Ah, sunny southern California. We first planned to spend two nights in Los Angeles to visit Tempest Free Running Academy. Little did we know at that point that Drew’s best friend would be moving to LA just in time to host us! Had our plane tickets not cost more to change, we would have spent more time with Jared before coming home, but we made sure to pack all kinds of fun into the 45 hours we had together.
Best friends reunited! Jared was thankfully off work that week and was also kind enough to fight the traffic to pick us up from the airport (LA traffic=truly unbelievable). We made a pit stop at Venice Beach and Santa Monica beach before raiding the salad bar at Mrs. Winson’s Green Grocery in Santa Monica.
Thoroughly satisfied from our late lunch in the sun (in mid-November no less), we drove through Beverly Hills (because what trip to LA is complete without a little touristy sightseeing?)
The next day we all ventured back to the airport to pick up Jared’s girlfriend Karis who was also coming for a visit. And of course, back to the beach we went! This is Manhattan Beach.
After lunch we headed back toward the Valley (literally a valley north of the city where you will find Hollywood and all the production studios.) Karis and I both wanted to cross off “see the Hollywood sign” from our “must do in LA” lists. So here it is! A bit underwhelming, but proof nonetheless that we were actually in Hollywood!
Our vantage point for the Hollywood sign was from the parking lot of the Griffith Observatory, created not necessarily to view the stars (because the smog and lights of LA make it nearly impossible to see much in the sky at night), but to offer Los Angeles residents a chance to learn more about astronomy without having to travel far from the city.
This observatory was also the set of James Dean’s famous movie, Rebel Without a Cause, which we just watched a couple weeks prior in Torbay!
Griffith Observatory also offers a fantastic view of the Los Angeles skyline (which you can see just to the right of the building).
It was a full day, but we had to live up our last night in LA. We spent quite a few hours playing at Tempest Academy (videos & pictures coming soon!), then taking pictures in an amazing photo booth Jared and his roommates set up underneath the stairs at their house.
We had way too much fun and stayed up way too late, but it was well worth it!
View more pics from our venture in LA on Facebook!
