For my entire high school life, I always dreamed of having one of those summer roadtrips that you could plan with some of your closest friends. You know, pin point different places on a map on where you wanted to travel, listen to indie music while you're driving in the middle of nowhere, stop at random gas stations and 7 elevens late at night, and just have some of the deepest conversations in the car. I always imagined that to be the perfect summer vacation back then, but I guess I just wasn't ready to have it. Something inside me told me to wait for the right time.
I'd spent the past three years working different jobs during the summer (not that that's a bad thing! It's nice to have your own money that you can spend on whatever you please), the only problem was that I never got the chance to get away from my daily routines. Now, after my first year of college, I've become more confident to try new things. I'm braver to step out of my comfort zone. To take some time away to just- live a little.
My best friend (and roommate), Elizabeth and I decided to take a week off to travel down to California to explore more of what the famous state had to offer. We headed out onto the summer highway on August 8th. Our playlist consisted of so many themes. We listened to Disney music, Lady Gaga, Fitz & the Tantrums, Fleetwood Mac, The 1975, and songs from the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack. If you're ever trying to keep yourself un-bored while driving, listen to old songs that you know by heart. Sing at the top of your lungs and just laugh when you can't hit the high notes. It'll make the long roads seem shorter and a lot more fun. Believe me on this one.
We stopped at Elizabeth's uncles' log cabin up in the woods a few hours away from San Francisco. My god, it's beautiful. Winding roads, sure, but the trail up the hills were amazing.
We spent the night watching Disney films, eating chicken sandwiches with vegetables and herbs grown from their garden, and drank piña coladas (virgin of course!) while Elizabeth's uncles talked about how cute boys are when they have curly hair. I couldn't have agreed more!
On August 9th, we set back on the road to head towards a motel 6 in Anaheim. We managed to find one right down the road from Disneyland. Score!
After settling in, we went out for dinner at The Grove (and of course we had to go shopping). I purchased a Halloween blouse and jewelry from topshop (all on sale), and a pair of block heels from Zara (finally). I'll be styling those in my polyvore sets soon!
We had dinner at a lovely Italian restaraunt. Inside, there were pictures of different people (Italian or not), some of which were celebrities. I love when restaurants do that for some reason. I love spotting all the actors and singers that I know on the walls while I eat.
August 10th was all about Disneyland! I haven't been to Disney since- Jesus. Maybe since I was in middle school? It was time to come back and redo childhood with the magnificent rides and legendary characters that were within the amusement park.
We spent a majority of the time waiting in line under the sun, but it was well worth the wait. We rode almost every ride there! Even the small ones like Alice in Wonderland and Snow White.
If you're ever bored from waiting in line for a ride, play I-spy. Or use that one app where you have to try and guess what the subject is on your phone while you place it on your forehead (sorry I don't know the name of it and I'm too lazy to look it up). Other people waiting in line will join in on the game and it becomes super fun.
I got the honor of meeting princess Aurora, the evil queen, and the fairy godmother (although I may have magically deleted the photo of the fairy godmother and me by mistake 😱).
What even-
Y'all remember my obsession with Tarzan. Of course we had to visit his treehouse!
The greatest part of the evening was Disney's "paint the night" parade. It's Disney's 60th year anniversary, so what better way to celebrate it with the crowd than a starlight parade?
Sadly, there were no fireworks that night due to heavy winds, but Disney put on a show anyways and lit up the castle with different lights and animations of past films on the walls.
August 11th was pretty much open for all possibilities. We decided to check out Rodeo Drive that morning, where all the high fashion shops are located at. We only went into Dolce&Gabbanna though. Fancy that!
We found the dang Hollywood sign on the way out to get gas and unfortunately I couldn't get a good snap of it, so here's a road sign of Hollywood instead.
Later that day, Elizabeth and I split off in different directions. She headed over to meet up with her family who live down in Long Beach and I went off with a friend who just so happened to live down there too!
He took me over to Hungington Beach and showed me around. We went into a few gift shops and we talked a lot about surfing. Let's see. What do I remember?
The small surfboards make it difficult to stand up on. Beginners usually need a bigger board because it's smoother and easier to keep your balance.Wet suits dry quickly. If it's too crowded at the beach but you still want to practice your skills, use a foam board to prevent accidents with other people. The little fins on the end of the boards keep your surfboard steady on the water. How did I not know that?
Unfortunately, my friend couldn't get me to go surfing with him, but he did talk me in to swimming in the beach. I mean, sure. Why the hell not, y'know? It was super fun. He taught me how to swim with the waves, well, sort of. It was really more of him swimming with the waves while I watched and tried to blink the burning salt water out of my poor eyes.
Afterwards, we sprawled on our towels under the hot sun. It was great to finally get that summer tan that I've been craving for all year. ☀️
We met back up with Elizabeth after a few hours and I thanked him for everything. It was incredibly nice of him to take time out of his day to meet up with me and give me a tour of the place. He really is the sweetest.
Elizabeth and I had dinner at some random Greek restaraunt we found at Belmont Shore, then we stopped at a candy store to get some sweets for the road back up to San Francisco.
August 12/13. Wouldn't you believe it, Elizabeth's uncles also own a condo up on the hills of San Francisco. And god damn, what a place they have. I was so obsessed with their floral walkways and breathtaking views.
We went to the Castro. It was beautiful and decorated with rainbow colored flags crosswalks. Elizabeth took me to the Japanese tea garden and we had a small photoshoot there. That bridge was insane.
We went shopping downtown and explored the neighborhoods of small doll-like houses that were all connected together on steep roads. I fell in love with the different Vespas and florist shops that lingered around the streets.
I can't get over the two pigeons who settled in the drinking fountain. Unsanitary, but cute.
The next morning, we headed out from San Francisco and onto the wide open roads back to Oregon. I'm really going to miss California. It was here that we found, at last, the gratification of a lifetime urge and release from the obsession of a summer exploration. This trip was filled with laughs, love, risks, and endless frustration at Siri for navigating us the wrong way on multiple occasions.
Overall, it was a roadtrip that I'll always remember.
