Throwback: California Trip

In June I had the awesome opportunity to go to California for one week. This was with my family and we went to L.A., Disneyland, and further south to Oceanside(but we also drove to San Diego). Now California is an interesting destination, here's the breakdown:

This is Hollywood--the Walk of Fame is down below. It's quite a busy street, but it isn't very long. It's surrounded by restaurants and shops, and obviously all the "stars" down below. Not nearly as amazing as the movies make it(especially if you've been to Las Vegas).

Here's that famous Hollywood sign, way up on the mountains.

This is Venice Beach, one of the nicest beaches in L.A. The photo was taken up on the Santa Monica pier. This is one of the only spots that impressed me in L.A.( along as a drive up to Beverly Hills and it's houses--they are MEGA).

 These are all from DISNEYLAND--the Happiest Place on Earth. I may just do a whole separate post about my one day there because it was absolutely fabulous. I only went with my younger brother, who didn't quite enjoy it as much as I did, but nobody was raining on my parade that day. It's the 2nd time I've been to Disneyland(the 1st being when I was 8 in Paris) but nonetheless I had a fantastic time. The rides are not really thriller rides but mostly just fun and for the theme. We stayed all day and accomplished basically everything we wanted--it was awesome.

Now we head on down South. These photos were taken at Camp Pendleton--a military base camp near Oceanside. The view over the water was stunning, but it was VERY windy out. We saw about six of those tanks with soldiers filled in them, they stopped and were waving at us(many of us), it was great.

This is at La Jolla Cove-- which includes an Underwater Park, meaning marine life is everywhere. In fact, that day there were tons of seal lions as well as a few dolphins. The weather wasn't so great but it really was a nice place.

This is San Diego. We stopped here for a couple of hours--there wasn't much else to do as we weren't staying there but the weather was gorgeous and it really looks like a pleasant place, especially for residents.

 Now this, my friends, is Solana Beach--the most strikingly gorgeous beach I have ever been to(and I've been to many). It is massive and so grand. It is not so much a swimming beach(though children can go in the shallow) as it is for surfing(as are all the beaches in California) but the view is stunning and peaceful.

Along the beach we have cliff-side houses. They are all HUGE. And they just line the beach--now that is luxury.

And this is where I got to spend my 17th birthday--a beach in Oceanside. The weather got much better as the day progressed and the beach was so nice--once again more for surfing than swimming. The only problem with that day is my whole family got a MASSIVE sunburn(and we're from the Mediterranean--we don't typically burn). It was really bad and painful..not too sure what happened that day, but nevertheless, it was a nice view.

 This over here is the very famous Laguna Beach. And yes that is the weather that was offered--not all of California is as sunny as it seems in movies(it was actually cloudy most of the time). The beach is super crowded, as you can tell it's a touristic destination. Once again there were rough waves but many people were "swimming"(more avoiding to be trampled by waves). The town is pretty pleasant..this was one of the many "rich and posh" beach cities along the coast of Southern California.

And finally, the trip comes to an end with a absolutely beautiful sunset at Redondo Beach(a popular filming location near L.A.)

This overall trip was quite nice looking back on it. Southern California is definitely a place to visit, the beach cities are spectacular and the people are quite nice. However, L.A. turned out to be a big disappointment. If you ever go there, do NOT expect it to be like the movies(also beware of the crazy driving). California trip, you will be missed, it was definitely a worth wile experience.