Mr. Gibbs, we have our heading!

I'm headed to Los Angeles in exactly a month. 4 weeks! This will be my third time in the City of Angels. It seems I've been making a pilgrimage every 2 years since I've been married and started traveling, coincidentally. I should have been a California girl, actually. My mom's family lives in California while my dad's settled in New York. Which is funny because they perfectly represent each side of my family. My mom's side is more easy going and fun. They accept the wackiness that is me. My dad's side is a bunch of jerks. Judgemental, hypocritocal, imposter elitists. We only settled in NY because my dad wanted to be near his family for support as we tried to make it as first generation immigrants and my mom didn't really fight it. We probably would have stood a better chance in Cali given they have a stronger Vietnamese community on the West coast. I also always found that my fashion style and creative nature fit that of California more.

Have you ever felt that way? Like you were displaced in the wrong side of the world? I have a love-hate relationship with New York. I love it because you can find virtually anything here but I also hate it because of how much more the rest of the world has to offer when I do venture outside the box. It’s not as beautiful as other places. I think New York is really ugly when I travel and look at it compared to the rest of the world. I remember thinking this as I walked through the streets of Paris. Paris may be an old city and New York is new and modern but there’s just a je ne sais quoi about walking through the streets with the beautiful architecture of the old buildings, the balconies, the streets, the smells in the air, the music all around and the twinkling lights of the Eiffel tower on the hour every hour. Anyway, I digress. Maybe I just tire of the same old New York after a while. But that’s why we travel, right? To break away from the daily monotony.

In my past trips to LA, I realized I did the same things over and over. In this trip, I want to try and hit up new spots that I haven’t uncovered or try it from a different perspective than I’ve already done. I’m also trying to save as much money as possible currently so I’m trying to do the same thing on this trip as I did in Chicago and look for as many free and budget friendly things to do and explore. But I also want to keep it super Instagrammable. So basically my goal and objective of this trip is to showcase an affordable and still iconic and fun trip.

Interestingly enough, when I did go to California, I never went to a single beach for a nice beach day! I take my beach for granted, living on Long Island with a beach always within 5-20 minutes drive away. Hopefully this time around, I can beach hop and explore a few on a nice drive along the coast.

I’ve also seen the iconic Hollywood sign, but never had the time or chance to take a hike up to it. My girl Kerri who did the Princess half marathon with me is joining me for part of the trip to do this! She’s my Sporty Spice who’s always down to do to the outdoorsy, active adventures with me. My husband is not so thrilled about this idea so he’ll probably sit this hike out while I tackle this bucket list goal. I’m looking for trails that are doable in the LA heat and weather, as well as having great views and shots of the Hollywood sign on the way up. If you have any suggestions, drop them below.

I’m also looking to visit some museums, parks and gardens while I’m out there. I’ve always seen LACMA at night because the Urban Lights are only lit up at night, but it’s always crowded during this time. I wonder if I switch it up and visit during the day if the crowd would be less and if I can get better shots. And of course, what would be a trip to LA without a trip to Disneyland? Of course, I could not resist a trip to another location of my home away from home so I have a Disney day planned. I’m going to skip Universal this time around though since I’ve been there for Halloween Horror Nights twice and the park isn’t as big as Orlando’s and just doesn’t have that much to do, honestly. So I’ll save my money on that for now.

I’ll also be there to visit one of my dear friends from college. She moved there from NY after she got married to be with her husband. I miss her all the time so much and her move to California gives me hope that one day possibly I can do it too. I’m just too lazy and scared to re-take all the pharmacy exams to get licensed in California. It’s supposed to be one of the hardest states to pass in. But I need to tell myself that it’s not impossible. I just have to put my mind to it, sit down, put in the work and just like everything else I set out to do, I can conquer this too. What am I so afraid of? I honestly have no idea. It’s another of those what ifs? I’m the only one holding myself back. What if I fail? BUT what if I don’t? What if I pass and the dream becomes a reality. That’s also another thing that scares me though. Actually doing it and making the move. The big jump to another state. The unknown has always scared me. But once I cross the threshold past the unknown, I’ve never had any regrets in what life has handed me once I did achieve the goals I set out to complete. So what am I so afraid of? Le sigh.