lights.
I also saw a large number of Chevron gas stations, those of you who know my family, know why this was such a big deal. I spent a good portion of our drives around town observing the differences in gas prices ($.25 difference depending on the part of town) and almost $.70 more than Nashville. I know Zach thought this was weird, but I am my father’s daughter and that’s what we talk about on the phone (no, really we do!)
During this trip there were several first’s for me. That was kinda the point of the trip though, to relax, have fun and experience new things. My first morning in LA, I ate my first fish taco and I liked it.
After tacos, we (Zach and I, unless otherwise noted) decided on our first excursion… Hiking up to the Hollywood sign. It’s been on my bucket list for a while and when I booked my trip, it was the one thing we had to do. The hike itself is more fun in theory but the end result is pretty awesome. For about 40 minutes you are walking mostly uphill and I hate hills, especially when you have to walk up them. It was also in the middle of the day and pretty warm (80 and Sunny). I was tired once we made it to the top, but the view of LA was pretty awesome.
That night we met up with my friend Ari, a friend from Belmont who is currently studying in LA, in West Hollywood. We explored the scene, made some new friends and laughed a lot.
Monday was probably my favorite day. We drove over to Venice beach and had lunch at the Sidewalk cafe. The food was good (I hope you’re noticing a pattern… I ate a lot of good food on this trip) and there were strange people, street musicians, and a beach to look at from the outdoor seating area. Venice beach itself was interesting; lots of street art, souvenir vendors, homeless people, and some body builders too.
After Venice Beach, we headed to Malibu. I was born in and lived in California for several years but I was never quite sold on it. Actually, I think I’ve pretty much hated it since I fell in love with Texas. My visit to Malibu was a game changer.
Malibu was sunny and mostly deserted. Zach made me climb over some large rocks while barefoot, much to my protest. The beach on the other side of the rocks had a whole 6 people on it. I put my toes in the ocean and took it all in. It was so beautiful and peaceful; the view, the ocean noise. I probably could have sat there all day.
That night we ventured over to Hollywood. Walked all the stars of famous people and ate at the strangest Chickfila EVER. It was walk-up order and drive through only. The only seating they had was outside. Yes, I am crazy about all things Chickfila. The one accomplishment of that dinner: I introduced Zach to Chickfila sauce.
My last full day in LA we went to IKEA, saw a movie, cooked dinner, went to the Griffith Observatory and to Barney’s Beanery.
Zach lives like 2 miles from downtown Burbank and IKEA. I made him walk through it, even though the words “let’s go shopping” made him cringe. He was impressed and said he will shop there again. Mission Accomplished. He took me on a “non-date” to see Chronicle. And no we’re not dating, and yes, he chose the movie. I tried to get him to see The Vow but that was unsuccessful.
We cooked my specialty: Pasta from a box, sauce from a jar, chicken from a bag, a pre-made salad and Texas toast. My (almost nonexistent) cooking skills are guy approved and he’s probably still enjoying leftovers. After dinner, we went to the Griffith Observatory. It was windy but beautiful. You can see the entire city in all its lit up splendor from that point.
Even later that night, we headed out to Barney’s Beanery, a local bar that has the best Mac ‘n cheese I’ve ever had. Seriously, it was the best $4.25 I ever spent, twice! Other than the Mac ‘n cheese, the atmosphere was fun and not too crowded (on a week night, I heard weekends are packed). During my second visit, there was karaoke and we made my friend Ari sing Nickelback. That’s always a good time.
My last day was sunny and I didn’t want to leave, mostly because I’d had a nice break and I knew what lay ahead on the other side of two plane rides. Regardless, I savored my last few hours of freedom. I had some of the best nutella, chocolate chip pancakes I’ve ever consumed at Bea Bea’s. If I were to write a review for the restaurant it would read, “yummy pancakes, huge portions. I came hungry and left happy.” If you’re ever in the area (Burbank), go get you some pancakes.
And of course the most logical last stop before the airport was the park! If you want to see a 24 and 21 year old act like they’re 5 again, take them to a park. I got to swing, one of my favorite playground activities and enjoy some California sunshine.
And that was my spring break. Sometimes I wish every day could be spring break, that’d be cool.
