Our Adventures in Los Angeles

Hi, friends! Long time, no post. I’m struggling to wrap my head around the fact that we’re halfway through October. I’ve been on-the-go this month catching up with family, planning a baby shower, and squeezing in a few last big bakes and photoshoots before the holidays hit. With all that, I haven’t had a chance to let you know about the trip Jeremy and I took to Los Angeles last month!

This post is also delayed for a couple of other reasons. First, I had this all written out earlier, and as I went to add in pictures, accidentally backed out of it and LOST EVERYTHING!!! Just writing that out has me wanting to cry all over again. But shit happens and we just have to try, try again, right? Secondly, it took me some time to find all the right words to describe our experience to begin with, because it was so, so different from any other city either of us have visited, but I did my best to capture it for you here (a second time). Let’s get to it!

We packed a great deal of sightseeing, theme-parking, eating, and walking into this trip, so I want to highlight our favorites in some detail, but also offer something that’s easier to skim if you’re just looking for a Los Angeles travel guide or some advice for exploring LA for the first time. So stay tuned for a shorter post soon, where I’ll share some links and quick tips!

Our trip started out in Long Beach, which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour to get to from LAX, for the WORLDZ Conference that I was attending for work. We didn’t spend a great deal of time exploring Long Beach the few days we were there, but made it a point to walk around each evening. There’s a bustling pier (known as Shoreline Village) with lots of shops and restaurants. From just about anywhere near the bay, you’ll see the RMS Queen Mary – a retired British ocean liner-turned hotel that’s anchored close to the pier.

We especially loved walking around the Harvey Milk Promenade area, and came upon a small pop-up market the first night we were there. We stopped into into Dog Haus for dinner that evening and grabbed cocktails at Portuguese Bend, Long Beach’s first (and recently opened) distillery.

Over the course of the next two days after I got out of the conference, we made it to Seabirds Kitchen – which has a few locations around LA and is a MUST for vegans and vegetarians – as well as The Breakfast Bar, and The Social List. We’d highly recommend all of these places for food!

As far as breweries in the area go, we made it to Ballast Point and Monkish (just outside of Long Beach) together, and Jeremy was able to stop into Long Beach Beer Lab and Beachwood Brewing.

The views of the bay from Ballast Point were incredible, and if you can grab a seat there just before sunset, even better.

Jeremy says he’d go back to LA just for Monkish Brewery. It was a cute little spot – dog and kid-friendly – where visitors can sit right in the brewery and watch the beer being made while sipping their drinks and grabbing a bite from the on-site food trucks.

We also spent some time in Long Beach exploring Retro Row – a few blocks’ worth of buildings full of thrift and antique shops, quirky little stores brimming with art, clothing, and home décor, restaurants, and cafes. I’d vote this as my favorite part of Long Beach!

From Long Beach, we made our way to an adorable Airbnb located in the Los Feliz/Silver Lake/ Echo Park area. While we didn’t get to experience all of Los Angeles, we think this is a prime location if you’re into arts, culture, music, food, and even outdoorsy experiences. We were able to squeeze a lot into just a couple of days by staying in this part of the city!

Our first stop after settling into the Airbnb was Sage Plant Based Bistro. I may end up saying this about nearly every restaurant we visited in LA, but it was some of the best food I’ve ever had. As an added bonus, they have vegan ice cream – which isn’t always the easiest to get right – that I’ve been craving ever since!

With our bellies full, we got a ride to Elysian Park – which turned out to be way larger than we had envisioned! We initially went here in search of the famous Elysian Park Swing, not knowing that it was a literal hike up the mountain (spotted with what we think were snake holes!) to get to it.

We made it about halfway, but making the trek in flip flops and a dress proved a little too awkward and uncomfortable, so we made our way back down and just enjoyed the views and wildlife of the main park. It overlooks the 110 freeway and, while you can get a fairly nice view without doing too much hiking, we’ve heard that making the trip to the peaks is well worth it.

Not too far from Elysian Park is Olvera Street – known as “The Birthplace of Los Angeles.” Stepping into this lively little block – which is filled with Mexican art, music, and food – feels like you’ve gone back in time.

It’s home to the oldest house in Los Angeles, and surrounded by several small restaurants, monuments, and plaques detailing its history.

After our impromptu hike and stroll down Olvera Street, we were craving some air conditioning, so made our way The Broad Museum, which is definitely within walking distance of Olvera Street, but be warned: the incline toward the end is no joke! Stepping into the cool building after getting a thorough leg workout in was very, very welcomed.

