My Adventure to Los Angeles & Why it Spoke to My Soul – The Santa Monica & Manhattan Beach Edition
Find what brings you joy and go there. – Jan Philips. I read this quote in my monthly planner a couple of days ago and it really resonated with me because for years Dom and I have dreamed of moving to California. Although we still have not lived out this dream of officially moving there, Dom did plan for us to visit Los Angeles, CA in October. Why? Because being in California has always brought us so much joy and he knew we needed this trip. Plus, we visited LA before it was a short trip to celebrate a friend’s birthday. With this trip we wanted to make sure that we lived out all of the adventures that we’ve been dying to experience in LA.
Have you ever visited a place and it just speaks to your soul? I’ve had this happen on several occasions in California. The first time was when we visited San Diego, CA in March for Dom’s birthday this year. You can read about my experience there in my blog post…..The second time is when we visited Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach during this trip to Los Angeles! I loved these two places so much. The overall experience felt so right and it’s a feeling that I enjoy very much. If you’re planning to visit either of these beach areas here are my must dos.
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Santa Monica
Fun, full of life, beautiful sunset views, great food/attractions, and picturesque views of the ocean are all of what Santa Monica beach has to offer.
Things You Should Do:
• Take pictures at the top of the bridge before you get to the pier. You’ll get a great capture of the sunset there!
• Walk down to the beach, it’s a beautiful sight!
• Walk the pier and do a little shopping at the vendors. I bought a cute hoodie that I’m in love with!
• Want to have some fun? Ride a roller coaster at the amusement park on the pier.
• Eat at one of the restaurants on the pier. We loved eating at the seafood spot, Albright. Their shrimp and chips are to die for!
• Walk to the Third Promenade to do some shopping at Santa Monica’s outside mall.
• Rent a bike and ride the bike paths on the beach. We rode the Jump bikes at night on the beach and it was so exhilarating!
Manhattan Beach
If you’re looking for a beach to relax, eat breakfast/brunch, play in the sand and just take in the ocean view in peace then Manhattan Beach is where you want to visit. Also, if you make your way from the pier you’ll find that there are lots of shops to do some major shopping.
Things You Should Do:
• Get to the beach early for breakfast and find a location with a view of the ocean. We ate at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House for breakfast and the food was delicious. It was nice to sit outside and take in the ocean view as we ate. Also they are dog friendly so we had the chance to see all the cute doggies. We missed our Barks dearly during this trip!
• Walk to the Manhattan Beach Boulevard so you can get a view of the pier. It’s a beautiful sight!
• Check to see if there are any events before you visit. Dom and I realized at the last minute that there was a marathon that had just finished. The event took away from our real experience of the pier, but I could still tell that we would love to visit the beach regularly.
Overall I loved these two beach cities! When Dom and I finally make our way to California (manifesting it) we’ll make sure to look for a place in either of these two areas. What California city do you love the most?
Make sure to follow me on Instagram at @djsstyle where you can check out my LA story highlight of my fun in Cali!
3 Comments
nativesunphotography
Very nice.
DJS & STYLE
Thank you! ❤️
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