LA QUINTA, CA

We woke up at the crack of dawn today to hit the road from LA to La Quinta since we knew traffic would be a nightmare. Luckily it was not as terrible as we anticipated so we made pretty good time. We had a yummy lunch (salads as we've been doing absolutely nothing but eating rich & decadent meals) and ran some errands before checking into our condo where we will stay for the next 5 nights or so. Being that it is off season and pretty hot (today 96) we got an amazing rate for a place that is right in the heart of La Quinta and has a full kitchen, washer dryer, garage, patio, adjacent pool, and more and more things that we keep finding out about! Here are a few pics from our first few hours here...

LOS ANGELES, CA

We spent an unexpected 6 nights (!!!) in LA... We anticipated to spend just 3 nights but we had so much fun that we extended our time there. We were lucky to be able to stay with Michael's friend at his amazing home in Beverly Hills (maybe why it was so hard to leave!?) but also the weather was fabulous and we were able to hike and be outdoors every single day. It was sunny and in the 80s every day, quite possibly the consistently best weather we have had during our whole trip! We also were able to visit with some of Michael's family so it was nice for me to meet them and for him to catch up with them! Of course we had some amazing meals (pretty much every single one) at some of the best restaurants in LA. Another highlight of the trip was going to the We Can Survive Benefit Concert at the Hollywood Bowl with featured artists Demi Lovato, 5 Seconds of Summer, Sam Smith, Maroon 5, Calvin Harris, Nick Jonas, Rihanna, and the Weeknd. We got these tickets courtesy of Michael's best friend from college, Rich, who was in LA for the weekend also (a very exciting surprise for us!!) We were able to spend quite a bit of time with Rich so it was fun for us to see him and catch up with him! All in all a really fabulous week... the only thing we didn't love in LA... THE TRAFFIC! Oh and a most exciting celebrity spotting... Gavin Rossdale & kids!

Our accommodations for the week :)

Fabulous dinner at Cassia in Santa Monica

We hiked EVERY day at Franklin Canyon in Beverly Hills!

 

Lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel

Lunch at the Ivy

Wine & cheese time

Lunch & wandering around at the Hotel Bel Air

We Can Survive Benefit Concert at the Hollywood Bowl

AMAZING arugala, lentil, and shrimp salad at Il Pastaio

Rodeo Drive by night... 

SANTA BARBARA, CA

We did a quick overnight and 1/2 day in Santa Barbara (SB) en route to LA. This was an unplanned stop as we had planned to stop in San Luis Obispo but decided to forge onto SB so we would have a shorter drive to LA the next day. We had a gorgeous drive all the way from Carmel and the sunset as we passed Pismo Beach was unbelievable (unfortunately no pics as I was the one driving!) We arrived in SB around 9pm and were lucky to book a fabulous hotel right by the harbor so you know who could jump on his jet ski in the AM before we headed onto LA. We had a great dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Brophy Bros- their famous clam chowder & salad. After a great night of sleep we spent most of the day in SB as the weather was gorgeous and in the 80s- last time we went to SB for 4 days it rained the WHOLE time so we really wanted to take advantage of it. While Michael rode the jet ski all over, I walked throughout the beach, harbor, and Stearns Wharf (some much needed calorie burning!) We grabbed lunch to go and headed out for LA around 2pm so we really enjoyed the day in SB!

Quick stop in Paso Robles en route to SB!

Dinner at Brophy Bros!