We travel for the experiences that are encountered along the way, and although for me there is always a plan (a very detailed one at that) there will always be surprises as well! I’d like to call them controlled surprises because my rigidness doesn’t allow for too much more, but a surprise still the same! So last week was my birthday and I embarked on a West Coast travel adventure! It was a blast! As much as I would like to share every detail of the trip I want y’all to come back for future posts so I won’t make you endure such a lengthy endeavor. BUT I have picked some highlights to share from the trip below! In four days and two major cities as well as while travelling I managed to make it to all of these places… kinda hard to believe but it’s true!

1. The Griddle Cafe

2. Hollywood Walk of Fame

3. Little Damage

Black ice cream in a black cone. Say no more because I have to know what that taste like! Little damage is a small corner ice cream shop in downtown LA that serves four flavors you can either get in the famous black cone or a cup. Simplistic concept, but super neat. To add to the experience there is a photo booth inside that is free for you to take as many pictures as you would like and right outside, is tons of fun sayings to snap additional pictures with your ice cream. The black ice cream changes flavors monthly (mine was pumpkin) and the cone is chocolate! They have a few toppings that you can choose from as well. I ended up with unicorn tears (blue ice cream, birthday cake flavor) with coconut flakes, black jack (black ice cream, pumpkin flavor) in the black cone and it was amazing!  I really wanted to go back for another but it didn’t fit into the schedule!

 

4. Chasing Street Art

I love cities with murals and fun quotes on the ground and picture worthy- sometime thought provoking sayings, spread all around. (It’s a huge reason I can go to Philadelphia over and over) Los Angeles never disappoints in the street art arena. I planned to see some pieces before my arrival, others I stumbled upon which is just as fun!

 

5. Griffith Observatory

6. Roscoe’s  House of Chicken and Waffles

7. Runyon Canyon

8. Sweet Chick

9. Museum of Ice Cream

This place is indescribable, so much so I knew that I would not be able to write about it here with all the other stops. The museum of ice cream will have its own separate post! It’s like a BOGO deal for blog posts. Keep looking it’s coming!

10. Venice Beach/Santa Monica pier

11. Sage Vegan Bistro

12. The Comedy Union

13. HBO Insecure Sites

14. Randy’s Donut

I’m not much of a donut connoisseur but pulling up to Randy’s I thought the line was just about the hype of the famous sign. Boy was I mistaken! Can donuts taste like they’ve been sent from a bakery in heaven? If so Randy is getting deliveries to share with this earthly world! Just thinking about it makes me salivate. Of course never to pick anything plain I got donuts with a lot of “stuff” on them but my aunt let me bite her plain glaze…had we not been on the road again, I would have turned around! If you are in LA head out to Inglewood the line will be long… be patient it’s worth it!

 

15. Pacific Coast Highway

16. Newport Beach, California (Whale Watching)

17. Gaslamp District

18. Tijuana, Mexico

19. La Jolla Village

This place is everything built into one! You can shop, enjoy the water and cove, lay out in the park and eat gelato or spend the entire day there doing all three! Probably the highlight of San Diego! I did look in the stores but the best apart was the sea lions! I have never witnessed a sea lion in there own natural habitat that let you get so close! There was this one time in Mexico I got to hug a trained sea lion, this was cooler than that!

 

20. Roberto’s Taco Shop

 

Because I took so many pictures that I couldn’t bare not to share with you guys, find some below! If you have questions about any place on the list (even if I didn’t write about them) leave a comment below! I love to share!

 

Red Drop Waist Dress: Target | “Travel for the Culture” Gray Shirt: Whatasighttosee.com | Blue “Scorpio” Shirt: J Crew |