So I always love going on adventures, whether it is going to a museum, going to the beach, going on a hike, going skiing, going on a bike ride, or wandering aimlessly through a city. I love being outdoors and exploring and learning new things. Unfortunately, it has been somewhat difficult to do so during my time in Los Angeles, due to my lack of transportation options. I have taken advantage of public transit and friends’ cars, but it is not the same as having your own car in L.A. I decided recently that because this is going to be my last year at USC, and probably my last year in L.A., I want to take advantage of the time that I have left to do the things I have always wanted to do but never got a chance to do. Therefore, my parents are bringing my car down this weekend, and the adventures will begin!
I have developed kind of a list of the things I have wanted to do and I have been checking them off as I go along. A couple of the things I wanted to do that I have done include hiking Mt. Baldy, hiking San Jacinto Peak, skiing Big Bear, hiking in Pacific Palisades, going on a bike ride along the beach, driving along Mulholland Drive at night, going out to Old Pasadena with friends, and going to a Los Angeles Lakers game. I could go into detail explaining every experience, but I figured attaching pictures from these adventures would be more interesting:).
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- Hangin’ out in Pasadena with friends
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- Top of San Jacinto Peak!
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- Playing at the Hollywood Bowl with Trojan Marching Band
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- Biking through Venice
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- Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band!
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- Korean BBQ with friends
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- Laker Band playing Star Spangled Banner on the court
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- Echo Mountain above Pasadena
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- Six Flags Magic Mountain with the other VSAs
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- Bike ride to Manhattan Beach
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- Happiest Place on Earth 🙂
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- Skull rock in Pacific Palisades
Even though I have had the chance to do a lot of neat things in Los Angeles, there is still so much more I want to do. Probably the activity I want do more than anything else is hike up San Gorgonio Mountain. San Gorgonio Mountain is the highpoint of San Bernardino County, with an elevation of 11,503 ft. Even though that is not that high, it is a significant mountain because of the surrounding topography of the area. I am planning on summiting this mountain in the coming year, and considering it is about 100 miles away, having a car will come in handy.
Another item on my list is to go to Catalina. I had the opportunity to go in 7th grade for a marine biology camp, and have regretted not going ever since. It seems like a very beautiful island with lots of interesting sea life and good hiking. Maybe I will bring my bike to the island and see if there is any good riding.
One item on my list that I have never been able to do without a car is to take a road trip up to Malibu. I have never been to Malibu, and I think it would be a lot of fun to grab a couple of friends, hop in the car with some snacks, and drive along Highway 1. I would enjoy stopping along the way to soak in the spectacular California coast, and then eating dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking the ocean in Malibu.
One more ambitious item on the list is to ride my bike from my apartment down to my aunt and uncle’s place in San Diego. On Google Maps, it says that it is around a 150 mile long trip. What I would probably do is stay at my best friend’s in Irvine one night, and then do the rest the next day. It would be really fun and give me some great pictures:).
I could go on and on with the rest of the things on my list, but that would take forever. I enjoyed sharing these activities I hope to do, and I look forward to blogging about them when I do them!
