I’m finally getting around to posting a recap of my recent trip to Los Angeles. I only got back, oh, 3 weeks ago, but better late than never right?
Something very exciting (well fitness related exciting) is that I realized I could do an unassisted chin-up!!! More about that in a sec.
Our first full day there we decided to go bike riding on the beach. I had wanted to do this on my previous trip but didn’t have time, so this time around it was a MUST.
We started in Santa Monica and biked to Venice and back and then did it again. It took about 3 hours (with a 30 minute stroll through Venice and a stop for ice cream 
) According to the guy at the bike rental place we figured it was about 18 miles.
There are some really cool houses along the beach.
awesome treehouse looking house
I love looking at nice houses, I have ever since I was little, I know a little weird.
Now on to the exciting part. I wanted to stop at Muscle Beach in Venice just to check it out and take pictures there. There were people doing all sorts of stuff.
muscle beach
not the greatest pic but I felt like a stalker
Check out really tan guy, he was the only real body builder looking guy there, I thought there’d be more!
check this guy out
This guy climbed up the chains and then sat on the top of this thing, it was NUTS.
my attempt
That’s the most I could pick myself up on the tarzan rope. That shiz is HARD.
me doing a chin-up!
And finally…drumroll please…I attempted an unassisted chin-up and did it!!! My feet are not on the ground! Although it kind of looks like they are, I should have bent my knees. I was holding myself up there screaming at my friend to come over and take a picture, the guys around there must have thought I was nuts. And yes there were only guys working out there, no girls working out at Muscle Beach sadly.
Some more pretty scenic shots from the ride.
Sigh. I love palm trees.
Another day we went hiking at Runyon Canyon, this was my second time hiking here but I didn’t take any pictures on the last trip so brought my camera this time around. Right outside the gate before you walk into the park there is a spot that has water and various snacks, but there is no one there to make sure you pay for it, it’s totally done by the honor system. How cool is that? I’ve certainly never seen anything like this in the NJ/NY area.
I have no idea who puts that there/is in charge of it but I think it’s great.
I’ve only done it twice but I love hiking here. I don’t like the woods so I don’t think I would be into that type of hiking but here with the beautiful scenery (and the possibility of seeing celebrities-I saw Giles Meroni aka the naked guy from the SATC movie) I love it. I only bad part?
!?!?!?!?!?!?
The first time I saw this sign I freaked out, I had no idea there were rattlesnakes around there. Shiver. Good thing I didn’t see any and had an enjoyable hike. I don’t know how many miles we did but we hiked for about 2 hours.
me posing like a geek
lots of people with dogs, made me miss my brutus
we climbed to the top of that!
view of the city
the ocean on the horizon to the right
hollywood sign
I don’t know why the Hollywood sign looks so far away, it was actually much closer. It’s hard to see but there are so many amazing houses in the hills, I would love to live there.
Besides biking and hiking, we went on a couple of leisurely walks on the beach in Santa Monica a couple of mornings.
I really wanted to take a yoga class on the beach but we never found one/ran out of time. I improvised for a picture.
is this even a real yoga pose?
the hardest part was the stairs!
I would really love to be able to hike around here, but my only options are to hike in the woods and I’m not even close to any woods/trails. I guess I’ll just have to enjoy it when I’m vising the west coast.
Stayed tuned for my LA recap numero dos!
Jamie
