Happy Monday! Before too much time passes, I wanted to write the second post in my “mini-moon” California trip series. My first post was about my trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. As someone who has never been to any of the Disney parks, I had a blast. Before visiting Disney, my husband and I took some time to explore LA and the surrounding areas.

When my husband and I landed in LA, I made a comment about how I didn’t realize LA was surrounded by mountains. That sounds like such a silly thing to say, but I genuinely was surprised. Once we checked into our hotel, the first place my husband and I visited was In-N-Out, located near Hollywood Boulevard. I have never been to In-N-Out, so I never understood all the hype. In-N-Out was delicious! I never knew banana peppers could appear on a burger. I’m a big fan. I would say that I think the fries were okay; it was the burger that solidified In-N-Out’s status for me.

As we finished lunch, we took some time to wander Hollywood Boulevard. Wandering through Hollywood Boulevard was okay. Seeing the Hollywood stars was fine, but a lot of the stars were dirty, so they were hard to read. One highlight of Hollywood Boulevard was the Funko Pop store. My husband and I had a lot of fun roaming the store and taking pictures with the life-size figures.

One place that my husband wanted to go see was the Griffith Observatory. It’s an observatory high above downtown LA and it’s a great place to take photos. The view was well worth the drive and the Uber cost to get there. Me and my husband took many photos and selfies with the Hollywood sign in the background.

Besides downtown LA, my husband and I took a trip to Santa Monica. Santa Monica was one of my favorite places to visit while staying in LA. Santa Monica Pier is right along the Pacific Ocean, and there’s so much to see. My husband and I walked along the pier, including taking a pit stop to drink some fruity cocktails. We ended up taking a long walk along the beach, and I felt we could truly experience the California culture. There were skate parks everywhere, surfers carrying their surfboards, and street performers selling art or dancing to music. We took some time to watch the skateboarders and saw a kid who couldn’t have been older than six years old skating around. Santa Monica is a place I would love to come back to.

I’m glad I was able to visit LA and the surrounding cities. I will say, I enjoyed the surrounding cities more than LA itself. I think part of that is because we visited more tourist spots in LA versus trying to find areas that were where more locals would hang out or recommend. If I were ever to go back, I’d like to stay in Santa Monica or not right in the heart of LA. My next post will be summarizing San Francisco, and it will be the final post in my California “mini-moon” post series.