Ting-A-Ling's Photo Blog: May 2013

Tonight's the last night I'm staying in California before heading back to New York and starting my internship. My friend and I landed in LAX on May 25th and were in Los Angeles until the 29th.

Day 1 in LA. The first stop we went to after the airport was In n Out. It wasn't as good as I remembered it when I had it for the first time last summer, but it was still pretty delicious. Then we drove north to Santa Monica area to enjoy the California beach. The sand was really nice, but the water wasn't as warm as I thought it would be. The piers were nice though, and there were a lot of street performers there as well. Third Street Promenade was alright because it was mainly shopping. After Santa Monica, we drove to the Griffith Observatory to see the view of Downtown LA and the Hollywood sign. The view from up there showed how large LA really is it's a beautiful view from so high up.

Day 2 in LA. We first drove to UCLA to pick up one of my Cornell friend and her friend from UCLA. Then we drove north to the Getty Center. Since we were all not very art-oriented, we bypassed all the art galleries and went there to enjoy the view and see the outdoor areas at the Getty Center. Afterwards my friend gave us a tour of UCLA and Westwood. The school is so big and all the buildings look so nice. It would be a great place to go to school since it's always sunny and the campus is beautiful. We then went to LA County Museum of Art to see the Urban Lampposts. We got there before the sun set to get a picture while it was still bright, and just hung out in park nearby. When it got dark, we went back to the lampposts to get a photo with the lights turned on. It's really pretty at night and very picture-worthy

Day 3 in LA. We first went to Beverly Hills area to check out what it's like. It wasn't as fancy as I had imagined. It's just a regular shopping area with a lot of upscale stores. There weren't all that much to do there since everything was not affordable. Then we had a bit of time to kill before Hollywood, so we drove to the Playboy Mansion, but all we saw was the gate. It looked just like any other regular house in the area. Then we drove to Hollywood and explored that area. It reminded me of a smaller version of Times Square. Not much to do there either besides looking at the flashy signs and the Chinese Theater. Hollywood Blvd was not what I had expected to see. On TV it always looked so hyped up and exquisite, but it's pretty normal there. For dinner we had Roscoe's chicken and waffle and I felt so gross afterwards.

Day 4 in LA: Disneyland! We drove to Anaheim and got the park hopper pass for California Adventure Park and Disneyland. California Adventure Park had bigger rides, but they weren't that bad compared to Six Flags. The swinging gondola on the ferris wheel made me feel really nauseous though. The other rides were pretty fun and the lines weren't even that long. We didn't spend too much time there and spent the bulk of our time at Disneyland. Most of the rides were pretty chill and nothing too scary, but there were a lot to see. There were stores here and there and different parts of the park to explore. We played hide and seek on an island for a bit too. We waited for the fireworks at night and watched it go up over the castle. Overall, it was a really relaxed day at Disneyland and we went on all of the major rides. Great day.

Day 5 in San Diego. It took us two and a half hours from West Covina to UCLA area, so we missed our morning train to San Diego. We ended up getting to San Diego around 1 pm. First stop we went to was the tidepools at one of the state parks. It was high tide, so we didn't see much of the animals, just saw the shoreline and the waves crashing into the rocks. Then we went to Extraordinary Desserts and got fancy desserts there. While we were there, we walked to Gas Lamp District and to Seaport Village. From there we got a view of Downtown San Diego. For dinner, we got tacos by La Jolla Cove and sat at the park watching the sunset. It's really pretty there and just a great place to hang out.

Day 6 in San Diego. We had an early start to hike to Devil's Punchbowl. It's a 3-mile hike one way in the desert to get to this waterfall. The hike wasn't too bad and the waterfall was pretty nice. We swam in it and jumped off this really small rock. The water level wasn't that high so we were afraid to jump off the taller rocks, but it was still nice nevertheless. We spent a good amount of time there, and then hiked back. Afterwards, we had the famous Phil's BBQ. It was delicious. The ribs were great and the portions were just right. After that we just chilled at my friend's apartment complex pool and watched Fast Six at night.

I think it's been a very adventurous trip in LA and San Diego and I had a lot of fun. I've been super exhausted everyday, but it's all worth it. California lifestyle is very different from New York lifestyle; I'm not sure which one I prefer. For now, I think I've had enough of the California lifestyle and the California sunshine, now back to that New York life!