California Girls

This last weekend, Brittany, Miranda, and I roadtripped it to California and it was so much fun! I'm kind of obsessed with traveling. It's not a problem.

On our way to Santa Barbara, we stopped at Las Vegas, which was about halfway on our journey. I had never been before, so it was cool to see the city. We stopped at the Fashion Show mall and watched a runway show, and visited Bellagio and took a couple pics. I wanted to try the slot machine, but I'm not old enough. hahaha.

the strip

gardens at Bellagio

Vegas has every culture here, haha

We then got to Santa Barbara, where we stayed at Brittany's grandparents house. They were really cool and really down-to-earth. Santa Barbara is so nice - the weather didn't get above 70 degrees, there were palm trees everywhere, the buildings were new and really coastal. I could definitely settle down here :)

We only had two days in Cali, so on Sunday we went to the beachside art show, which was really neat. I didn't buy anything but it was cool to see all the displays. We also watched a footvolley tournament, which is this new sport from Brazil that is basically volleyball but uses a soccer ball, and you can't use your hands. The players have to use their feet, chest, and hands to get the ball across the net. Pretty impressive.

I took a picture just like this in Venice :)

I love the beach

On Sunday we also explored the wharf and drove to the top of the mountain to get a good view of the whole city. Gorgeous.

beautiful city

On Monday, us girls set out to do some sightseeing. We started out by going to this old Catholic mission from the 1700s, back when the Spanish were still in control of the land. We also went to the old courthouse, made famous by the TV show Psych :) The courthouse also has a tower where you can get a good view of downtown.

we were told to look sad. since we were at a cemetery, and all

the courthouse

After that we shopped downtown on State Street, and came across my biggest weakness, a huge jewelry store. Check out that glitter:

love

After shopping we had lunch at the Shoreside Cafe, where I got fish and shrimp and chips. Mmm. The restaurant was located right on the beach, so after lunch we went and relaxed on the beach for a few hours. It was sooo heavenly. I love the sound of the waves, the smell, everything. I didn't want to leave :) Even though we all had a different idea of what "relaxing" meant. Brittany decided to read the Ensign in Spanish, Miranda was planning out her life for the next year, and I was reading about pop culture in US Weekly. I think I win.

beach babes

After the beach we had a delicious barbeque at Brit's grandparents, and then went to the theater to see The Help, which is a GREAT movie. It stars Emma Stone and Viola Davis, and is just a wonderful depiction of the Southern help back in the 1960s and all the crap they had to go through. Everyone should definitely see it. It's funny, heartwarming, and makes you cry just a little bit .

On our way back from Santa Barbara, we stopped in downtown Los Angeles to... look for a Krispy Kreme. Yeah... The whole trip we'd been craving it but couldn't find one on the way there (can you believe there's only like 20 Krispy Kremes in the whole country?? At least it seems like it). Anyway, our GPS led us the wrong way at first, so we stopped at a gas station to get gas and ask the cashier...except we also saw some cops in the parking lot. Yep, we asked those downtown LA cops where the nearest Krispy Kreme was. Check that item off the bucket list :) They were actually pretty nice even though they laughed and wondered why we were asking them...

we get a little crazy

jammin to some Celine. nbd.

Well, we did find our Krispy Kreme (it was worth it) and had a fun drive back home. Now I'm back in Provo, barely out of homelessness and still with a cold (it will just not go away!) I would like to be back in Cali now, please.