Could you imagine going surfing in the morning and snowboarding in the afternoon? Well, come to California then! (Or go to Granada, Spain for example) I have been lucky enough to enjoy both locations and spending time at the beach and the mountains. Not quite on the same day yet, but it is very doable. On veteran day I went camping on the beach, north from Santa Barbara in Montana de oro state park.
The camping was big, fully booked but still very calm and during the night I could enjoy the sound of the waves. Area is very popular among mountain bikers and there are lots of trails for horseback riding too.
Then on black Friday, as REI outdoors store recommended I opted outside (they had a genius campaign where they claimed Friday off for their employees so they can opt outside instead of working during the craziest and busiest shopping day of the year. Well, for store like REI it does not matter that much as people can still shop online and the publicity was unreal!) My black Friday became white Friday as I hiked to Mt Baldy (the white peak behind downtown in the main page cover photo).
You might want to check out my nature pictures for all the places I have seen here so far, I have silently added new stuff after each trip.
My trail was 11miles/17km and it had 4000ft/1200m elevation gain reaching 10000ft/3200m. Definitely one of the harder hikes I have done lately but it has two sides of the mountain, steep narrow trail or wider service road (longer) and you can choose which way to go.
UCLA got some very sad news when one of the grad students got buried under an avalanche, he was experienced hiker, but was in the area that is subject to avalanches and the mountains had snowfall during that time, it was hard to read those news and I feel very sorry for his family. A very good reminder to be alert about where to go, road conditions, weather, prepare with proper equipment and have people informed about your hiking plans. Besides being bear aware, watching out for mountain lions and rattlesnakes of course. Usually when camping/hiking you dont get to see much wildlife, I have seen a snake once or twice, dolphins, some deers, tons of chipmunks and last close encounter with wildlife when a family of raccoons joined me for dinner in Montana de oro. Also the trails are usually very crowded when hiking near LA or on popular trails such as Mt Whitney, so even if I go hiking alone there are tons of people to hike with, chat with or ask help from if needed. I usually always ask about the trail conditions from the people who are coming from where I am heading to.
One great thing about California is the warm weather with plenty of sunshine, so it means things grow here better than in dark and cold Finland. Such as my aloe vera plant on our balcony. I went to a hairdresser and she told me to “just stick it in there” when giving me advices about hair care products and I mentioned that I use my aloe vera plant already for my skin and also put it in smoothies. I also started being picky with oranges and only get them from farmers markets now. And not to mention the avocados.. 🙂
They say that Los Angeles has 2 seasons, summer and summer. Usually the temperature is somewhere between 20-30C or 70-80F, anything hotter is considered HOT and anything colder is definitely COLD. I mind you that the houses are not well isolated the way they are in Finland and breeze can be pretty cold too when it comes straight from the ocean (and Alaska). Water never gets too warm here, so dip in the ocean is refreshing even during the hot days. We have currently suffered “cold” weather, when I go for a run in the morning I have to have gloves and a beenie.. Lets see what El Nino will bring for the winter, we are still waiting for the rain! In case the rain does happen here are instructions on how to drive from LA times, seems hilarious but is soooo valid. And just for fun another video from buzzfeed
Since Los Angeles is a huge city there is also all kind of stuff. Such as Jet Propulsion Laboratory from NASA. They had an open house and I had no other options than to visit. Just FYI they said it would open at 9am, and we got there 7.15am… by 9am the parking lot was already full. So it was PACKED, tons of people like in Disneyland but this one was without fastpass. Very exciting and educating day! They do tours if you book in advance so for visitors and locals who have time during the week I highly recommend to sign up for one!
Here is a link to some stuff (from timeout) that makes me smile, apparently almost 3 years has made me a real angeleno as these are parts of my every day struggle… Phrases that have different meaning in LA:
“He’s over the hill.”
Elsewhere: He’s getting old.
In LA: He’s a resident of the San Fernando Valley.
“Animal style.”
Elsewhere: 😉
In LA: A fantastic way to make In-N-Out even more delicious.
“Taco”
Elsewhere: A large, crunchy tortilla filled with a cross between sloppy joe filling and lunch meat, sour cream and cheese.
In LA: $1 minimalist perfection.
“When it rains, it pours.”
Elsewhere: It’s raining very heavily/A lot of good or bad things (such as freelance work or gigs, or lack thereof) are happening at once.
In LA: It just doesn’t, period.
“The industry”
Elsewhere: Any industry.
In LA: Making movies, baby.
“Let’s get lunch!”
Elsewhere: Let’s get lunch tomorrow. Hell, today if you’re free.
In LA: Let’s plan on getting lunch at a vague time in the near future with the intention of rescheduling multiple times until our texts are just one long string of “sorry!”s and “next week, for sure!”s.
“Juice”
Elsewhere: A drink that’s usually made from oranges, apples or other common fruits.
In LA: An $8 beverage consisting of several fruits and vegetables that are cold-pressed and then bottled in trendy containers/a diet/a verb meaning you’re consuming only liquids.
“Validation”
Elsewhere: Something you get from your friends, family or Facebook.
In LA: Something you get from a machine at the Arclight.
“Obamajam”
Elsewhere: When Obama breaks out into an Al Green song.
In LA: Hell on earth.
“See you in 5 minutes.”
Elsewhere: See you in 5 minutes.
In LA: See you in at least 20 minutes.