Has it really been nearly two years since I've last posted!? Can I just say "oops?" and move along like nothing has happened? Yeah, I think that's what I'll do. ;p
These past two years have been great especially with regards to this blog. I have had the chance to visit so many new hikes and places and go on many new adventures. The overall highlight has been my trip to Europe. On April 17th 2016 I left on my European Highlights trip through Trafalgar. I got to visit five countries in ten days. The experience was amazing. Growing up, it was a dream of mine to see the Eiffel Tower. I was determined to make it happen. And now I can't believe that it has actually happened.
Over the next few days (hopefully days and not months!) I will be writing about the beautiful cities that I explored and my thoughts and opinions on both them and Trafalgar. I think everybody should get the opportunity to experience a trip like this one at least once in there lives and I would be more than happy to help get people started in that direction.
Also over the next couple of days, I will be making some changes to the name and appearance of my blog. Just some fine-tuning. I may even be changing locations, whether that is trying out WordPress or finding a domain. I just want to make my blog shine and stand out and make it the best I can. I would appreciate any recommendations that you guys have! Whether it's tips on how to customize it or what content to produce, I'll appreciate and take into consideration everything!
If you have yet to experience a Color Run, what are you waiting for!? DO IT!
Last month my bestfriend and I participated in the San Bernardino Color Fun Fest at the NOS Events Center. We heard about the race because it was advertised all throughout Facebook. They were offering a special promotional price so we figured hey, why not do it. This company is just starting out, and the event was not as big as what I imagine The Color Run produces, but it was still loads of fun. They offered two different option for races, a day run and a night run. We chose to do the night run.
The entire atmosphere was great and there were people of all ages, from kids to older adults. There's nothing like running a 5K and getting paint thrown at you to bring people closer together.
For anyone who has not done a color run, or does not know the concept, it's like this. There is a course, about 3.1 miles, where you can walk, jog, or run, and every so often there is a color station with one specific color of paint that gets thrown on you. Once you've reached the end, you have all of the colors on your white clothes. The paint is also a chalky powdery paint that's very easy to remove. At the end, there is a celebration where everyone gets together and throws their packets of color unto the air.
I would recommend one of these events in a heartbeat. You don't have to be fit to participate, and it's fun for all ages. To view more information on the race i participated in, you could visit their website or their Facebook page to gather more information or even register for a race!
As usual, any questions or comments just go ahead and leave below. Stay tuned for my next post which will be about my Mud Run! ;)
I suppose this doesn't necessarily count as a place to explore, but I just had to add this in anyways! This post is so late going up, but late is better than never!
So this past February I decided to buy myself tickets to go see Demi Lovato live for my birthday, and all I can say is I wish I would have bought tickets sooner so that I could have gotten closer seats! Demi is an artist that I absolutely look up to. I love her music, I love her attitude about life, I love what she stands for. All of that together made for a perfect concert.
The show opened with Fifth Harmony and Little Mix. (Really badly taken videos below). Fifth Harmony put on a really great performance. I followed them on the X Factor, so I was excited to see them. If you haven't heard of them, you should definitely look them up, they are group consisting on five girls who are so adorable, seem to really enjoy life, and have amazingly talented voices. I'm excited to see how they do in the future. Then there was Little Mix. It was almost embarrassing how much I was looking forward to see them perform live, and they did absolutely AMAZING. I was expecting a good performance from them, and they exceeded all my expectations. I can tell that they are going to have a very successful future. If you don't know who they are, they are also a girl group who won the X Factor UK. I definitely recommend checking them out. They are very talented.
I clearly do not have a steady hand when recording... maybe this is the reason I have a blog versus a YouTube channel!
