driving down the 101

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were jam-packed with activities. 7 AM Sunday morning Molly and I went to Soul Cycle which is a very trendy spin class for the 1%. They only have studios in California and New York so I had to take advantage. I LOVED it. Spin class is one of my favorite forms of exercise and Soul Cycle is done in the dark so you feel like you're at a rave but burning hundreds of calories. We had the sassiest instructor named Franz and he truly made our first Soul Cycle experience a memorable one.

After Soul Cycle we went to church and had brunch at the yummiest restaurant in Venice called 26 Beach Restaurant. Get any of their french toasts, they are works of art and worth every calorie. After brunch we did the Hollywood sign hike in the heat of the day. I got a tan and took this cheesy yoga pose pic at the top. Pretty cool to see such an iconic landmark, regardless of how touristy it is.

After hiking we cooled off at Santa Monica Beach. I told Preston I would be very content with living in Santa Monica and he would be too. So maybe someday we'll find ourselves back. After playing at the beach we had dinner at Umami Burger, which was a little overpriced, but delicious. Preston makes fun of me because he says I have trigger words when it comes to menus. If I see certain words, regardless of the dish, I will order it. These words include: truffle, aioli, arugula, salted caramel, pumpkin spice, goat cheese and duck. We are always adding to my trigger word list. At Umami there was an entire section of TRUFFLED burgers. Bye. We also got cheesy tots which are as delicious as they sound.

After dinner we literally drove down the 101 listening to Phantom Planet on repeat and took turns reciting lines from The OC. We went to Santa Monica Pier and rode the ferris wheel which is my favorite amusement park ride thanks to The Notebook.

Very early this year I set my hopes for a day at Disneyland after we bought our tickets to California. I told Preston I would rather have a low-key actual anniversary day and celebrate it for real a week later in Disney. After much persuading and sneaky texts between Grady and Molly, we planned to go to Disney on Monday, June 30. Disneyland was all I had hoped it would be and my long time dream was fulfilled. Molly and I were going for Mary-Kate and Ashley circa 1999 in the above pic.

From the moment the park opened to the 9:30 PM fireworks, I felt like a little kid all over again. I remembered all of the Disney movies I was raised on and totally understand all the hype about this place. I went to Disneyworld when I was 8 and remember most of it, but have always wanted to experience its predecessor. I had the best time and hope to someday return maybe with my own littles. Our last day in California started with a visit to another bakery I found on Yelp called Bottega Louie. I think this was my favorite spot, not entirely for the food, although it was delicious. Bottega Louie is in downtown LA and has the most gorgeous and spacious store front. It was like having lunch at Bergdorf's if Bergdorf's was a restaurant. Super glamorous and the most beautiful pastries and treats. I think this is the west coast's version of Laduree and in my opinion, was just as good. (Can we all be honest with ourselves that most expensive macarons taste kind of the same? They're all delicious?)

Bottega Louie was close to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which was the last spot on our list of things to see. This building is really magnificent and such a unique structure. Preston told me when they were building it, they had to create new software because existing software couldn't accommodate the crazy angles and curves. Once again he was in architect/civil engineering heaven. We got to tour the inside and see the auditorium because the LA Philharmonic wasn't practicing. It is a spectacle and it's another spot I'd like to return to and see a performance.

Our happy trip ended with one last romp at the beach. I mostly laid on my towel and took a nap while Preston swam. After our 5 days in California I can see why so many people refer the west coast as the best coast. I can't say I'm 100% converted, but I would not mind at all someday calling southern California home.