So I know that this blog is titled “Thanksgiving Break!!”, but it made the most sense with all that I have to talk about, even though we had class on Monday and Tuesday.
So, two Saturdays ago, my parents picked me up to drive me to Santa Barbara to see my sister’s final marching band competition of the year. It was the championships and I was really excited to see them, considering I was in the band when I was in high school. It was really neat to see people I know and enjoy the amazing weather and environment of Santa Barbara. And best of all, the band got 6th place, which is amazing, considering they are competing against the best bands in the state.
Unfortunately, I had to leave Santa Barbara to get to class on Monday and Tuesday. I was bummed out that not only did we have class on Monday and Tuesday, but that they were extremely tough days with work and complicated lectures. Getting out of class on Tuesday was extremely nice though and I was looking forward to seeing my family that night.
Because my family was already in the Southern California area, they decided to spend the week down here (my sister had the whole week off of school), spending Thanksgiving as a family, and going to the UCLA game on Saturday. On top of my parents and sister, my mom’s dad was flying through Los Angeles on his way home, and decided to stop in Los Angeles for the week and spend Thanksgiving with us, which was nice and fun. On Tuesday night, I went to a really neat restaurant in downtown called “Engine Co. No. 28”. The restaurant is inside of an old firehouse building, which is really neat. The restaurant also kept most of the exterior the same too, so you could tell that it used to be a firehouse. Besides the story behind the restaurant, the food was amazing, especially their “Firehouse Chili”. I strongly recommend it! That night, we drove to Marina Del Rey, where my family had a hotel.
On Wednesday, we rented bikes and biked through the Venice canals and down to Venice Beach. The canals were very pretty; it seemed like a really nice place to live on the water where it was quiet and quaint. At the beach, we saw the various shops and culture. It was an extremely interesting experience. Going to a place like that definitely opens your mind to things you do not usually think about. It was neat to see the community and great art everywhere.
For Thanksgiving, we went to my apartment and cooked Thanksgiving dinner in my apartment. It actually worked out really well, because even though we were not home, we celebrated Thanksgiving the way we usually do, only in a different location. As usual, I ate wayyy too much food!! Everything looks soooo good though!
On Friday, I had band practice and on Saturday, my family came to campus for the game. I am so glad that they were able to see such an amazing game! Last year, they came to the Notre Dame, where, unfortunately, we lost, so it was nice for them to see the Trojans on top! And for me, I was insanely excited and satisfied with ending the season with a great Trojan victory. Overall, I had a really great break, and I was happy that I got to see my family and spend some time with them doing different things in L.A. and spending Thanksgiving together.