For some people's sweet sixteens they have a big party, others have a dinner with family and friends, others do nothing at all. For my sixteenth, my parents surprised me with a trip to California. 5 days, just my mom and I and all that California has to offer. We left early in the morning on April 13, and hopped on our 5 hour plane ride to LAX. The flight was full of lots of "We're really going" and "I'm so excited"s. Once we landed in the City of Angels, we went to the car rental dealership, where I got to choose our ride for the week, out of many different coloured convertibles. In the end, I decided on the shiny red Camero, because I mean, how can you not have a bright red convertible in California? We then set off on our adventure, exploring the luxurious Rodeo Drive (I'd be happy if I could ever afford 1 shirt from any store there) and the Grove (an outdoor shopping area closer to my budget). After reliving my childhood in the American girl store and eating sugar for the first time in 1.5 months (more to come on my experience with that) in the form of a caramel apple, we headed to our accommodations. We rented the place off Airbnb, and it was a cute little LA townhouse. We cleaned ourselves up and got ready to go out for dinner, and that's when the biggest surprise of all was revealed. My best friend (who unfortunately lives 4, 168km away from me) flew to California with her mom to surprise me for my birthday, and were spending the next 3 days with us. The next day (aka my actual sweet sixteenth -- April 14) we woke up early to get started on all we had planned for the day. First, we hopped in our convertible and drove to the Warner Brothers studio for a studio tour. This tour included a look at some of the houses and sets from shows such as Big Bang, Friends, Pretty Little Liars, Gilmore Girls and many others, as well as a fascinating history of the studios and Warner Bros franchise. This tour was all around one of the coolest things of my entire life, but I have to say that my favourite part of it was getting to sit on the Gilmore Girls gazebo, where the end of the final 4 episodes took place. As a diehard Gilmore Girls fan (Team Logan until I die), this, along with seeing Lorelei's house and Luke's diner, was a surreal and incredible experience for me. After the tour, we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and walked along the sidewalks, filled with stars honouring some people I've never heard of and some of my biggest idols. Next, we got back in the car and drove along Mulholland Dr. This was one of the most beautiful and amusing car rides of my life, only improved by the fact that my hair was blowing in the wind and the sun was beating down on me. Although we didn't get a perfect view of the Hollywood sign, looking down over all of LA was just as gratifying. Next up was my birthday dinner. We went to Terroni's, which I had been to before, but only the one in Toronto, which I have to say is much different than the one in LA. To top off my delish pizza, I was brought donuts and ice cream in lieu of a birthday cake. We then went back to our house to relax and catch up with what my friend and I had missed since we last saw each other. The next morning, we all woke up excited for the day, but not really knowing what to expect. We headed to the ferry terminal to board a ferry headed to Catalina island. The ferry made 1 stop on the other side of the island before it reached our final destination, and although I definitely got quite sea sick, the beautiful views of the island made up for it. If you didn't know you were in California, at first glance you might think you were on a little European island, with colourful buildings all built into the hills and endless boats sitting on the glistening water. When we disembarked, we wandered around the beach and shops, until we decided what we wanted to do next. We rented a golf cart and started our adventure on the trails through the island's hills. The path we took was filled with twists and turns, ocean lookouts, and scenic observatories. We visited one conservatory and lookout that was one of the most peaceful and magnificent locations on the island. It was a large expanse of lang covered in many different types of plants and wildlife such as cacti, wildflowers, and ancient trees. At the peak of this conservatory was a beautiful structure complete with brilliant tiling and a view from the top that overlooked the entire island and to the ocean. This conservatory left us all feeling peaceful and just utterly and completely content. When we got back to the beach we spent the evening walking along the waterline watching the sunset and admiring the culture of the island. We then took a ferry back to the mainland and returned to our place. April 16 - the last day that my friend and her mom were staying with us and also a perfectly sunny day. We headed to the coast to spend our day on the beaches - Venice and Santa Monica beach. We rented bicycles and spent the day cruising along waterside with the warm air blowing our hair. We biked from Venice beach through Santa Monica beach to Santa Monica pier, where my friend and her mom went on the Santa Monica ferris wheel while my mom and I enjoyed the views from the pier. We then walked towards the town, away from the water, to see what this area of California is like and grab some lunch. We went to The Butcher's Daughter for lunch, the cutest little vegetarian restaurant and finished off our amazing meal with some delicious donuts from Blue Star Donuts. It then came the time that I had to say bye to my best friend for a few months, which was extremely sad but it started my excitement to see her next. Then my mom and I put the roof down on our convertible and started our