The Broad exceeded our expectations, by far. There were works from Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jasper Johns, and many more.

We also loved that, as you exit the exhibit rooms down the stairs, you can peek into the storage room at art that’s waiting to go on display!

After leaving The Broad, we went back and forth for a bit about whether or not we wanted to venture over to the OUE Skyspace – which sits atop the roof of the U.S. Bank Tower (the second tallest building in LA) and offers 360° stunning views of the city, which you get to see from behind clear glass walls.

We made the last-minute decision to go, and are so, so glad we did. We didn’t plan to be there for sunset with a nearly-full harvest moon rising, but that’s when we arrived and it made it even more magical.

We’d long heard that Los Angeles was smoggy, and we noticed it the minute we landed, but the view from atop this building made it clear (ha!) just how thick it really is. The mountains hardly looked real – almost as if they’d been water-colored into the backdrop of the scene – due to the haze. It was a surreal experience watching the sky change from blue to purple and pink, watching the sun go down on one side of the building only to meet the giant moon when we got to the other. I will say, LA sunsets are something else.

Once the sun had made its way behind the mountains and darkness started to set in, we headed toward The Last Bookstore. This may rank as one of our favorite places in all of Los Angeles!

It’s a far cry from your standard, four-walled bookstore with neatly lined shelves and fluorescent lighting. It’s two-stories of pure magic. Art displays, tunnels, and labyrinths made entirely of books. Dimly lit rooms with string lights, an mini-modern art museum, local artists’ shops all along the back wall of the second-story. There is quirky décor everywhere you look, and, while we were there, there was a cozy set-up around a stage where an author was presenting.

We spent a great deal of time venturing around The Last Bookstore, and while Jeremy was very much invested in the books themselves, I was so taken with everything else that I only picked up a handful to flip through. Note: Plan to spend a few hours here if you’re a book lover!

We’d worked up quite an appetite throughout the afternoon and evening, and found ourselves at Monty’s Good Burger – a vegan burger joint – late that night. I can’t explain how perfect this was at the time, because really the only decisions you have to make are whether you want a double patty, fries or tater tots, and what kind of drink or shake you want. After a long day of sightseeing and walking, not having to study a menu for too long is a relief!

By the way, our food here was also insanely delicious!

We crashed quickly and hard as soon as we got back to the Airbnb, which was good, given that the next day was… Universal Studios Hollywood!

Let me preface this with: Jeremy and I are not crowds people. We are not spending-all-day-in the-heat-and-sun people. We are not spend-way-too-much-on-bottled-water-people. So, we weren’t expecting to instantly fall in love with this place.

We knew we wanted to brave all of this to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and The Simpsons’s Springfield USA, but thought we might grow anxious and frustrated right away. Turns out, we didn’t want to leave.

Our first stop was, of course, Hogsmeade (Harry Potter). You guys. Nothing I say here can do it justice. Every single detail was so on point.

Our first order of business was getting a butterbeer before taking a quick stroll around the “village.” We wound up stopping into Three Broomsticks for breakfast, where we split a full English breakfast that came with pumpkin juice. I mean, if my Universal experience had ended right then and there, I would have left happy.

But! There was so much more. Olivander’s Wand Shop! The Hogwarts Express! Honeydukes! The Flight of the Hippogriff! And, most magical of all… the Forbidden Journey ride INSIDE OF HOGWARTS CASTLE!

The castle alone is overflowing with all of the key details, including the moving and talking portraits, Dumbledore’s office, and more. Oh, and did I mention that you’ll hear the cries of Moaning Myrtle if you stop into the restrooms at Hogsmeade? I mean, come on.

I may have cried. I did cry. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more – and I may have made Jeremy go back with me a second time before we left “just so I could purchase a jumping frog chocolate” (but really so I could do a thorough walkthrough of the whole place one more time).

From there, it was a full day of exploring the rest of the park. We attended the Water World show, got soaked on the Jurassic Park ride, took in a special effects show (which was so neat), and got genuinely scared for a minute there on The Mummy coaster.

We hadn’t planned on sticking around for the Halloween Horror Nights event after the park closed, but after hearing some chatter and seeing all of the signage throughout the day, decided to upgrade our tickets to see what it was all about. It was the first day of the event, in addition to being Friday the 13th and a full harvest moon, so, how could we not?

