I have always wanted to go to California but never thought it was going to happen. To be honest I still think it was a surreal moment and was a figment of my imagination. This was a fun trip that I took with my little sister for a girls trip. We kept asking each day, "do you believe we are here right now?". It made it such a memorable experience because we were able to do it together, just the two of us. I went on a plane ride for the first time in 3 years but for just the second time in my entire life. This was the longest plane ride and to say I was nervous was an understatement. I've watched Final Destination one too many times in my life. We were lucky enough to have a family member who lives close to the Santa Monica area that we stayed with for two days and one night. She was able to give us even more insight into what we should do while we were visiting. She took us to two beaches that were close to her house and they were extremely beautiful. My favorite by far was Leo Carrillo. This beach had caves and coves carved out of the huge rocks and pebbles mixed into the sand. It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed before, I could have easily spent all week there. Together memories were made that we will talk and reminisce on for years to come.
We had a long list of places and things we wanted to see and do during our vacation. Our trip lasted six days and that was no where near enough time to see everything. We did cross off a majority of the items on our lists though, so I'd say it was a success. There is still a huge chunk of the state that I want to explore and I hope to go back one day. Packing for this trip was an adventure all in itself because I had no idea what to bring, but you better believe I still procrastinated and waited until the last night before packing everything up. I brought an array of clothing so that I would be prepared for anything. People say it is a different heat and climate than the Midwest and they are so right. I wore long sleeved dresses and rompers most of the days and I was comfortable in the 80 degree weather but I would be sweating if I wore that same outfit at home. I also packed specific outfits for certain places because I wanted a certain vibe for photos. Especially at In-N-Out because I wanted a vintage feel to my outfit. Luckily I left some room in my suitcase to bring back a few more clothing items and souvenirs.
Overall I loved the trip and can't wait to go back and make more memories. It wasn't quite what I expected and I saw no famous people but I still enjoyed my time there. The traffic was not even a problem the whole time we were there, which shocked me. People always talk about the Los Angeles traffic and how terrible it is but we thankfully didn't experience that. The real problem was the parking situation, it took forever to find places to park and not many places had parking lots of their own. In the end everything worked out and we had a successful trip.
