LA, Conclusion: The Last Day
I don't know about anyone else, but the day before a long travel day is always sad. The entire day has a cloud hanging over it. Tomorrow I have to get on a plane for 6 hours bound for a cold place and work.
Either way, the day was beautiful. I went for a semi long run in the morning to dead streets. When I got a little freaked out by a guy sleeping on the side of the road, I turned around. I stopped at a nearby Starbucks for a much needed bagel... I hadn't had one in over a week, and really had a hankering. LA isn't exactly the best place to get bagels, so I took what I could get.
After chatting up Trisha's roomie for a while, Katie and Trisha woke up. Today was our beach day. It was sunny and 80 degrees for the first time since we got there. We all got ready... I wore a bikini even though no one else was in swim gear.
We took the bus all the way to Venice Beach and walked down one of the coolest streets I've seen in a long time. It seemed like it was straight out of the 60's with lots of art shops and cafes. We stopped in at a cafe. I got a "Brown Cow" which was basically an iced cafe mocha. When I asked if I could get nonfat milk, they said no. So I went with it. I also noticed an enticing bagel and lox platter on the menu and was pissed that I wasn't more hungry.
We continued our walk and went to a cool dress shop and then made our way to the beach. I was very happy that I had a bathing suit on. We spread out our blanket and looked at the ocean. I got a bit of a tan! We then took a VERY long walk to a Carribean restaurant. On our walk, we passed Muscle Beach, where I did a few pull ups, and enjoyed the sights of the Venice strip. It reminded me a lot of Miami... kind of skanky but kind of chic.
We got to the Carribean restaurant about an hour later, and I was ravenous. I decided on the jerk chicken combo - a jerk chicken enchilada, a jerk chicken tostada and a few fried plantains. It really hit the spot. We continued walking to the Santa Monica boardwalk and found a nice outdoor area to sit and have a few beers. I got progressively more depressed as the day went on. We decided to see a movie (Adventureland). We had some time to kill so we went to a British pub for half an hour. I got the first truly tasty beer of the trip. I noticed that LA doesn't really pride itself on beer like New England does. I also noticed how attached to the taste of good beer I've become.
We saw Adventureland and I was only mildly entertained. I didn't love it. When the movie was out, I felt like I was robbed of my time in LA. I was severely depressed at this point, because it was almost 10 and I had to leave in the morning!! We went back to Trisha's, had some snacks and went to bed. I woke up the next day upset that I was leaving, and boarded the plane back to Massachusetts.
Thoughts on California:
Pros:
-Trisha lives there
-Beautiful vistas
-Stable, nice weather
-Good Mexican food
-Good every other type of food
-Lots of healthy options
Cons:
-Minimal selection of beer
-Too spread out
-Too much health food. Sometimes I just want shit.
-It's not Boston.
Either way, the day was beautiful. I went for a semi long run in the morning to dead streets. When I got a little freaked out by a guy sleeping on the side of the road, I turned around. I stopped at a nearby Starbucks for a much needed bagel... I hadn't had one in over a week, and really had a hankering. LA isn't exactly the best place to get bagels, so I took what I could get.
After chatting up Trisha's roomie for a while, Katie and Trisha woke up. Today was our beach day. It was sunny and 80 degrees for the first time since we got there. We all got ready... I wore a bikini even though no one else was in swim gear.
We took the bus all the way to Venice Beach and walked down one of the coolest streets I've seen in a long time. It seemed like it was straight out of the 60's with lots of art shops and cafes. We stopped in at a cafe. I got a "Brown Cow" which was basically an iced cafe mocha. When I asked if I could get nonfat milk, they said no. So I went with it. I also noticed an enticing bagel and lox platter on the menu and was pissed that I wasn't more hungry.
We continued our walk and went to a cool dress shop and then made our way to the beach. I was very happy that I had a bathing suit on. We spread out our blanket and looked at the ocean. I got a bit of a tan! We then took a VERY long walk to a Carribean restaurant. On our walk, we passed Muscle Beach, where I did a few pull ups, and enjoyed the sights of the Venice strip. It reminded me a lot of Miami... kind of skanky but kind of chic.
We got to the Carribean restaurant about an hour later, and I was ravenous. I decided on the jerk chicken combo - a jerk chicken enchilada, a jerk chicken tostada and a few fried plantains. It really hit the spot. We continued walking to the Santa Monica boardwalk and found a nice outdoor area to sit and have a few beers. I got progressively more depressed as the day went on. We decided to see a movie (Adventureland). We had some time to kill so we went to a British pub for half an hour. I got the first truly tasty beer of the trip. I noticed that LA doesn't really pride itself on beer like New England does. I also noticed how attached to the taste of good beer I've become.
We saw Adventureland and I was only mildly entertained. I didn't love it. When the movie was out, I felt like I was robbed of my time in LA. I was severely depressed at this point, because it was almost 10 and I had to leave in the morning!! We went back to Trisha's, had some snacks and went to bed. I woke up the next day upset that I was leaving, and boarded the plane back to Massachusetts.
Thoughts on California:
Pros:
-Trisha lives there
-Beautiful vistas
-Stable, nice weather
-Good Mexican food
-Good every other type of food
-Lots of healthy options
Cons:
-Minimal selection of beer
-Too spread out
-Too much health food. Sometimes I just want shit.
-It's not Boston.