I kid you not, when Demi Lovato came on stage, I think I almost cried. She slayed. It has been a dream of mine to see her live for so long. She gave her all into the performance. You can tell that she loves what she does. Seeing her on the stage makes me feel so proud of her, which is funny because I don't even know her personally. I loved seeing her perform with Nick Jonas, my friend Olivia and my little sister were big Jonas Brothers fans so they had a fan-girl moment seeing him on stage. One of the highlights of the show, besides all of the incredible performers, was getting a glimpse of Zayn Malik from One Direction! It was exciting to know he was so close to you and actually seeing him in person.
I absolutely love concerts, but I realized that I have only ever done festivals, this was my first ever concert at a closed venue. I loved it. The unity you feel is great. If you have never been to a concert at a venue like this one, check it out. Even if you buy the cheap tickets in the back, it is still a great experience.
This concert took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim California. It was a really nice venue. Also very accessible. I knew exactly how to get there simply because it is a few minutes away from Disneyland! ;) It is located right off of the Katella exit on the 57 freeway, a few streets away from Angel Stadium. I loved the fact that I found parking so easily, and i especially loved the fact that it was so easy to leave the venue. They had it really well controlled. I am one of those drivers that get really nervous when there are a lot of people around or when its dark out, so I loved how simple it was. Definitely makes me want to look for more concerts at this venue.
Overall, this was a great concert, and I can't wait to write about the upcoming shows I'm attending:
Fall Out Boy/Paramore - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Irvine
One Direction - Rose Bowl Stadium
Mad Decent Block Party - Los Angeles
Coachella - Indio
When I told people that I was going to LA to go to the Museum of Death, they gave me the most horrified looks ever. And I know, it sounds kind of cynical and like such a strange way to spend your afternoon, but that's how me and my bestfriend spent this last Monday!
The museum is located on Hollywood Blvd. right off of the 101 freeway. The parking was free, all you paid for was the admission, which was $15. You really can't miss the place, as theirs a giant skull at the entrance. The museum welcomes all ages, there was a lady with her 12 year old and 2 year sons while I was there. Some images are graphic, so it's really upon your discretion.
I'm trying to think of one word to describe this place, and the first word that pops into my mind is.. informative? There are so many newspaper clippings and articles to read scattered throughout. While reading some of the events that have happened you can't help but wonder how you never heard of them prior to being there. The museum is split into separate rooms with a different theme to each one, such as serial killers, suicides, mortuaries, etc. It is a self-guided tour so you take your time reading and seeing the parts that interest you most.
There's not much I could say about the place without feeling like I've spoiled it for someone. But I do feel like this is a MUST visit if you're feeling adventurous, or if you just feel like doing something new or out of the ordinary. One thing I can say is that you definitely appreciate life so much more!
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if you would like more information!
First of all, I'd just like to start off with I'M STILL HERE! I still exist! The holidays hit, and the the next school quarter started, and I guess I just pushed this off to the side... but not anymore! I'm back! And I hope to share with you guys some great adventures! Now, that we've established that, let's show you guys some of my adventures from the time I've "been away."
What do you think of when you hear "Venice Beach"? Do you think of skaters? Surfers? Crowds? Street Performers? Weed? Well, all of those could perfectly describe Venice Beach. But it's so much more than that. I feel as though Venice truly captures a lifestyle. This place honestly means so much to some people, and you can see that. And in all honesty, despite the strong stench of weed, despite the graffiti, and the ..interesting people you meet, it is truly a beautiful place.
I took this trip with my two best friends, Ana and Jenevie (pictured above). It was sort of our way to ring in the New Year, seeing as we visited on January 2, 2014. So, we didn't exactly know how to get to Venice Beach that morning when we left our house. We knew how to get to Santa Monica [post on Santa Monica Beach and Third St Promenade coming soon] and knew that Venice was in the same general direction. So we just followed our GPS systems on our phone, and finally when we exited the Santa Monica freeway and saw signs of the beach, we thought we made it. Well, it turns out we sort of made it.. but we were much closer to the Santa Monica Pier than we were to Venice. We had already payed for parking, and we we're chilling in the parking lot debating if we should just walk, or if we should leave the parking lot and continue driving.
