Short Los Angeles trip | Few things to do and places to visit

What are the places that you would like to visit when you go here in Los Angeles, California? I got so many things in mind that I would like to share but with the limited time we got, let me just tackle some of the things we got to do that time. I will also include some of the itineraries in our list that we didn't get to go to but hopefully we can the next time.

Harrison Ford at Hollywood walk of fame
Harrison Ford hand print at Hollywood walk of fame


This has got to be one of our shortest trips ever to the US as we just did this to use Kuya's visa (less than a week). There were no concrete plans or whatsoever. We just did it since it was the first date written on his application. Well, I did a little bit of research on the things we can possibly do which should be near our aunt's place but there was no guarantee that most of them will happen.

arrived at LAX airport
arrived at LAX airport


The flight had a lot of bad turbulence but I think the pilot handled it well. Though this flight will be remembered for the girl who went crazy inside the plane. She was talking loudly, trying to go from one seat to another, spitting at times, etc.. and guess what, she was sitting beside me - an aisle away. It was my first air rage experience, really.

But let us not focus on that and move on. Besides, the United States is waving. Signs everywhere.

welcome to Los Angeles
welcome to Los Angeles

 
welcome to the United States of America
welcome to the United States of America


I suddenly remember the last time going through the US airport security was at John F. Kennedy's on our way to New York for a business trip. That time we were worried about a lot of things not going as planned but at least, this time its different, this one is a more laid-back one.

Tita Bong and Tito Robin got us from the airport and even after a few years of not seeing each other, they still look the same (awesome). We ate at In-N-Out for dinner before going straight to their place around Seal beach.

In-N-Out burger
In-N-Out burger

 
Inside In-N-Out
Inside In-N-Out


Every morning is a new sight for me. Aside from its foggy, squirrels roam the front garden which was great to see as a break for my eyes on seeing cats and dogs back home (lol).

Seal beach
somewhere around Seal beach

Day 1 - Shopping day around the neighborhood

The first stop is at Costco to get some supplies and pasalubongs if possible. Remembering the lost pack of bottled water in one of the carts there which we ended up buying (haha).

Costco
Costco

inside Costco
inside Costco


Tito Robin drove us around Seal beach including the Seal beachside. It was so tempting to go down the car but we didn't since we just came from Boracay before this trip and jet lag is starting to sink in. We made a stop at "A slice of New York Pizza" for lunch before continuing our shop hoping.

A slice of New York Pizza
A slice of New York Pizza

pizza for lunch
pizza for lunch


We were looking for some specific items that made us visit a number of shops. The list of shops we went through are the following: Costco, Ross, Dollar Tree, Big 5 Sporting Goods, and Payless

Ross
Ross

Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree (Dollar store)

Payless
Payless


We skipped "Bed, Bath & Beyond" & "Target" THAT day because we already found what we were looking for but later on visited them too the following days. Aside from these shops, we also drove around 5 branches of Starbucks outlet looking for a specific tumbler but failed to see one. What a road trip eh?!

Ending that day, we ate at Yasai (Japanese grill) to munch some Asian food esp. rice (lol) since we missed it even that short period of not eating it. 

Yasai (Japanese grill)
Yasai


We even managed to squeeze in some milk tea after since I saw a lot of good reviews regarding the Bobba milk tea in the state before flying in. The fun part here was that Tita Bong knows where to buy them because they also buy them from time to time (ang cool lang hehe). I still remember visiting the restroom many times that night because of the milk tea which was normal for me when I consume something new which my stomach is not used to. All was good though.

Bobba milk tea
Bobba milk tea


Day 2 - Disney Land (Anaheim, California)

We ate at Denny's for breakfast which is located directly in front of the park's entrance and man, so far so good, everything tastes great and the servings are humongous (lol).

Denny's
Denny's


We visited the park with complimentary passes from Tita and Tito's friend which made the day even better. Free stuff! Who wouldn't like that?! The theme park has two areas: Disneyland Park and Disneyland Adventure. The "park" for the original version while the "adventure" for the one with more thrilling rides.

Disney Anaheim California entrance
Disney Anaheim California entrance


watermill inside Disney
watermill inside Disney

Finding Nemo submarine ride
Finding Nemo submarine ride


We did the "adventure" first then the "park". It was very tiring to walk inside since the park was huge. There were a lot of areas though which are really nice to take pictures at just like the photos above. There is now a monorail  that can take you to the other side of the park which we discovered after when we crossed the other side (huhu).