The Halloween activities were really fun overall – and it was a whole different experience seeing the park at night. They had lots of people dressed up as monsters running around with chainsaws, smoke pumping into the walkways, red lighting, and loads of themed mazes/haunted houses (Stranger Things, Killer Clowns, Ghostbusters, and more). We weren’t expecting this to be such a big deal – and especially not expecting the park to be flooded with triple the amount of people that were there during the day, causing the wait times for the maze lines to be anywhere from 1-3+ hours. It was crazy. We loved what we were able to get into, but after spending about 12 hours at the park, and the last few of them waiting in lines, we were feeling more than beat.

The next morning was rough. We got a bit later of a start than we had planned, but managed to roll out of bed and into an Uber to make our way to Griffith Observatory, where many people go to get a look at the famous Hollywood sign.

It’s funny, when I used to think of Hollywood, I always assumed that the sign was kind of the backdrop to the city, no matter where you were. I quickly realized after driving around that first day that the sign is actually rather elusive and that you’ll hardly come across it unless you’re seeking it out.

We got some really good views of it from the observatory, though it still seemed pretty far away. If you’re feeling especially adventurous and full of energy (we weren’t) you can hike right up to the sign. The views of Los Angeles were stunning, too, and we got so see some wildlife while we were there taking it all in.

After we had our fill at the observatory, we stopped by Mohawk Bend for brunch to fuel up for the rest of our day. We enjoyed the food here, as well as spending some time lingering on the patio, watching life go by on Sunset Boulevard.

Once we were feeling awake and ready to take on the day, we made our way over to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is just as crowded and as crazy as you’d expect! We immediately felt overwhelmed after getting out of the Uber, and were pleasantly surprised, as we stepped off of the sidewalk to gather ourselves, to discover that we had walked right up next to the famous Chinese Theatre.

This building is gorgeously intricate and sprawled in the cement that sits in front of it are tons of handprints, footprints, and signatures from some of Hollywood’s most beloved stars.

This wasn’t on our list of places to visit, but we’re both so glad we happened upon it, because we spent a good deal of time strolling from section to section, exclaiming the names of some of our favorite celebrities as we spotted them, and seeing how our hands measured up to theirs. This is a must-do for anyone visiting Hollywood for the first time. Totally worth the crowds!

Eventually, we made our way back onto the star-studded sidewalk and walked in the direction of the Roosevelt Hotel, reading off names as we went.

I was overcome with emotion when we reached Tom Petty’s star (the one I was most hoping to find) since, as you likely know if you’ve been reading this blog for long, his music has meant so much to me throughout my life.

So much of our experience in Los Angeles up to this point had felt strangely familiar, since so many of Petty’s songs include lines about places in and around the city (Ventura Boulevard, Reseda, Mulholland Drive, Century City, etc.) Though he was from Florida, he’d always claimed that he and the Heartbreakers were a “Los Angeles band.” Here’s a really good article on “Tom Petty’s Los Angeles,” if you’re a fan, too!

We lingered around Petty’s star for a bit before moving again and walking to the end of the stretch, where we decided to get a ride to the Sunset Strip.

As with all locations in LA, we severely underestimated just how massive the Sunset Strip would be. We asked to be dropped of “where the strip started” and ended up walking for what felt like ages. While it’s only about a one and a half mile stretch, there is so much to look at, and so many places to pop into along and just off the main path, that you move at a really slow pace. I’m pretty sure we could still be walking today, a month later, and not have reached the end!

We came across a lot of famous spots, though, including The Comedy Store, the Viper Room, Whisky A Go Go, and Mel’s Drive-In.

I was most excited to unexpectedly happen upon Mel’s Drive-In because (one more Petty moment here), it’s the place that Tom Petty and his band first stopped after driving across the country from Florida to Los Angeles with the hope of making it big. They weren’t sure of their next steps at the time, so Tom stepped out into the phone booth to flip through the phone book in search of record labels’ numbers. While there, he saw a piece of paper on the ground and picked it up. It was a handwritten list of over 20 record labels, their phone numbers, and their addresses. As if it had been left there just for him. Shelter Records was listed, which was the label he signed with shortly after, and the rest is history.

I’ve always loved that story, as a reminder that sometimes the universe really does step in and help us out, if we’re willing to pay attention. Of course, we had to stop into this lucky spot for milkshakes (and a break) before continuing down the strip!

