LA + San Fran
You can feel so far away from home and yet feel so comfortable. I just went to Los Angeles to visit two of my best friends. It was the second time I had visited LA so I didn’t feel the need to do all the touristy things, instead I could just be with my friends and chill. LA is such a big city. It’s huge and you can do so many different activities. One day we hiked the wisdom tree trail. It is not a bad hike; just super elevated, but short and worth it. Another day we spent some time in Santa Monica and ate at a dope Mexican restaurant called Blue Plate Taco, I got the rice bowl and highly recommend it.
Living across the country from two of your best friends can be hard, but seeing how happy they are out there makes it worth it. LA is a special place. It has so many good foodie spots, a great place to live if you love to work out, and a really chill vibe. (Unless you are in rush hour traffic being honked at…)
My sister met me in LA and we rented a car and drove to Yosemite. The drive starts through the mountains and then you get to this long two-lane highway through the middle of nowhere; boiling hot desert land. Later that night when we got there we went on a sunset jeep tour drive. The car actually drove up the mountain on a hiking trail that was definitely not made for cars. Once we got to the top the views were worth the bumpy drive. You look out on to endless mountain range and watch as the sun hides in the distance. We made s’mores for dinner and took some great pics.
From Yosemite we drove to San Francisco, which was about a four-hour drive that ended at the Golden Gate Bridge. We drove around to every possible scenic spot that you could see the bridge and then made our way to the hotel. In my opinion, SF is an even cooler city than LA. The weather is legitimately perfect. It doesn’t get colder that 60 degrees and no warmer than 85, and if you are craving some winter you can just drive to Tahoe to some of the best winters in the world. The hills are so steep and you get out of breath so fast but walking around the city is a blast and it reminded me a lot of Boston. We went out for two amazing dinners. Flour + Water was an Italian restaurant serving handmade pizza and intricate pasta such as corn and stracciatella cappelletti with chocolate mint, which is what I had. Pabu was an upscale Japanese fusion restaurant serving a whole intricate menu, while also serving some of the best sushi I have ever had.
No matter how long you are away for, one hour or nine days, it always feels good to walk through your own doors and sleep in your own bed. I push you to leave your comfort and explore new cities and new communities, because home will always be there.