In the end, (naturally) we reasoned that the walk would be too long and that we should drive. We drove a couple minutes down a street right near the coast and then immediately we knew "Now we're in Venice" It went from a calm relaxing looking neighborhood to pops of color instantly. We parked in he first public parking lot we found (after having to do a U-Turn because we missed the entrance) and walked down to the beach, and then walked the boardwalk.
The area really is beautiful and there was honestly so much to take in and see. between all the stores and people and vendors selling their homemade products. I was in awe looking at everything. It seemed as though it could go on forever. One of my absolute favorite things I saw was a little bookshop to the side of a restaurant. I would have missed it if the "Bookstore Entrance Only" didn't happen to catch my attention! I just have a huge fascination with small privately owned bookstores so I get really excited when I find them.
My second favorite part, was the street performers! Street performers is another one of those things that I love seeing no matter where I go, but when they're dancing? Then I love it even more! These guys, (although I didn't catch their name) were very entertaining and did a good job at keeping the crowd hooked and laughing. Here's l video clip featuring a bit of their show and what they were about.
All in all, this became one of my absolute favorite places and I can't wait to go back and visit again. Hopefully during spring break? Have you guys been there? What's your favorite part about Venice? Let me know in the comments!
Yeah, that's what happens when I try to take a selfie with nature... haha! One of my favorite activities to do, (that will probably be posted about periodically,) is hiking! I feel as though it's what brought on my love for adventure, exploring, and travel. I'm always looking for a new place to hike! It's super peaceful and on top of that, you're exercising! Definitely a win-win! What more could you want? This particular hike I found on Google doing the search of "Hikes in the Inland Empire" Voila! North Etiwanda Preserve Falls Trail! My friend Ashley and I decided to have a girls day here! The drive was super simple, basically just taking Etiwanda Street all the way up!
One thing I loved about this hike is that there was a section where you could park. Most hiking places, you have to either pay for parking, or find parking along the street (all the while trying not to get a parking ticket!) We thought that our hike started right there from the car. We were wrong, after walking for about 10 minutes we got to the mile maker 0. We gave eachother that look of "What? Barely? This is going to be a long hike!" Near the mile marker there was a little gazebo that provided information of the elevations, plants, animals, and surroundings. When we finally got over the 0 Mile Marker we began our "official" hike. Almost right away we hit a sort of fork in the road. Luckily there was an elderly man coming down one of the paths and he told us that was the correct way to reach the waterfall at the top. (If I'm not mistaken, I believe the other way was to do a loop.) We just knew we wanted to reach the water!
The hike itself was not that bad. It had parts of incline, where we could definitely feel our but and thighs burning but there was also some level ground. This is where I wish I could have known I'd be making this blog so that I could show the beauty it is being surrounded by the mountains and the vast space! I'll just have to go again! (Not that I'm complaining!) There wasn't much shade, so despite the chilly morning, we ended up with our sweaters wrapped around our waist.
When we finally made it to the top, we did not find what we were expecting! We were expecting a full waterfall with space to swim in, and that is not what we found! Their is a section of rocks that sort if made the waterfall, but it was quite small, and you were standing above it. What we did find that we weren't expecting was a running stream. The path ended when we reached that "waterfall" but there was plenty of boulders and bigger rocks so that we could walk through and follow the stream. We thought we could find something if we followed it. After playing leap frog and limbo through the rocks and trees for 30 minutes, we decided that it was endless, so we decided to turn back because it was getting late and we still needed to eat breakfast! The running stream was without a doubt our favorite part of the hike! It felt as though we were in a jungle or on a true adventure especially since we didn't run into any people. That stream is what would convince me to go back!
Trail: North Etiwanda Preserve Falls
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Length: 5.7 Miles (There and back)
Level: Easy-Moderate
Season: Summer
As always, questions or comments just let me know!
