I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a little rockier than this...

West coast :) Travel day was slightly a nightmare as I spent several hours flying and was already up for 10 hours before beginning my full day in LA...on Rodeo Dr. As if it wasn't intimidating enough being there let alone amongst all high end fashionistas while I was in the clothes I had traveled in the previous several hours. Regardless, it was a blast walking through beverly hills. We had lunch at a beautiful little restaurant called villa blanca, its actually the same restaurant that the stars from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills threw a fundraising banquet.

Rodeo Dr. 

Famous Villa Blanca Restaurant in Beverly Hills

It was fun to people-watch and see the crazy outfits that some of these financially well-endowed socialites wore. A private party even walked in during lunch and all of the women were wearing super fancy club dresses and 5 inch high heels...if they wore this to lunch on a thursday afternoon, what in the world do they wear when they spend a night out on the town??? Gah so much money everywhereee haha, there were clothes and accessories that were thousands of dollars! It was definitely a new experience but it was so much fun to spend it with Aunt Michele and Lauren who I had not seen in years.

The next day we were planning on visiting my other cousin Ryan, who is currently in school up in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, he had exams lasting a better portion of the day, so we decided to hit up Santa Monica instead. The water and views were beautiful and it was a gorgeous day to spend meandering along the pier and in the shops close to the water.

Santa Monica beach view from the pier

Lauren and I with the Santa Monica pier in the background

It was great to see the contrast of Californians from the Rodeo Dr. regulars from the day before to the casual beach goers and surfers of Santa Monica. I was bummed that we weren't able to see Ryan but we enjoyed the day nonetheless. 

The view from my window in LA-so grateful I got to wake up to this every morning!

Today was amazing, we spent the morning hiking some trails close to my aunt and uncle's house in Newbury Park. Their family friend, Alex, and his dog, Clyde, joined us. While we were hoping to see the waterfall at the end of the trail, it was quite dry and we instead trekked to the trickling stream that we were instead rewarded with. The views were just incredible and it was so strange to think that the path was literally five minutes down the road from where they lived/suburbia.

Clyde and I in front of the "waterfall"

The "waterfall"

...Can you tell I'm loving the panoramic feature on my camera...?? Speaking of cameras, I'm slowly but surely beginning to adjust to documenting my life. Obviously I'm an amateur, but I was able to get a few pointers from an incredible photographer from LA. He's a family friend of my relatives and I met him while his wife was taking us on a personal tour of The Getty Art Museum (The Getty) in Malibu this afternoon. We explored the contemporary art exhibit called the "Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA" that had several works of art from ranging from 1945-1980. 

The Getty

Overlooking LA from the Getty

Myself, Lauren, Alex (family friend), Anthony (family friend of relatives), and John Lewis (family friend/ professional photographer)

View of part of LA from the Getty balcony at sunset

Above are some of the sunset shots he was helping me take...we worked on really trying to capture the vibrant colors. The top picture I posted of the Getty is very similar (though not nearly as artsy!) to the well-known photo Mr. Lewis took several years ago that is quite famous at the Getty and is still a very popular photo sold at the gift shop. Check it out on his website here: Panoramic view of the Getty. It's actually framed and signed in my relatives house as well!

All in all, it was a wonderful visit to LA. I'm so grateful that my family was available and more than willing to not only let me crash here but also take me out to see all this cool stuff. Tomorrow will just be packing up and superbowl-watching before I head to LAX. Next post, I'll be in fiji!!