This was the first vacation/baecation of 2018. What better way to bring in birthday twenty eight than in the city of angels. It also gave me the idea to start detailing the logistical sides of my travels. Traveling is more affordable than most people think if you simply plan ahead. So before I get into the details, here are some of the receipts.
Airbnb: $550 for 5 nights in downtown LA
Rental Car: Enterprise $300 (we rented a 2018 Challenger)
Roundtrip Flights: $538 from ATL to LAX with no layovers (it was much cheaper to drive to ATL than pay for airport parking)
Parking: varied
Food: varied
Now that the receipts are out of the way, here’s the good stuff.
Day 1
We hopped off the plane at LAX…..picked up the rental and checked into the Airbnb. Our studio was just enough for the two of us with our basic necessities, bed, shower and location. It was ten minutes from downtown and roughly thirty minutes from everything else. We also received a complimentary bottle of wine to celebrate my birthday.
Night 1
Dinner at Perch
This was my surprise and man was I impressed. Chris already had our reservations made. I’m always giddy to get dolled up but honestly I’m more excited to see Chris in a suit. Fashion Nova got me squared away.
Everything about Perch was breathtaking. This was my very first dinner on a rooftop. Everyone from the hostesses to our waiter chimed in on the birthday love.
Day 2
We had breakfast at a “hidden gem” (per Yelp reviews) spot only after getting lost. GPS doesn’t do well for locations on the rooftops of other buildings.
Now why we decided to was the streets of La Cienega and Melrose after eating a large breakfast, I’ll never know, but we did. We walked for about three hours. We ran into a wonderful gentleman named Richard that gave us a few pointers on places to go. It turned out that he has family that roots here in Shelby NC. If that wasn’t random enough, we also ran into a group of fellas that live in Raleigh. It never fails. There is someone connected to North Carolina every damn where.
The vibes of the sales folks on the strip were so chill. The scent of Mary Jane was all in the air. I think my feet fell off in one of the consignment shops. Speaking of consignment shops, the designer ones left me feeling some type of way. I’m not a designer person so Chris had to explain the significance of a $140 Ferragamo belt and a $300 pair of Louboutin sneakers.
After we found our way (and our feet) back to the car, we drove down Rodeo drive and past all the mansions in Beverly Hills. TV also does these places NO justice.
Night 2
All that walking wore us out so we ended up going back to the room and crashing. No dinner. No nada. It also had a lot to do with us still functioning on East Coast time.
Day 3
We linked up with Mama Tess in Santa Monica.
I felt like one of the kids! She treated us to breakfast at Café Crepes. We went to the farmers market, shops, juice bar and her favorite consignment store. She pointed us in the direction of the Santa Monica Pier and resumed with her weekend.
We hit the beach and rode bikes on the pier for four miles. That bike and my tailbone were not a good combo.
We also hit the fair and experienced our first time on a ferris wheel…….
and had the best burger ever at Pier Burger…..
and then we crashed. Tha beach wore us the hell out.
Night 3
Sleep.
Day 4
Runyon Canyon Park.
Unfortunately we didn’t stretch or train to make this hike. Guess who found out Chris is actually afraid of heights? Guess who isn’t afraid of heights but got jello legs all of a sudden? Any misstep and whoops, there goes your body tumbling down the side of the mountain. The trails were packed with hiker, runners and dogs. I was just happy to get back on solid ground where I wasn’t risking death with every step.
The second part of the day consisted of meeting up with Richard. He invited us into his home, met his lovely wife and then he treated us to the best soul food join in Inglewood- Dulans Soul Food Kitchen. Y’all that plate was ridiculous and by far the best soul food I’ve ever had in my entire life.
He also gave us a tour of landmarks like Magic Johnson’s strip, the spot where Biggie got killed, the studio where The Price is Right is filmed, Paramount Studios and most importantly we got the chance to see the Hollywood stars! One day I’ll have my name on one. I’m claiming it.
Night 4
Sleep.
Day 5
We kicked it in the room for the bulk of the day until we rode out to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles then spent the rest of the evening Netflix and chillin. It’s safe to say that the West Coast wore us out. We visited everything that we could think of.
The next morning we were up and at em to drop off the rental and hit the airport
*breathes sigh of relief
I did my best to enjoy LA and write at the same time. These words barely scratch the surface on how beautiful and rich in culture that the city is. Go experience it for yourself.
See the list below of some of the business we visited.
Perch
448 S Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Bistro on the Boulevard
3424 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90010
Wasteland
7428 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles CA 90046
The Marathon Clothing
3420 W Slauson Ave Unit F
Los Angeles CA 90043
Café Crepe
1460 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Santa Monica Pier/Pier Burger
200 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica CA 90401
Runyon Canyon Park
200 N Fuller Ave
Los Angeles CA 90046
Dulans Soul Food Kitchen
202 E Manchester Blvd
Inglewood CA 90301
Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles
1514 N Gower St
Los Angeles CA 90028
Pretty Dope Right? 