California 02

July 4, 2014
After Scott picked me up from LAX, we checked out the Santa Monica pier briefly before heading north. A quick 3 hr snooze was enough to power me up for the drive to Big Sur. Unfortunately, the drive was surrounded by white-- too many clouds and fog to actually see the beautiful Pacific Ocean coast that shyly hid on the other side of the road.

A small sign on the side of the road rewarded us with ginormous elephant seals barking and wiggling their blobs of fat in the sand.

We later took a small hike--getting lost in the woods on the side of the road and practicing our limited rock climbing skills. The second hike, about one hour further north, had a contrasting environment compared to the preceding hours of brown terrain.

We landed in San Francisco at 6pm. With an hour to spare before meeting up with an old friend, we ran up the hill to Chinatown-- bought some Chinese snacks and fresh fortune cookies-- Little Italy and Pier 39. What great energy (and strong, cold winds)!!

Pier 39-- San Francisco

We finally got to meet up with Sean briefly! :)

July 6, 2014
Scott and I got to see many of the key parts of town-- the famous Hollywood sign, Koreatown, Malibou, the Getty Villa, Santa Monica Pier, and LA traffic.
Since Scott had to leave early Sunday morning! I spent the day by myself. The hostel offered cheap bike rentals, so I rented a beach cruiser, packed my snacks into the basket and headed north along the coastal path. The path flows with all kinds of bikes and all varieties of ages. I stopped right before the Santa Monica pier with the great surprise of exciting entertainment-- slack liners, hammocks, and gymnastics things.

Dear Ft Lauderdale Beach Police, Why do you ban slack lining? It seems to add to the culture and the economy quite well in Santa Monica!

30 miles and a California sunburn later (no tacos in my belly, sadly)... I'm ready for this Red Eye, cross country flight.

Food idea-- flat bread with hummus, spouts, and kimchi