Saying bye to Sac for the weekend!
A really good friend of mine called me about a week ago and asked me if I wanted to go on a road trip with her down to the LA area...of course I said YES! I haven't gone on a long road trip for a couple of years, and my gf and I hadn't gone on a road trip together for quite some time too, so it was definitely an easy YES! Although LA is only about a 6 hour drive away from Sacramento I hadn't been down to LA in almost 10 years, so I was totally stoked! I was even more excited because our little trip would be the perfect opportunity for me to go abandon some art!! If you're not sure what I'm talkin' about I wrote about Art Abandonment here!
 |
| Cutest little town! |
We headed out early Saturday morning and got to Venice Beach, CA around noon or so. I had never been to Venice Beach prior, but I instantly fell in love with this beach town!
 | |||
| |Canals of Venice, CA| The houses were so cute + everyone had their own little boats to float along the canal in |
As we did get there in the middle of the day, it was packed! There was so much to see + do it was honestly a little overwhelming, but a good time nonetheless!
 |
| |Venice Beach| View from the Pier |
 |
| Surfers + Paddle boarders galore! |
There was a huge art scene which instantly made me fall in love with Venice Beach even more!
 |
| Street art seems to be engrained in the Venice Beach culture |
 |
| Art on the beach |
 |
| Artists in action! |
 |
| I LOVED how even the trees have become a canvas! |
 |
| Enjoying their craft! |
 |
| Pretty spot on remake of the classic Starry Night |
 |
Ridin' along
Doin' their thang!
There was a street fair going on that day with tons of vendors selling pieces of art, and other mostly homemade items.
 |
| The street fair was one of my favorite things we experienced while at Venice Beach |
The beach was packed full of people soaking up the sun, playing volleyball, there was even a skate park right on the beach that was packed full of people of all ages showing off their skills.
Beach life
Of course we also saw the infamous Venice Beach Gym, which can be found right on the beach, quite the sight. It really was an experience riding our bikes along the beach as we really did get to see much more than what we might've seen if we had to walk the entire time. After Venice Beach we headed to the hotel to get ready for our next venture, dinner!
The hotel we stayed at was the biggest hotel I've ever stayed in (other than in Reno but those were casinos too). We had a good ol' time exploring the hotel for a little while during which I did abandoned my very first few pieces!
 |
| One of many patios of the hotel |
The hotel we stayed at was the biggest hotel I've ever stayed in (other than in Reno but those were casinos too). We had a good ol' time exploring the hotel for a little while during which I did abandoned my very first few pieces!
 |
| Someone was in for a surprise at the hotel we stayed in. A couple of shots of where I abandoned a few pieces in the hotel. |
 |
| Spring Fever- Acrylic piece, one of the ones I abandoned at the hotel. (See above) |
 |
| Purple Haze- Acrylic piece, another one I abandoned at the hotel. (See above) |
After getting all dolled up we headed to a Thai restaurant for din din. I'd only eaten Thai food once before, and I loved it! We started out with a couple of cocktails + Spring Rolls, followed by Chicken Curry, Pad Thai, and Garlic Shrimp, for dessert we had Coconut Ice cream. Every single dish was delicious and the restaurant was too cute!
 |
| Dinner is served! |
By the time we had our fill, we were both pretty beat as it had been a long day! So to bed we went, although I can't say that either of us got much sleep. I experienced a lot of firsts that day, and the night was no different. The couple next door must have been on their Honeymoon or something if you know what I'm sayin'. First time I've ever heard strangers goin' at. But as Forrest would say "That's all I have to say about that." LOL. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep that night, between all the noises coming from next door + the sound of our television blasting. Fun times!
 |
| |Manhattan Beach, CA| |
The first thing on our agenda that Sunday morning was to grab some coffee and head to Manhattan Beach which wasn't too far from the hotel. This was another first time visit for me to this particular beach. It was really nice, definitely not as packed as Manhattan, lots of families and such.
 |
| Enjoying the beauty that is Manhattan Beach |
My gf and I ended up doing some painting while we soaked up some rays with an ocean view right in front of us, talk about Heaven.
 |
| My ideal day! |
After getting a little burnt we thought we better head out, as we were running out of time. Before we headed out I abandoned another piece of my art in the women's bathroom at the beach!
 |
| My art abandoned! |
 |
| View of Stinson Beach- Watercolor <Abandoned> |
 |
| |Beverly Hills, CA| |
After our fun at the beach we headed to
Beverly Hills to go grab some empanadas from Nonna's Empanadas, my
friend goes there every time she's in LA, and after trying them I
understand why! Sure I've had an empanada before from Taco Bell (if that counts), but Nonna's Empanadas were no comparison! There were a variety of different empanadas to choose from, from sweet to savory (I had personally never tried a savory type empanada but it was delicious! As were the sweet ones!).
 |
| Nonna's Empanadas! These were so delicious! Think I'm going to have to try to make some of my own! |
We got about a dozen empanadas: 5 Cheese, Tomato, Beef, Ham, Carne Asada, Macaroni + Cheese, Apple, Guava, and Cheesecake. There were a ton of other different flavors though, and if you get the chance I highly suggest you go check this place out! We enjoyed a couple of our empanadas, and hit the road again this time heading to Hollywood.
Rodeo Drive
I had been to Hollywood before, but like I said it had been sometime ago so it was cool to drive around and see all the sights we could with the time we had. We drove down Rodeo Drive and saw all the fancy stores, then we went exploring a little bit through some neighborhoods to go check out the enormous houses!
 |
| Ballin' in Beverly Hills, CA |
By this time we almost had to hit the road back to Sac, but decided to make one more stop, Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles. Roscoe's is a very popular restaurant in LA, and as we were limited on time we ordered our chicken and waffles to go and hit the road back home.
The trip home went by even quicker than the trip to LA did which was nice. I ended up abandoning one more piece in Santa Nella before we got back.
 |
| Italian Sunset- Watercolor <Abandoned> |
We were both exhausted by the end of the trip and ready to get home to our own beds. Definitely was a fun filled weekend and I'm so grateful that my friend and I got to get out of town and just go relax and de-stress, which we both definitely needed.
Until next time friends...Cheers!
P.S. Summer is coming up + I want to know...
Do you have any road trips planned? Where ya goin'?
No road trips planned? What's your dream road trip look like?
Comment below! <3
P.S. Summer is coming up + I want to know...
Do you have any road trips planned? Where ya goin'?
No road trips planned? What's your dream road trip look like?
Comment below! <3
