solo travel

TRAVEL | New Orleans, LA

in

I started a new chapter in my life recently and I'm pretty happy about what's going on lately. Solo traveled (sort of) to New Orleans, LA for the first time and experienced that side of the south. Long story short, I had so much fun and I ate & drank a lot.

Here are some highlights of the trip and misc thoughts:

  1. New Orleans "open drinking policy" blew my mind away. It's completely normal to take your drink from the bar and walk down the street.
  2. Some of the best full bodied southern food I've ever eaten. 
  3. Ended up going to a Friendsgiving with 40 other random strangers having the best time together.
  4. Pass the Pigs is probably the best time killer/group game to do virtually anywhere. Going to start bringing it everywhere I go
  5. Weather was gorgeous when I was there (70F~) but got lit up by mosquito's. That was not fun. 
  6. Took more video footage than photo's (see video above!)
  7. The jazz was more dancey and poppier which I like a lot.
  8. Ate and drank more than I should've but that's pretty normal down there, right?
  9. Happy to catch up with an old childhood friend, hang out with her fiance, and making other new friends.
  10. Chambong'ed too many rounds of champagne and bought friends their first porron to self pour wine into your mouth (they never done it before).

I made a video montage of my trip. It's nothing too special. You'll notice there's more drinking footage and my face cringing after doing a few founds of Chambong's. 

WEST COAST | CALIFORNIA - PART 2

in

The other week I went back to the west coast to visit my friends in sunny California. I normally plan places to go eat, see, and do but since I've already been here, I didn't plan anything at all. I just wanted to spend time with everyone doing absolutely whatever we wanted. No itinerary. It worked out perfectly. Everyone had their things they had to do and schedules conflicted but when all of our schedules aligned in random spurts, it was the best. I caught up with friends, made new one's, and will be coming back again. 

Here are some highlights of the trip and misc thoughts:

  1. My friend Tara is pregnant! So happy for her.
  2. I really don't like Los Angeles that much at all. After being around the nice spots - Malibu, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Ojai, etc. LA is so superficial and not my scene. 
  3. Slept behind a room hidden behind a bookshelf. It felt like a secret hidden room like you see on TV or the movies. 
  4. Never seen an orange, lime, lemon tree in my life (only in green houses) and I picked my first orange, ever. It was so good.
  5. Ojai Rancho Inn was such cool spot. Reminded me of Ace Hotel Palm Springs.
  6. Drank so much kombucha and it's really good. We specifically used it to make mimosa's and then I eventually made a beer mimosa.
  7. Watched a ton of sports which I rarely do. Lot's of football. Give me a beer or five and I'll hang around while you watch. 
  8. Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is absolutely gorgeous. From the interiors, decor, operations, food, vibe, etc was amazing. I pretty much love Ojai.
  9. Forgot how "cold" it got there at night. So used to the humidity here that night there was freezing for them. To me, I felt perfectly fine in t-shirt while they were in sweaters.
  10. I'll be traveling again soon. Creating a new Off the Record city guide, video's, and new exciting stuff to share in the future.