The Road Trip Overview

The Road Trip Diaries Begins

In the summer of 2012 Husband and I embarked on an incredible journey across America, after spending a month in New York City. We drove over 7000 miles across this gigantic continent, in about 44 days. We stopped and explored and ate and feasted at every opportunity. Here are the links to each of the individual posts I did at the time, each loaded with pictures, restaurant and hotel suggestions, and fun things to do.

The On The Road (OTR) posts feature our drives from city to city, which was after all, the main point of the journey. Often we stopped off at other places along the way, so those are worthwhile having a look at as well.

Woodstock
Cambridge
OTR: Cambridge to Portland
Portland
OTR: Portland to Washington
Washington
OTR: Washington to Orlando
Orlando
OTR: Orlando to Miami
Miami
Miami (contd.)
OTR: Miami to Lynchburg
Lynchburg
OTR: Lynchburg to New Orleans
New Orleans
OTR: New Orleans to Austin
Austin
OTR: Austin to Santa Fe
Santa Fe
OTR: Santa Fe to Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
OTR: Grand Canyon to Death Valley
Death Valley
Los Angeles

And here are my road trip guides:
Road Trip 101
Planning the Big Drive
On The Road
Top Ten Items To Take

Enjoy the ride!

The Los Angeles Diaries (Yes, again!): LA & Surrounds

Rose Bowl Market - Pasadena, about 20 mins outside of LA. Every second Sunday of the month. Hugest market I have ever seen! Antiques, clothing, furniture, scraps, novelties, everything ever. Totally worth it, but go early (9-ish) before it gets too hot, and too busy.

Malibu - it's definitely worth a short drive (about an hour) up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) to Malibu. Eat at Neptune's Net - make sure to choose carefully between the steamed section or the fried section, as each produces amazing food. Spend the afternoon on the beach.

Venice - explore Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice. Gjelina for lunch, and The Tasting Kitchen for dinner. Great shops and awesome sea breezes make for a fun day out.

Venice Beach - I did not like Venice Beach at all. It was gross. Like crazy busy, kinda run down, lots of tourist crap. But I guess yes, it is worth seeing once. The skatepark was pretty cool, the beach was pretty perfect, and there's lots of crazies to look at. Also, take a walk around the Venice canals.

Santa Monica - personally, I've never been overly bowled over by Santa Monica. From us, it can be a good hour long drive to get there (even though the city of Santa Monica is completely encased by Los Angeles!). It's pretty, and the Santa Monica pier may be worth visiting, just because it's quite an iconic part of the coastline, but maybe I've just taken too many out-of-town visitors there, and I'm done.

Catalina Island - I've never been, but still hope to. A short ferry ride out into the Pacific Ocean.

Palm Springs - two hours inland from Los Angeles. Stay at the Ace Hotel. Prepare to be hotter than you've ever been in your life, lay out by the pool, order the Desert Facial (a cocktail), and enjoy. We love it here!

Death Valley - five hours north east of LA, and one of my favourite places in America. It's just you, the desert, and nothing else. I love this place! The first weekend of November hosts the annual '49ers weekend - celebrating the first people to cross - and get horribly lost in - Death Valley. You'll awake in the morning to the soft sounds of banjos and real country music playing outside your hotel room, and get to watch Dress-Up competitions and dog shows that look like they should be in a movie. But in real life.

San Francisco - totally worth visiting, a truly beautiful city! Friggin windy though, definitely pack the parka! Hire a bike and ride across that gigantic red bridge - the quaint little town that awaits you with the promise of lunch and ice-cream, and a ferry ride home, makes it all worthwhile.

Oxnard - about an hour north of LA. The most beautiful beaches.

Ojai - LA's slightly-lesser-known playground. Stay at the Ojai Valley Spa for a somewhat pricey, but totally worth it, weekend away from LA.

Big Bear Lake - we hit this up for a day trip last summer when my brother was visiting from SA. It was a quaint, little town, with beautiful wood cabins scattered throughout the forest. I believe the best time to visit is in winter, when it actually snows!

Also, you can see my other guides here: Silver Lake, Hollywood, Downtown, LA & Surrounds, and Tourist-ville.

Creativity Abounds

I'm going crazy for these little creatures! Vuurlings :)

Get yours here.

Los Angeles Diaries Continues (Again): Downtown Los Angeles

This year was our first proper year getting to explore DTLA, as Husband got a job down there. It was a nice little opportunity to grab lunches and dinners before and after his shifts, and really spend a bit more time in this fun part of town.

The Ace Hotel - have dinner in the downstairs restaurant. Seriously. The food here is incredible. Finish up with drinks on the rooftop, next to the pool. Watch crazy LA peeps getting up to all sorts of crazy antics.