drive down the coast to San Diego just as the sun was setting. When we got to San Diego we went to my cousin's house where we were staying that night and caught up with him as we hadn't seen him in over 3 years. When we woke up the next morning my mom and I headed out for a day of beaches and unexpected adventures. We started at La Jolla beach and spent some time exploring around there before adventuring into the nearby beach town. When we were in one of the surf shops there, we were talking to a local who told us about his favourite beach in the area that was very different than the other ones in San Diego, called Windansea beach, so we headed there. This was by far my favourite beach of the entire trip, and probably one of my favourite parts of the trip in general. This beach had huge boulders and crevices and the water was active with talented surfers, but without being busy. This beach reminded me of one of my favourite places in the world -- Tofino, British Columbia. We explored this beach, seeing incredible waves, fascinating rocks, and friendly surfers. This beach also had a straw hut that tied together the entire vibe of the beach. Eventually we had to leave to keep going on our trip back up to LA. Next, we stopped at Laguna and Thousand Steps beach. Before the trip, I had read about a secluded natural spring that you can only get to by a certain route on Thousand Steps beach. We walked down the what seemed like 1000 stairs and reached the beach where we headed for a cave that opened on the other side to a high wall of rocks that we climbed up. From the top, we could see the little pool, but a lifeguard walking along the beach had warned us that the waves were too big right now and it wasn't safe to go down to it, so we remained at the top watching the water, and were able to spot some dolphins swimming by. We then went back and climbed back up all those stairs and briefly look at Laguna Beach before returning to our drive to LA. Once we got back to LA, we sadly had to return our convertible to the rental company, and then went to our hotel where we both crashed as the exhaustion from the entire trip caught up with us. The next day we woke up and headed to LAX to fly back home, and after a 5 hour delay, we finally made it home by 2:00am Toronto time.
Although I didn't really know what to expect before this trip, it exceeded anything I ever could've imagined. It truly was one of the best trips of my entire life and although I thoroughly enjoyed LA, I don't feel like I necessarily have to go back which I think is because it's fairly similar to Toronto. However, I would go back to San Diego in a heartbeat so I could keep exploring the beaches and beach towns of San Diego. Overall, this trip was amazing and I highly recommend that anyone visiting LA or San Diego soon visit these places!!
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12/31/2016 0 Comments My favourite place in the worldFor anyone who know's me, they know that I've spent all of my favourite summers in Muskoka. Cottaging in a quiet bay on Lake Muskoka, going to the marina for ice cream, or hiking the mountain, or going cliff jumping pretty much sums up the best memories that I have from my entire life. Muskoka is the one place that I feel completely whole and happy. Maybe it's because I'm drawn into a peaceful sleep by the quiet lapping of the water against the shore, maybe it's because I've grown up there and it's the only place that really feels like home, or maybe it's because my best friend, who otherwise lives 2, 600 miles away, is just a quick boat ride away, and I know she's always down to go on an adventure with me. Although I may be a little biased towards Muskoka, it is honestly one of the best and happiest places in the entire world (in my opinion), and its' slogan stands true "Once Discovered, Never Forgotten". If you're not quite convinced of Muskoka's brilliance yet, keep reading for stories, places, and experiences that'll make you drop what you're doing and go to Muskoka right now. First off, "the mountain". A small and rocky mountain, known to Walker's Point locals as simply "the mountain" is the best place for a picnic, a family hike, or my personal favourite, watching the sunrise. It's tucked away in the forest, just enough so that it's not busy, and often if you go you'll have the place to yourself. Climbing up the mountain with my best friend and her cousin to watch the sunrise and dance our hearts out was one of the highlights of my summer. Next, Frankie's and Grand Electric. Now, I've been to Grand Electric both in Toronto and in Muskoka, and I have to say that the one in Muskoka is 10x as amazing as the one in Toronto. It very possibly might be the fact that as you eat dinner you're staring into the open water, or that there are fairy lighs strung throughout the patio, or that having drinks at Frankie's before tops of the experience, but all of these factors combined make the food seem to taste way better in Muskoka than in Toronto. Also, the vibe at Frankie's makes everything seem better, and I would try to explain it, but I really don't think I would do it justice, so I'm going to leave it to the pictures. Finally, just being by the lake in general. This is one of my favourite parts of Muskoka. Lying on the dock, reading a fluffy summer romance book, feeling my skin absorbing the sun. Then, taking a quick dip in the refreshing, crystal clear lake water to cool down, or playing in the water for hours with friends. Although I could go on for hours about the many amazing things to do in Muskoka, these are my top 3 favourite things about Muskoka, and I hope if you go to Muskoka that you love it as much as I do.
xoxo Devynn |
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