We had our late lunch at one of the official Disney diners inside and we (again) had a hard time finishing it. The burger was really big and it is veggie-all-you can, so I grabbed a lot and ended up having a lot of excesses. #Iamsorry

official Disney diner inside
burger inside one of the official Disney diners


Our original plan was to eat at Ihop which is just located beside Denny's for dinner after visiting Disney. We did indeed meet inside the restaurant but ended up going home since we are still feeling full from what we ate inside the park.

Ihop
Ihop


Day 3 - Rest day / Dinner get-together

This was the day we decided to stay in for the whole day. Of course, I wanted to go out but the body is just not cooperating that much. Felt heavy and the headache is still present. Netflix and great food accompanied us though. Dad drove us around the area and managed to visit a nearby Dollar store again to buy some stuff and ate lunch at Carl's Jr.

Dollar store
Dollar store (again haha)


As dinner came, one by one, our Los Angeles family arrives. it was a nice time to meet each other again after some years and for others our first. It was a blast having dinner with them. Toni cooked macaroni for us while others bought food for the gathering.

Well, nothing much changed with our cousins other than speaking more English but really enjoyed meeting Donald, Mark, and Toni. It was nice of Mark and Kristine to open the dinner with some Word, Toni was really into the discussions while Donald was really funny being the food location guru. Team sky diving ASAP!

Los Angeles family
Los Angeles family


Day 4 - Hollywood Strip & Universal Studios

After days of thinking if we'll go for the train to roam around the area, finally it pushed through. The original plan was to only visit the Hollywood street walk for the celebrity stars tapos bahala na pag marami pang oras (lol).

We started the day by first dropping off tita at her work, then, tito dropped us next at the nearest train station as planned..

Hollywood train route
Hollywood train route

5th street station
5th street station


The Hollywood station was cool but the rest was just ordinary. I saw a lot of people eating inside the train and even selling stuff which was prohibited. We went through some downtown areas too.

As we see the Hollywood sign in sight, I honestly find the area like Eastwood locally. It was an ordinary, popular, commercialized, busy streets with a lot of attractions. We actually walked the whole strip from end to end until reaching the TCL Chinese Theater.

Hollywood walk of fame
Hollywood walk of fame


With a lot of spare time left, we decided to go to the Universal Studios next which is just a train station away or two to do more stomping and walking. 

Universal Studios city walk
And that is how you carry a plastic bag?

water fountain at city walk
water fountain at city walk

City walk inside Universal Studios
Well, the picture says it all

Panda Express is our friend (always an option when eating lol). We had our lunch there as the ambiance was superb, it was spacious and not that crowded. Pero goals talaga yung indoor sky diving #inggit


Panda Express
Panda Express


indoor sky diving
indoor sky diving


Guess what, it's still early! Haha! We actually went back to the Hollywood strip and took the tour around the city to see some celebrity cribs. It was quite interesting knowing some of the trivia our guide was sharing especially if you have a paparazzi spirit. The tour took 2 full long hours including the traffic. Sadly, no celebrity was sighted which was rare to happen. awwww..

Hollywood city tour
Hollywood city tour


Day 5 - Departure day

Spending our last day still with plates overflowing with food here at the Alamitos Bay Marina Center's Schooner or Later. I remember this very cold early morning breakfast by the bay with a unique view of yachts in sight. Heater posts make up for the temperature.

Schooner or Later at Alamitos Bay Marina Center
Schooner or Later

breakfast by the bay
breakfast by the bay


With our tummies full, aside from doing our laundry, more shopping and eating happened (lol!). Did a final visit with lunch in a Costco on the way, visited Marshalls, then did some early dinner at an Asian restaurant nearby.

matchy tops at Costco
siblings matchy tops at Costco haha

Marshalls
more shopping at Marshalls


Too bad overnight at the Becker's did not happen but maybe next time. At least there is something to look forward to. And when that happens, I think a hike is a must. right Kristine? We'll reach the Hollywood sign up close and Griffith observatory, visit Santa Monica Pier and do some other museums too.

departure at LAX
departure at LAX


Looking forward to the things discussed during the get-together dinner! Haha! Feel free to watch the video version of this post below. Enjoy!