The Last Book Store - just go. Make sure you get up onto the second level, and wander all the way around! Flying books, exploding pianos, art galleries, weavers, and $1 books.

Follow this link to explore more hidden gems in downtown LA.

Grand Central Market - awesome coffee, and a quick and easy lunch spot. Great flavours and smells and sights. Stop by for some great fresh ingredients to cook up a feast at home.

Bottega Louis. Dinner at this place will change your life. Super high ceilings, very white and light and clean decor; and incredible food. It was very New York, very big business, but our waitress was down-to-earth, and just perfect.

Bar Ama - Tex Mex heaven. Yes, Texas Mexican. Incredible flavours. Like the asparagus and grapefruit, or crunchy nachos with quesidilla dip. Too good to be true. Spend some time wandering around the Bank District while you're there - you'll find some great art galleries, and even more amazing restaurants. In summer this area hosts the Downtown Art Walk, every first Thursday of the month (I think?! Don't take my word for it - it may have been the second Thursday. Ask the Google.)

Arts District - Poketo is great for gifts, and spend a little time on that strip for great housewares, menswear and some delicious food. Eat at The Pie Hole. This pie will change your life. We had the chicken and cornbread pie, it was melt-in-the-mouth I'm-going-back-this-week-for-more kind of good.

This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of downtown LA, it's packed with a booming fashion district, beautiful old theatres and tons of hidden gems. I will endeavour to get more of them listed here!

Other spots to visit:

Santee Alley - a pedestrian-only back alley packed with stall after stall of junkie finds! Cheap deals, carnival-esque feel and everything you may (or may not) want to buy.

Also, you can see my other guides here: Silver Lake, Hollywood, Downtown, LA & Surrounds, and Tourist-ville.

I'm addicted...

…to Pinterest. Uh oh.

Find me there.

Got My War Paint On

Los Angeles Diaries Continued: Hollywood

Though I try to avoid Hollywood like the plague, it really should be part of every tourist's trip. Here is the best (and worst):

Walk of Fame - prepare yourself for a LOT of people, most of them wearing strange costumes, and trying to pamphlet you, or sell you something. I prefer to drive it, but if you must walk it, I'd say go for early evening, just as the lights come on. It can be pretty.

The Spare Room - a "somewhat" secret bowling alley and games lounge in the heart of Hollywood, in the Roosevelt Hotel. Pretty cool. Order the Moscow Mule, you won't regret it. No shorts or flip flops, just dress nice. Bowling is $100 per hour per lane, book ahead of time and you can split it between 6 - 10 peeps usually. (Picture from the Google)

Hollywood Forever Cemetery - beautiful. Go at dusk. Explore the graves of famous dead people. In the summertime they show movies, with food trucks, such fun!

Amoeba Records - the craziest CD store I've ever been too - huge, and pulsating with people, and options and everything!

The Magic Castle - a tough nut to crack. You have to be invited by a member, for dinner and a show. And it's pretty pricey. But super fun if you can suspend your disbelief for a night. Twisty corridors and interesting dungeons lead off from the main dining area and intriguing bar, with magicians waiting around every turn to tempt you in with cool tricks.

Chateau Marmont - the ultimate celebrity hang out. Pretty darn good dinner service, and you can often spot a few famous people on the right night. Good luck getting a reservation though, they will google you when you call in, to check your fame-o-meter. Maybe a drink at Bar Marmont instead?

Connie & Ted's - great seafood!

Sassafras Saloon - one of the 'hidden' gems of LA. You wouldn't know it was there if I didn't tell you. An original house from New Orleans was trucked to Los Angeles - you can still smell the mould - and this bar was built around it. Grimy, but oh so elegant. Unlike anything I have ever seen. Oh, and jazz on Sunday nights. Yes please.

Runyon Canyon - LA's "outside gym" - put on those running shoes, and go for a "hike". Angelenos love their hikes, but you definitely won't catch them walking anywhere! This city is run on cars, and Ubers. Use Uber! It's totally worth it!

Good Times at Davey Wayne's - another hidden bar. You enter through a vintage store refrigerator, as pictured below (photo from the Google). Very hipster, and very fun on the inside.

Discover Los Angeles - is a great online tool for learning more about the city and some of it's best tourist attractions. Visit the page for more hints and tips.

On a budget? Here are 100 free things to do in Los Angeles.

Also, you can see my other guides here: Silver Lake, Hollywood, Downtown, LA & Surrounds, and Tourist-ville.

Miss Kate Moon

Proving that once again sometimes all you need is a gray wall, a slouchy t-shirt and a setting sun. Oh, and a pretty face ;)

Photography by me.