Soaking in the Moment: A Trip to the Los Angeles Area

WOW...

It's been a while.

Over the past couple weeks, I have been struggling to find decent internet connection with which I could post an article, and even though we are now in the middle of the Arizona desert, I think I found it. Weird how that works, huh?

Anyway, I intend to pick up right where I left off. That is, writing about my travels around North America.

This week I'm going to take you on my trip to...

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The Los Angeles Area

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Venice Beach

I'm wording it this way because a lot of our time was actually spent outside of the main city. We have actually had the opportunity to travel to L.A. before this visit, and believe it or not, it's not exactly our favorite place in the world (sorry Angelenos).

We definitely prefer life outside of a concrete jungle, and the strange sights and smells scattered throughout the streets, while fascinating, are simply not my idea of a good trip to SoCal. We chose to go into the city for a short time, mainly because we got some free tickets to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. And let me tell you, that was the strangest experience I think I've ever had. When it feels like a whole bunch of celebrities are staring you down from all different directions, it's hard to act normal.

Here's me sitting with Stephen Spielberg...or actually a wax model of him

After our short trip into the city, we met up with some family that lives in the Los Angeles area. My cousin has lived in Southern California for basically his whole life, and for a large chunk of that time he has been surfing. So when he offered to take my brother and I out to surf, I was stoked. This was my first time surfing, as well as my brother's first time, and we had a blast. Both of us caught a small wave on our second try, which was pretty exciting for everyone.

My mom snapped a pick of me walking back up the beach, exhausted from surfing

After already being pretty tired from surfing, we decided to drive down to Venice Beach to watch the sunset. The first impression I got of Venice Beach was that it was incredibly creative. Art was everywhere: on the buildings, in the buildings, and on the people in the buildings. It all felt very inspiring, to say the least. Right next to where we parked there were two massive murals covering two sides of the same building...

A large mural of Saint Mark

A mural of Venice Beach itself

A rather large abstract sculpture near the beach

We also went to the famous Venice Beach skatepark. Even though my brother and I do love to skateboard, it seemed like everyone inside the park was on a whole other level as far as skill. We all watched from the fence, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at every person that made every trick look effortless.

Venice Skatepark

This is the beach right behind the skatepark

This sunset was a special one. The vibrant colors spread all down the beach, casting a calming mood as it got darker and darker.

The palm trees were backlit by the setting sun

This was my first time to Venice, and even though it's probably equally as weird as Los Angeles, something about it felt very comforting and real. It felt as if everyone around me was simply trying to live life to the fullest, soaking in the moment and enjoying life as it comes. This certainly could have been my own mind projecting onto everyone around me, but nonetheless, I was enjoying myself, and it seemed everyone all around was doing the same.

And that's my trip to the L.A. area! I really appreciate you reading!

All of these photos were taken on my phone, so sorry for the lack of top-notch quality. I wasn't expecting to take a lot of pictures, so I didn't bring my camera.

If you would like to stay updated on my travels around North America, follow me! There are many new places that I will be experiencing, and I would love to share them with you :-)

~Josiah T. B.