Over Labor Day weekend Brad and I went to California. More specifically, the greater LA area (Redondo Beach to be exact). One of Brad's close friends from college was getting married so it was a dual purpose trip - celebration plus vacation! It was nice because some of our other friends, Brian and Brent & Karen, were also there for the wedding. So we had someone to hang out with, too.
We flew in very late on Friday night (unfortunately it's frowned upon to take off the third day of school, so that was a no-go). So pretty much Friday was a wash - we just unpacked a few things and went to bed. But Saturday the wedding wasn't until 3, so we rented bikes with Brian, Brent, and Karen and rode along the "Strand," an area of the beach stretching from Redondo beach to Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. It was a great way to see the beach, since it was surprisingly cold there (upper 60's/low 70's) and not good weather for "laying out." Brad and I rented a tandem bike - I was unsure at first and felt kind of silly, but it was FUN! LA is my new favorite place, because it's the beach volleyball hot spot! I've never seen so many nets set up along the beach! Plus there were MASSIVE houses on the side opposite the beach so that was quite a sight, too!
Brian is a "selfy" pro! Got us all in!
Then of course Saturday afternoon and night was the wedding. It was a nice ceremony and there was a reception AND after party! Fun times and the bride was beautiful!
Brad, me, Brent, Karen, Brian
Boys with the bride!
Sunday we had a real "touristy" day. I had never been to LA, so everyone kind of appeased me and we went sight-seeing. We had rented a car for the weekend, which was so nice, because it was easy to make the hour drive around the LA area. We first went to Pasadena (Brad's choice) and walked downtown and saw some shops. You can see mountains from there, which was pretty.
Our next stop was my pick - HOLLYWOOD of course! We didn't see anyone famous (boo!), but I did get my picture with the Harry Potter cast's handprints outside the Chinese Grauman theater (where lots of movies premiere)!!! We also walked along the Walk of Fame and saw some star's stars.
I know you're jealous of the fact that I put my hands where Harry Potter once put his!!!
Marilyn Monroe's star!
And then I had my first experience with In 'N Out Burger. I had heard about it all weekend and was dying to try it. It was delish! The menu is very small (only burgers, cheeseburgers, and fries - not even any size options!) but the food is good. It's your basic fast food, but with some special sauce and just tastes better.
We stopped off to see the Hollywood sign and the view of downtown LA.
Us with the Hollywood sign - see it in the background???
View of downtown LA
Next stop: Santa Monica! We walked along the Third Street Promenade (tons of shops and street performers) and down along the Third Street Pier (Fun!).
Brian, the selfy master, strikes again!
Sunday night we just got dinner down by the beach, then dropped off the crew at the airport. Brad and I hit up the hotel hot tub (finally - and too cold for the pool outside) and called it a night.
Monday Brad and I flew home at 5pm. Before that, we frequented the hot tub again, then decided to drive and visit Beverly Hills. We had lunch at a FABULOUS little brunch/lunch restaurant, Jack 'n Jills (where Taylor Swift was seen having lunch recently!). Then we walked along Rodeo Drive (I couldn't even bring myself to go into any of those fancy stores though!) and had some PinkBerry, which I WISH we had in Milwaukee. It's this GREAT little frozen yogurt place where you can get ANY toppings you could imagine, from fresh fruit to chocolate, to fruity pebbles, to teddy grahams...anything! We had it on Sunday too, but had to get it one more time. :) Being in Beverly Hills was A-Mazing! At one point, we had a porche next to us, a mercedes in front of us, and a rolls royce behind the porche. CRAZY! Super nice and expensive cars were like minivans here - everywhere!
Rodeo Drive!!!
It was a fabulous trip. I really thought we couldn't do LA in a weekend, but we did it! I think we saw everything we really wanted to see. Well, except for anyone famous. But it was a fun time. Thanks for inviting us, Jenna & Sean!!!
1 comment:
Soo fun!! You got to see so much!
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