Once upon a time, I went to Los Angeles. Sort of. A more accurate statement is: I had a very not fun vacation to that area. Recently, however, I went back and did a Los Angeles area solo trip. And it was perfect.
People that know me now are often surprised to find out that I used to be a celebrity-following, tabloid-reading, WhoWhatWear following fanatic. I could tell you which celebrities were dating each other and where they were spotted and what they were wearing. In the early 2000’s I think I wanted to be best friends with Kate Bosworth and, true story, have a pair of gold, sparkly shoes that I bought as an inspiration from her style that ended up being my trademark in college.
I know, this is a far cry from the Appalachian Trail hiking, often covered in dirt, athleisure wearing gal that I am now. But, back then, Los Angeles was a dream trip. And then one of my college friends moved to Huntington Beach just south of L.A. Yes. Please.
Enter: Disaster
Okay, disaster might be a slight exaggeration. But it wasn’t good. While my friend had many great qualities, being a good host was absolutely not one of them. Due to my friend’s housing and work situation, I ended up spending a lot of time with strangers in their home without my friend there as a buffer. While some people might thrive on that, my introverted, social anxiety riddled self was extremely uncomfortable.
When I wasn’t doing that, I was wandering around the beach area near the house waiting for my friend to get off of work because, pre-Uber days and being too young at the time to rent a car, I was without any means of transportation.
Did my friend have some days off while I was there? Yes. And the things we did on those days were what my friend wanted to do. Did you know, it’s not cool to go to Los Angeles? And the Hollywood sign is SO overrated. So I was told.
I should have pushed harder to do the things I wanted to do because, after all, I had literally flown across the country for my first California vacation. But, baby traveler that I was at the time, didn’t. My L.A. dream trip resulted in me crying on the phone to my parents because I was in an uncomfortable situation that I was too young and inexperienced to navigate and ended up having a horrible time. I left California disappointed having not even seen the Hollywood sign.
L.A. Redux
Fast forward to now and a routine e-mail check. Scott’s Cheap Flights sent a flight deal for round-trip to L.A. for $98. I actually passed it up the first time. I already had Florida planned and it didn’t seem like a smart choice to impulsively book a solo trip to L.A. on the tail of another trip with absolutely no plan. But then Scott’s sent an updated flight deal which included Hartford, a much easier airport for me to fly out of.
Say less. I couldn’t resist an L.A. re-do. Other than a quick (very quick) perusal of rental cars to make sure that I wouldn’t get screwed financially in other trip areas, I booked my flight.
How Touristy to Get
I did all of the cliché touristy things that I had wanted to do on my first trip and loved every minute of it. I saw the Hollywood sign. And you know what? It was awesome. I walked a bunch of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, saw the Chinese Theater, and went to the Santa Monica pier. I walked Rodeo drive (without walking into the stores because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t even be allowed in) and explored Venice Beach/Boardwalk. Such. A. Tourist.
For the less touristy things, I did my usual explorations and walked roughly 14 miles throughout the city. On most trips I check out local spots like breweries and coffee shops. Bonus if I can find a specialty donut shop. I did not make it to the coffee shop I wanted to because, in my wandering, I ended up pretty far away. I went to The Dudes’ Brewery and enjoyed a sour beer. And I had an absolutely delicious lemon pistachio donut from a completely random place in West Hollywood. I had the L.A. experience I yearned for over ten years ago.
Warner Bros. Studio
The other tourist attraction I went to was Warner Bros. Studios in nearby Burbank. A longtime Gilmore Girls fan, I could not pass up the opportunity to see part of the set. The biggest attraction of the tour is, not surprisingly, the Friends related stuff, but the tour also included stuff from The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Spiderman, and Ocean’s Twelve just to name a few. There were also exhibits at the end with memorabilia from both Fantastic Beasts and DC Comics including one of Batman’s cars.
I recommend this tour. I genuinely enjoyed the whole thing. Even for the movies and shows I don’t watch, it was interesting to see how it works behind the scenes, such as one building that was used in an old movie and then repainted for a modern television show. Or how a seemingly small three story building was used as the front facade of a casino in Ocean’s Twelve.
As for the ticket price: it looks hefty but is worth it. Once you’re in, you’re in; there’s no extra fees for separate exhibits. Places drive me bananas when they do that (such a sham). Additionally, the tour groups are small and the guide talks to the group before starting to find out what specifically everyone is interested in and then tailors each tour to the shows/movies that is particular to that group.
Parking is the only thing not included. However, it was only $5 and there looked to be plenty of free parking within walking distance if one really felt the need to avoid it (mind you, my idea of “walking distance” tends to be farther than most peoples).
Oxnard
The next leg of the trip I stayed in Oxnard. The hotel was the nicest I stayed in but inexpensive. The location was perfect for the things I wanted to do: Malibu, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and Ventura where the ferry is to get to Channel Islands National Park.
Malibu
The name itself is dreamy, isn’t it? I think so. But, holy smokes, is that an expensive town! I was actually hoping for a souvenir Malibu t-shirt but a plain solid white tee with Malibu written in black, block lettering was $69. I’ll get one from the internet.
Another downside was the congestion. Much of Mailbu was extremely congested and parking was hard to find. However, the beaches were every bit as pretty as people say they are. I could have, and probably should have, given Malibu more time. I think I originally intended to but somehow it didn’t pan out. Which is fine; gotta go with the flow sometimes, right?
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Going into this trip, Santa Monica Mountains was on the radar but I knew time would dictate if it would happen. I had two days planned for Channel Islands but, on the first day, the ferry was cancelled due to high winds.
Insert back-up plan to Santa Monica Mountains. I’m not sad. It was gorgeous. It was also very windy. I could definitely see why the ferry was cancelled after going on that hike. What was so different and cool to me was how it literally goes from ocean to mountains as opposed to New England where it’s pretty flat by the shoreline and the higher elevations are inland. I got to the peak of my hike and was looking out at the Pacific Ocean. Very neat.
Palm Springs
The last leg of my trip had me farther inland with the main goal to go to Joshua Tree National Park. I did stay in Joshua Tree (the town) for the actual park visit but then I followed it up with a night in nearby Palm Springs as well just to check it out.
I can see why Palm Springs is a tourist destination in and of itself. It’s a very resort-y town with a ton of golf courses, great restaurants, and a lot of shopping. I also had my greatest meal of the trip here. Because can you even go to Southern California and not get tacos and a margarita?
Solo Cali For the Win
This trip was truly an amazing one. I think it’s apropos that I did this trip solo. Solo travel is doing exactly what I want to do and not compromising on anything. In general, I love traveling with other people too and am totally down for compromise but I am also an advocate for solo travel; there are some real benefits. When it came to going back to this part of the country, a Los Angeles area solo trip was best.
After some personal life stuff, this selfish, solo trip was exactly what I needed. There isn’t anyone I could have done this exact trip with. I have travel buddies that would be interested in parts of this trip but no one that would want to do the whole thing.
Side note: I left Joshua Tree NP and Channel Islands NP out of this post because they get their own! Oh, and FYI, I still love both Kate Bosworth and those shoes.
