Explore LA

50 shades of maliblue

On a very busy Friday, my friends and I decided to pay the infamous Point Dume a visit and catch the sunset. I didn’t know exactly what Point Dume is, but since it’s located in Malibu, I’ve always just assumed it was a section of the amazing Malibu beaches. It’s so much more than that.

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We Google Mapped our way to the Point Dume area, but couldn’t find a place to park. Somehow, we had driven into a residential area with absolutely no street parking. After getting lost and driving around the area for a bit, we finally found the parking lot for the beach. There’s free parking along the beach but if it’s too packed and you don’t mind shelling out some $$$, there’s also paid parking closer to Point Dume.

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It’s a short hike walk up to Point Dume. Immediately after you get up on the hill you’ll see lots of wild flowers blooming!

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Behold the spectacular view I was raving about:

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I snapped this silhouette of my friend just as the sun was about to drop below the horizon. He was carrying a huge backpack with all his gear which made him look like a turtle.

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Some tips to keep in mind when visiting Point Dume:

  • Leave early if you’re trying to catch the sunset! Traffic on the section of highway 1 from Los Angeles city to Malibu is literally a nightmare.
  • If you can’t find free parking close by, just drive in the main entrance — there’s plenty of paid parking along the beach for $8.
  • Bring those bikinis and swimming trunks cause the beach is just as amazing!
  • Bring your gear if you’re a rock climber — you’ll love Point Dume.

P.S. I WROTE THIS POST EXACTLY 3 YEARS AGO BUT NEVER PUBLISHED IT. I AM BACK!!!

xx

Vivian

love at first sight

If you know me, you know my absolute favorite place in LA city is Griffith Park. I’ve only lived in LA for a year and a half, but I’ve been to Griffith more times than I can count. I’ve hiked Griffith at almost ever hour of the day too — sunrise, noon, sunset, midnight — and it’s always stunning. 

Where is Griffith Park? I’m sure you’ve heard about Griffith observatory. The park’s entrance is next to the observatory’s parking lot, where you’ll find a dirt trail that leads into the mountains above the observatory. 

I don’t think I can ever put into words how much I love Griffith Park, but here are some photos to begin with:

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From my experience, Griffith is most beautiful at sunrise. The view is not just jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but invigorating. I remember the first time I watched the sunrise at Griffith. I had only moved to LA for a few weeks, and I was having a tough transition to the new city. My friend — the only person I knew in LA then — suggested that we go watch the sunrise at Griffith. 

Here are some photos from that trip:

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I can’t say that Griffith is the sole reason I’ve grown to appreciate LA, but standing on the peak of the park that morning, I felt at ease for the first time since I’ve moved to the city. As the sun rose and the clouds shifted, it was like we entered into a different world. All my troubles and frustrations were so far away, shielded by the haze and the mountains. I was on top of LA — above a city of almost 4 million people, most still deeply asleep. What is there to fear and worry about?

I guess that was the morning I fell in love with the park. Ever since then, Griffith became my go-to place whenever I was feeling down or troubled. 

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Once, neither my friend nor I could sleep, so we decided to watch the city lights from Griffith before the sunrise, at around 4am. At the peak, we ran into a bunch of drunk tourists who had decided to hike the park after a night out. They asked if we could take a photo of them using my phone, but ran away before I could even send them the photo.

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Another time, I pulled an all nighter with a friend during finals week, and then made it to Griffith just in time to watch the sunrise. It turned out to be the best study break ever.

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Every sunrise at Griffith is different. On clear days, the bright red sun rises above the horizon to cast a perfect gradient of warm colors among the sky. On cloudy days, the sun peeps through layers of golden clouds and paints an impressionistic painting upon a blue backdrop. Other hazy days, the sky merely brightens up with little change in colors. I’m lucky enough to have seen all sorts of magical sunrises in Griffith, yet I’m still excited to visit Griffith every time. 

I can go on forever about Griffith, but what I’ve written so far pretty much sums up the essence of the park. I hope this is convincing enough for you to take a trip to Griffith Park — I promise you it will not disappoint!

xx

– Vivian

smooth sailing

I’m an ocean child. I would never miss a chance to be on the beach, in the waters or on the surface of the sea. So naturally when a friend suggested we go deep sea fishing, the answer is yes please.

I’ve never been deep sea fishing before, but the way my friend explained it is simple: you just take a boat to the middle of the ocean and fish off the side of the boat. It’s really just that but not half as boring as it sounds. We booked Davey’s Locker’s half day trip a few days in advance, and showed up at Long Beach on a beautiful Sunday. The ticket costs around $40 and with additional fees like rod rental and fishing license, the total added up to around $75.  Certainly not cheap, but definitely worth the experience.