We walked another twenty minutes or so, stopping every now and then to peer in a shop window or marvel at the star-studded billboards at every turn (forget billboards for lawyers, banks, or hospitals, these were all about movies, music, and the latest tech).

After we’d gotten our fill of the Sunset Strip, we decided to get a ride to Santa Monica Pier so we could get a breath of fresh air before heading back out for the evening.

We loved the drive to Santa Monica because we had to pass through Beverly Hills, which was the most picturesque stretch I’ve ever seen in my life. So many pink houses! So many massive succulents! So many suspiciously pristine lawns! I was in awe.

The Santa Monica Pier was bustling, but we were able to break away from the crowds a bit by walking along the beach, and it was just what we needed. It felt so good to sink our toes in the sand and let the waves cool us off as we strolled slowly along, stopping every so often to pick up smooth rocks and seashells or stare out at the sailboats and waves.

We were only there for an hour, maybe less, but it was the only place where time seemed to slow down for us, allowing us to recharge and process everything we’d experienced so far.

I felt so grateful getting to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time with Jeremy. The mountains in the distance and the size of the waves definitely set this body of water apart from anything we’ve ever seen before, and I can’t imagine our trip feeling complete without this short but sweet excursion to the coast.

We’d made plans that evening to meet up with one of Jeremy’s dearest high school friends, Emily, and her husband, Rick, back near our Airbnb. It was time to make our way back to freshen up before dinner, but we had to make a quick detour on the way to swing into Milk Bar to try a slice of Christina Tosi’s famous birthday cake, which was absolutely delicious!

After freshening up back at the Airbnb, we met up with Emily and Rick at Night+Market Song, a Thai restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. We had to wait for a bit, but it was SO worth it. We all hit it off right away and I felt like we were seated in no time. It was a super cozy space, and the food was so good, that we found ourselves wishing we’d had room for a second order. We were enjoying each other’s company so much, we weren’t ready to say goodbye, so we walked over to The Thirsty Crow (which may sound familiar if you listen to Father John Misty) for a drink. Jeremy and I agreed later that this bar was exactly what came to mind when we envisioned bars in Los Angeles – dark, loud, and cozy, and a bit fancy, yet still super laid-back. We had some great conversation about our homes, California, the Midwest, and celebrities (and how they’re just like us, kind of). Ending our time in Los Angeles with Emily and Rick was perfect, because we were able to share our thoughts on our experiences and observations and get their perspectives as locals on things that we had noticed or wondered about. It was so sad to have to wrap things up with them, but we promised to get together again someday (hopefully soon)!

The next morning, we packed up and headed to Anaheim for the last stop on our journey – Disneyland! We spent the day Sunday recovering from our busy week and lazed around the hotel reading, watching TV, and napping off and on, which was so nice (and necessary) ahead of our adventures at Disney on Monday.

Much like Universal, we were concerned that Disney may be a bit too much for us, but our concerns flew right out of the window the minute we stepped into the park. Disney has a way of making you feel like you’re in a whole different (and very magical) world so that you’re hardly able to focus on things like crowds and wait times.

We weren’t planning on it, but totally lucked into getting there at the very start of Halloween Time! The whole place was decked out in pumpkins and fall touches, the Haunted Mansion was made all the spookier, there were special fall treats all around the park, and the characters were gearing up to change into their Halloween attire.

We started the day at the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land at Jeremy’s request, and as someone who has never seen a single Star Wars movie, even I was completely blown away. The attention to detail was incredible and it was a truly surreal way to kick things off.

Throughout the day, we were able to make it to nearly every part of the park and ride the majority of the rides! I fell in love with so much, but especially the Haunted Mansion, Fantasyland, New Orleans Square, and Main Street.

We hung around for the electric parade and the Halloween Time light show above the castle that evening, so we were there from open to close. Almost every second of the day felt magical and carefree, and it was so nice to throw our worries to the wind for the day and get in touch with our inner kids. We both desperately needed a day like that, and though we were totally present and cherishing every second, it was over much too soon. My only regret is not staying one extra day to experience the California Adventure side of the park. Next time!

We ventured back out into the real world late that evening, returned to the hotel to pack up, then snuck in a bit of sleep before hopping a plane back to Chicago and making the long drive home the following day.

We’re so grateful for the getting the opportunity to visit Los Angeles and to have experienced so much during our first visit. And even though we feel like we accomplished a lot, we know we only just barely scratched the surface. We have plenty on our bucket list should we ever find ourselves back in the City of Angels!