Ce Weekend

So Carlsbad was Wednesday, then Thursday I worked.

Friday I drove to the beloved hippie town, Topanga Canyon.  Luckily for me, Friday is their Farmer's Market, so I got to walk around people's tents, talk to them about their organic crops, sample some delicious produce, and purchase a few things.



Like these hand made earrings from Brazil.

My favorite thing about this area is the handful of vintage shops and thrift stores.

 It's like finding old treasure..

This character was a bare footed hippie talking to his friends about his recent exotic bird purchase. He held her on his arm, stroking her feathers, and told everyone how she was better to him than any woman. 

In the evening Ashley and I went to Santa Monica with some new travelers for dinner and drinks.  We had a blast and ate at this rooftop patio overlooking 3rd St Promenade.

 Afterwards, we went back to Woodland Hills to a dive bar where a cover band was playing. We had a great time dancing and talking to people. Once the bar closed we went back to our apt complex and hung out some more.

Saturday, Ashley and I went to Upper Los Virgines Open Space to further explore the cave I discovered a while ago.

It was a gorgeous day, over 70 degrees. 

We climbed all the way  through the cave up to the top. And then higher.

It was hard to leave, it was such a beautiful day.

In the evening we made dinner and watched a movie at our apt.

Sunday we woke up early and headed to Santa Monica for dodgeball and bootcamp.

Sand gets in the shoes, it hurts in bare feet, so knee length socks it is..

 These are two of our friends from fit club - Laura and Heather.

We got back to our apt in the afternoon, and I went straight to the pool to spend the rest of the day in the sun.

People here baffle me with what they consider cold weather.  As I'm laying by the pool, after just having taken a dive in the water, a couple walked by me in pea coats, jeans, and boots.  You would've thought that their outfits reflected the January weather I grew up in, not the 75 degrees and sunny California has in the winter..

Just in time for sunset, we drove to Gladstone's for dinner and a view with a co-worker from Pittsburgh, Amy, who was in town for a half marathon.

I love it here.  Sure I miss my family, but this has been so amazing.

Fridee, Saturdee, and Mondee

Friday night we went out for a bar crawl in Hollywood with some co-workers. We had a blast.

Saturday I went for a hike in the morning at Upper Las Virgines Open Space. I've been there thrice before, but this time I went a different route.

There was a huge cave that some boy scouts were climbing in and out of and collecting trash. I didn't get a chance to look in, but hopefully Ashley and I can go back and do some exploring ourselves. 

This was a little cave I came across.

Looking in.

Looking up.

Looking out.

The day was unusually cloudy with little wind.  

It's gross, but if you look really close you can see the thick smog laying over the valley.  I stood on this hillside, so beautiful and quiet, thinking, "I have to go back into that??"

In the evening, I ran some errands and then saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D.. Yes, I am a 23 year old single girl living in LA, and that was my Saturday night :)

Sunday we worked.. I floated to 2 different units.

It was another cloudy day, so that makes it easier mentally to be inside all day.  You don't feel like you're missing too much.  However, I floated to 2 different units that day, and it just gets old. 

Then I saw this quote, it's cheesy, I know, but I really like it.  Made the rest of the day a little better.

Monday we both had off, so we headed to Venice Beach.

Have you ever been to Venice Beach?? That place is crazy! There are homeless people everywhere. Drugs offered in about every 3rd store. Trash everywhere.  And yet the feeling is fun and bright and like it's totally okay.. Very bizarre..

We rented beach cruises initially and rode up and down the boardwalk and the pier.

 

This is a video I accidentally took - warning, you proably shouldn't watch it if you get motion sickness :)

We had a great lunch then got hand made rings from one of the vendors as souvenirs. 

Once we had gotten our fill of Venice we headed up the coast a little to Santa Monica.  We walked around, then watched the sunset from the pier.

There are always people performing on the pier.  Yesterday was a young woman who sang songs such as, "My Heart Will Go On", from Titanic, "I Can Show You the World" from Aladdin, "On My Own" from Les Miserables, "Tale as Old as Time" from Beauty and the Beast, and etc.  At one point, a police car backed up on the pier, creating dissonance between her voice and the back up alarm on the vehicle.  Then the policemen stole the attention from the audience as people walked away from the performer to get pictures and meet the policemen.  It was kind of funny..

Today we are heading to Palm Springs for more adventure, exploration, and awkward moments...

dayz off 2 and 3

Tuesday, Ashley and I woke up early to see the sunrise and play beach dodge ball and workout (with the same people from Monday night).

It was a beautiful, pink, slightly chilly morning.

In the afternoon we were the audience for a taping of Chelsea Lately - a late night talk show hosted by Chelsea Handler.  Ashley had gotten the tickets, so I joined her.  I don't know much about Chelsea, but it was interesting to see them film the show and there were funny parts.

Then we drove right back to the coast for dinner.

The waves have been really high lately, so we got to watch a lot of surfers.. and dolphins!

Today was my day off.  So I went to Mt High. 

They lost most of their snow due to warm weather.  Today was a sunny 60 degrees. 

Some members of my family were skiing in Vermont this week.  Boy do I miss skiing with all of you.  Skiing is always fun, but it's not as enjoyable when you are solo. I hope next year's adventures find me somewhere closer to all of you and some of that East Coast snow..

dayz off 1

Monday Ashley and I had plans to finally venture downtown and see the city.  However, as soon as we went outside, the sunshine convinced us otherwise, and to the beach we went.

We went to Point Dume in Malibu. It was beautiful outside.

There was tons of hiking, climbing, and walking in the water. 

And planking on the top of point dume.

Once we had our fill we drove down the PCH toward Santa Monica.  We were going to meet up with some people that Ashley had met for dodge ball and "agility drills".  We were ahead of schedule, so we stopped on the beach for the sunset.

We found this guy sitting on a wall. No one seemed to own him or see where he came from. But he was pretty and friendly!

Then we played dodge ball and worked out till we could've fallen over.