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It was beautiful to see how the saturation of the blueness that surrounded us grew as we sailed deeper into the ocean.

Lucky as we were, we also saw dolphins! I totally thought they were sharks at first, but when they started swimming parallel to our boat, hopping out of the water occasionally, I was so happy I almost cried. (and I totally forgot to take photos)

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We sailed for around 40 minutes before we made our first stop. First try — no results.

The captain stopped at several spots afterwards, each around half an hour. There was once that we came close to something big, but it turned out just to be seaweed tangled to rocks and such.

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But just before the end of the day, my friend caught a fish! I absolutely love this shot. So vibrant, so candid — definitely photo of the day (or week).

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As we set sail back towards shore, seagulls hovered above us and followed us the entire way. The crew set up a table to clean the fish for a few dollars. The jackpot for the heaviest fish fished during the trip was also revealed. While fishing isn’t exactly as active an activity as I’m used to, the atmosphere onboard makes it great for a more relaxed weekend trip.

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We docked at Long Beach just around sunset. The line of palm trees along Shoreline Aquatic Park is one of favorite views around LA. They stand so tall and proud among a background of clear sky and water. That little park is worth a trip to Long Beach on its own.

Some tips for when you go deep sea fishing at Long Beach:

  • Check groupon and similar platforms for discounts! (there are usually discounts for boat tickets but not rentals)
  • Arrive early — the boat leaves on time
  • Bring a thick jacket! It gets really chilly as you sail deeper into the ocean
  • Take some medicine for motion sickness if you tend to get seasick
  • Don’t drink the night before unless you want to feel like shit in the middle of the ocean (learned this the hard way)

Go have fun!

 

xx

– Vivian

 

 

finding paradise

We’ve been to plenty of places, seen more breathtaking views than we can remember, but we found paradise in Catalina. Ever since I moved to LA, people have told me about Catalina Island, and how it’s a little gem that I need to explore. They were right. The island is everything you can expect of a pacific island and more.

We booked 11am boat tickets from Catalina Express the night before and drove down to Long Beach the morning after to catch our ride. Boat tickets are expensive ($70 roundtrip), but it’s not bad for a trip to paradise. After 40 minutes on a pretty steady cruise, we arrived at Avalon — the largest port on the island.

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First impression of Catalina: palm trees, blue skies, clear waters.

After we stopped by a fish and chips stand at the end of the busy main street of Avalon (which served bomb fish & chips), we continued north towards the opposite direction of the port, along the side of the ocean.

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After around a mile, we reached Descanso Beach and found this little stand named “Descanso Beach Ocean Sports.” They provide all sorts of water sports gear for hourly or daily rental. It was around 2pm already so we opted for just the half-day kayak rental which costs $40. Dry bags are offered too for an extra $2, and you’ll be given a map to navigate yourself around the island.

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DO NOT WORRY IF YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE KAYAKING. It’s not rocket science to learn to paddle on a kayak. Give it a try and you’ll get the hang of it in less than 10 minutes.

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Off we went, further into the ocean, and there’s really no words to describe the ungodly beauty that surrounded us. The photos don’t even do it justice.

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After an hour or so, we reached a private beach (well, we didn’t know it was a private beach) and dragged our kayaks onto the coast. The owners were nice enough to let us stay for a while and take some photos before we continued our journey.

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We paddled a little further afterwards, but spend most of our time just floating on the ocean, watching the waves and soaking in the sunshine. All I could think about at the time was how great life is.

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We were all happy until we realized it was 4:30 and that it was time to start heading back. We paddled with everything we had but it turned out we were much further away from the beach than we thought we were. We’ve gone about 3.5 miles around the island, and the sun was about to set. Thankfully, we reached our starting point only 15 minutes late.

On our walk back to Avalon’s main port, the sky turned into a deep blue and began to showcase a variety of magical colors.

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We boarded our ride back just as the sun dropped below the horizon, when everything melted into a surrealist painting. If this isn’t paradise, I don’t know what is.

Here are some tips for when you travel to Catalina:

  • Book tickets ahead of time!! They sell out pretty quickly!
  • Try to carpool and commute to Long Beach in one car, because parking is $17 a day which is pretty damn expensive.
  • Give yourself a full day on the island. There are plenty of restaurants on the island. While they are pricey, there are certainly affordable eats; e.g., the fish and chips stand we went to.
  • There are quite a few places to kayak on the island. I would recommend the store we opted for rather than the ones closer to the port because there are much less boats floating around.
  • Keep track of where you’re going — unless you want to paddle the life out of you when you realize you’ve gone much further away than you had expected.
  • Go snorkeling too if you have time. The water’s so clear we could count the fish in the ocean from afar.
  • Stay for the sunset. It’s phenomenal.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I would be more than happy to help. Happy exploring!

 

xx

– Vivian