Hello bucket, list friends! This is one post that I’m very excited to write, I went on a bucket list trip to Hollywood / Los Angeles all by myself. During my trip I crossed five things off my list! This trip was so much fun and full of adventure. I can’t wait to tell you all about it, so let get going!
Day one #137
Day one started at home with me running around the house trying to get everything ready before my evening flight. I was both excited and nervous at the same time. This was my first time going on a trip alone. after spending most of the day cleaning, packing and planning my cousin came to take me to the airport. I got to the airport with plenty of time before my flight, I got a Jamba Juice and then I was ready to cross off my first item of the trip #137 Fly first class. Siting in first class was amazing I had my own big seat with lots of leg room and there was a bottle of water waiting for me on my seat. My seat was very comfortable, and I felt like a rock star flying first class to LAX. Oh, and when it came time for snacks they came around with a tray and you got to pick what you wanted. I would love to fly first class again sometime. After my flight I took Uber to my hotel I was very happy with the hotel I chose. The Only thing I forgot to do was bring my own food since it was late I ended up having a sugar packet for dinner, but I got a great night’s sleep and I was ready to cross of more list items when I woke up.
Day two #140 and #57
After eating breakfast, I set out to cross take a picture with the Hollywood sign off my List. I got an Uber to Lake Hollywood park and I started walking along the trail I was not really sure where I was going but after walking a little bit I could get a pretty good view of the sign after doing my best to take pictures of me with the sign in the background, I started walking back to the beginning of the trail. One the way back I met a woman named Hannah she was on a road trip with family and they were going to take pictures with the sign too I asked them If I could walk back with them, so we could take pictures of each other. They agreed, and we walked down together When we got to the part of the trial where there was a good view we took pictures of each other the pictures they took for me came out great. When we got back to the entrance of the trail we went our separate ways they went back to their car and I went to see if I could find another view of the sign that I had read about. After a little bit of a walk though a nice neighborhood I found the grass area next to a playground with the view of the sign that I had heard about online. I took a few pictures and then decided to head back. As I was walking trying to figure out where to get an Uber from, when I came across Hannah and her group again .We took pictures together and got contact information. I had a hard time getting back to my hotel from the park. Bad cell service and confusing pick up points made it very difficult to get out of the park, so I just began walking and I walked for a very long time. While I was Walking I met a guy named Hector and his younger sister they were walking to go take a TV studio tour, so they also had a long walk ahead of them. Long story short we ended up getting an Uber together after walking for a very long time. I was very happy to get back to my hotel after all that walking but I was not done with my adventures for the day. After getting some rest and charging my phone, I took an Uber to the Hard Rock Café because I knew from my trip to Hollywood back in 2015 that there was a big souvenir shop across the street. I had a great time shopping for souvenirs. I also walked around the walk of fame and I found Alice Cooper’s star I remembered the area it was in from when I crossed that Item off in 2015. I also went to the Disney / chocolate store that was along the walk of fame. After shopping I walked around and I saw an Alice Cooper shirt in a store that caught my eye. I quickly realized that it was a tattoo shop and that I need to go get some food before crossing the next item off my list. After having a veggie burrito at Baja Fresh I walked back to the tattoo shop. The tattoo artist was not busy, so he was able to take a walk in. I told him I wanted to get the copyright symbol with 1990 after it. He drew it up then it was time to get tattooed. The tattoo did not take long at all and I was very happy with the way it turned out. I was excited to cross #57 (get a tattoo of something random) off my list. A copyright symbol is a pretty random thing to get a tattoo of, but it has meaning to me. I’m an original made by God and I love being me. Before calling it a night I walked over to the CVS to get aftercare supplies for my new tattoo. After shopping at CVS, I now had several shopping bags. I tried to get an Uber from in front of CVS, but I was having trouble finding the pickup point, so I decided to find a place that did not have a red curb. On my way to find a pick-up spot I passed this one part of the walk of farm that has a lot of people who dress up in costumes and take pictures with people for money. I was not interested in taking pictures with most of the people but then I saw a guy holding a large snake. He said he let people hold her for five dollars. I couldn’t get my money out fast enough. I love snakes and I had never got to hold one that was that big before. The snake (Electra) was very sweet and I love the pictures of me holding her. After some more walking I found a good pick up spot and I went back to my hotel. It was a wonderful day full of adventure, but it was time to get some sleep because I had another day full of adventure ahead of me tomorrow.
Day 3 #139
On my last day of my solo trip I had one goal in mine go beach hopping! The weather was really beautiful, and LA has some awesome beaches, so I knew it would be a great place to cross #139 off my list. Before I could get to the beach I had to stop by target because I had forgotten to get unscented soap the night before. Since it is next to impossible for me to just get one thing at Target I ended up with a pretty good haul. after my shopping spree I got an Uber to the Santa Monica pier I had been there two years ago, but I did not go on the beach so that’s what I did first. After my first beach walk of the day I spent some time on the pier I bought some post cards, won a stuffed animal from a claw machine and had some ice cream before going to find a pick-up spot. My next stop was Venice beach. There was some really cool graffiti art at Venice beach plus it was low tide some there were lots of seashells to look at. After my 2nd beach walk of the day I walked along the Venice boardwalk taking in all the sights before walking a very long time to find a good pick-up spot and just Like an oasis in the dessert I found a Starbucks. After getting a coffee, some food and charging my phone I was ready to go to my third and final beach of the day. For my last beach I chose a beach I found off Google called Playa del Rey, it turned out to be a really amazing local beach I got there at sunset it was breath taking. I was thanking God for all the beauty and I got some great pictures too before walking to a nearby restaurant to get picked up to go back to my hotel. I was very happy that I had crossed five things off my bucket list. (Don’t worry I’ll talk about the fifth one in a minute) I spent the night packing up and getting ready for my next adventure that I will talk about in my next blog post .
#197 travel alone
This LA trip was my very first solo trip, but I hope it is not my last. I learned so much from this trip. I learned just how resourceful I am. I also learned that when you are alone you are more likely to reach out to other people and make new friends. This was an overall great trip and I met some really nice people including my Uber drivers. This trip was a big step for me, It really helped to boost my confidence. I would be more then willing to do another solo trip sometime! Rock on –
Christina Epperly