(If you cannot see the video above, click HERE  for it )



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Short Los Angeles trip | Few things to do and places to visit Short Los Angeles trip | Few things to do and places to visit Reviewed by Michael on October 01, 2020 Rating: 5

48 comments:

  1. You really had some full and enjoyable times in Los Angeles. The nice pictures testify to that. The places to visit and restock are worthy of note.

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    1. Thanks for dropping by! appreciated the visit

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  2. Looks like you had a really great visit to California filled with good food, shopping and even going to Disneyland! I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!

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  3. Wow, there are so many things to do and many sights to see when going out for a foreign trip. I wish I could do that someday.

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    1. I hope you can do it too when this pandemic ends

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  4. I can't wait to go back to LA, has the best time there, love this city...

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  5. It's interesting to see what places you chose to visit. Depends on your needs and interests.

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    1. yes, really depends. Hope I gave some good ones

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  6. This looks like such a great trip! I love LA!

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  7. I'm so glad you were able to visit and see some pretty cool sights! I think vacations are definitely more about food than anything else haha

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  8. The fast foods seems great. Glad that you had a great time there.

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  9. Such a great place, I hope to explore this too someday.

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  10. Los Angeles is one of the destination that I would love to visit, aside from it's beautiful places they are also a lot of delicious food to taste. I hope to be there someday!

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  11. This looks like a good trip, thanks for sharing.

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  12. Ooo looks like you had an amazing time in LA. I am loving the look of that yummy pizza too x

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  13. It seems like you had a really nice time in Los Angeles! Thanks for sharing your experience with us, looking forward to visit there soon!

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    1. go for it. exciting times ahead. looking forward on going back

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  14. Ooooh you came to my backyard! We go to LA often and Disneyland is a regular day out for us. There is so much to do in this area, looks like you did a lot of the tourist things! Next time definitely do the hike to the Hollywood sign, Santa Monica Pier, 6 flags mAgic Mountain is a great park with more intense rides. And don't forget 2 hours away we have good skiing if you come in winter!

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    1. We already visited six flags which will be included in my next post but where is the skiing place? That would be a lot of fun!

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  15. Glad you had fun in California! It's a lovely state with much to do.

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  16. Glad you had fun in CA! In and out is definitely a favorite of mine for sure. And who doesn’t love Disneyland

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  17. You have described the places of interest, food etc in details. Very helpful for those who are planning to visit LA. I have been to LA for a short visit though as I was in a business trip. Nice place, lots to enjoy.

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    1. Cool to know that that was for business! =) Happy for you!

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  18. It looks like you had a great vacation - a nice mix of exciting activities like visiting the theme parks as well as more 'American' day to day activities with your shopping and restaurant choices. Confession: I really miss Payless! We used to have it here in Canada, but they closed down. I bought all my shoes there!

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    1. They already closed down? but man, this pandemic really hits.

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  19. Wow so cool! I wanna go to LA so bad, maybe when all this is over (if it ever is lol) I'll go!

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  20. Los Angeles has been on my bucket list for YEARS. Before quarantine, I was really hopeful that I would make it out there this year. That milk tea looks so delicious - I've heard that there are a lot of great food spots out there and can't wait to visit! I'm still putting out hope that I'll make it to Disney land.

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    1. I am with you on this! And yes, maybe after this pandemic. when its already safe.

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  21. I swear by short trip this year. it helps a lot to keep up with travel fever and still keep it safe. I haven't been to L.A. but I am sure it's a great place to live

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    1. It is. Some of my relatives are doing great here.

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  22. Looks like you had a great trip! I would love to visit LA someday soon 😍

    Thanks
    Everything Enchanting

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  23. I have never visited Los Angeles and would like to consider visiting post pandemic. Thank you for sharing your adventure. looks like you had a wonderful time.

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    1. Why not, just make sure safety is at high standards =)

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  24. Happy to know that you found time to visit Disneyland. Yes, I love their huge burgers. Happy to know that they now have the monorail. It's definitely a great help to conserve energy. Anyway, thank you for sharing your quick LA trip. I enjoyed reading your post.

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    1. Thanks Clarice. Your support is super helpful!

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