hSome of the following pictures aren't mine, as I found better ones online or I did not have my camera with me when I was at one of those locations. I loved my trip out to Southern California, but I definitely belong in the midwest.
Ferrari Ride
I'm really bummed, because we did not think to take a picture until after we left their house. However, my fiancee has a very wealthy aunt and uncle who traded in their convertible Ferrari to get a paddle-shifting Maranello 575. That was quite a rush as he took off on the freeway entrance ramp. He was still in the breakin period of 1000 miles (where he can't push it above 5000 rpm), but it was still pretty fast. After that, he is allowed to use the launch modes, one of which will completely burn out the tires in a matter of seconds.
USC Coliseum
(Click above for video) My coliseum pictures were taken with a disposable that has not been developed yet. I spelled out O-H-I-O for 4 pics just to start the chest bumping for Pasadena. Gorgeous front, but really unattractive the rest of the way around the stadium. The statues out front have extremely detailed "parts" (you rarely see that for the female figures).
USC Campus
We were running late and so I had to breeze through this campus, but it truly is gorgeous. It serves as an interesting contrast, however, because it is in one of the worst areas of LA.
Venice Beach
other characters coming...
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Definitely the most interesting place you can visit in SoCal. You run into all sorts of characters on this beach, in all manners of dress and attire. There were religious chant/dances, drum line performances, and many crazy types. The basketball court pictured looks a lot like the one from 'White Men Can't Jump.' The picture after that is actually a set of gymnastics equipment. The final pictures were from the 'Free Speech' section of Venice Beach. I kindly informed the author that none of the states she listed were in the Midwest... which she didn't realize and replied 'I can see your opinion' keeping to her 'open mind' approach to life. The other guy responded, 'anything between LA and NYC is midwest to us.'
The Rest of LA
Interesting contrast at how much of the late night life happens outside of downtown LA (I live near Chicago, and everything happens right downtown), moreso Sunset Blvd and such. Despite being around extremely high-end buildings, Beverly Hills was just on another level. The last shot is of Laugh Factory which was a fantastic comedy club where I sat in the front row and got picked on. We saw the star walk and the chinese graumann theater too... those will be added soon (disposable camera pics).
Orange County Malls - South Coast Plaza
This is the only indoor mall of the three shown here. It truly is a different world out there. They have primarily the preppiest and most expensive stores, and then you learn there is a more expensive section elsewhere. In that area of the South Coast Plaza, you can find some of the most exotic and pricey designer shopping around.
Orange County Malls - The Block
The Block at Orange was my favorite shopping area. It was all outdoor, and had tons of cool signs, advertisements, and nice tiled walkways. The stores also had a lot more stuff that interested me, like electronics, sports stores, and so on. I also had never had Jamba Juice before (fantastic smoothies), as they do not have it many places in the midwest.
Orange County Malls - Spectrum
Did not have time to walk around the Spectrum, but it might have been the most outlandish of the three shopping areas. There was not enough parking, and we actually parked our valet car in the driveup area.
BDay at Dave & Busters
We had reserved a 20+ person room at Dave & Buster's, where we had the outdoor seats overlooking the gorgeous surroundings. We had our own buffet line and bartender, as well as cool little heat lamps to keep us warm (it got down to 60ish). The inside was much more fun, as we played almost all of the fun head-to-head arcade games.
Flying Around
The friend we stayed with has plenty of money, as he started his own dotcom business in HS and is still making good money in other ventures now. We flew out to Catalina Island and later to San Diego. As you can see the landing strip was rather exciting, but the pilot handled the winds admirably. It was my first time in a Cessna plane.
Catalina Island
Pretty, but not somewhere I would visit twice. We rented our own boat and went down the coastline, but other than that it was a short trip. I think the lack of vegetation and the crowded nature of California inflates people's opinion of this island. It is unique in that most of it is a conservatory, but I'd rather visit Mackinac Island, the Pokonos, or the Rockies anyday.
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego is easily the prettiest area I saw in SoCal. The first four pictures are of a spectacular convention center which is easily one of my favorite buildings ever (the stairs solidified its spot). We ate at the Strip Club, which before city legislation used to be an actual strip club in the red light district. The area is now family friendly, but they kept the heritage by playing up the puns in their name. It is a fun restaurant where you order the meat raw and cook it yourself on open grilles. I thought it must be a very easy place to turn a profit as an owner. The last two pictures are of Balboa Park and the Coronado Bay Bridge.
Orange County Beaches
We had a campfire along the pier at the second picture, which is Corona Del Mar beach, or CDM (they abbreviate everything out there). The other three pictures are of Newport, which had a picturesque pier with a restaurant at the end of it. The last picture is taken from the beginning of the pier, albeit not by my camera.
Ferrari Ride
I'm really bummed, because we did not think to take a picture until after we left their house. However, my fiancee has a very wealthy aunt and uncle who traded in their convertible Ferrari to get a paddle-shifting Maranello 575. That was quite a rush as he took off on the freeway entrance ramp. He was still in the breakin period of 1000 miles (where he can't push it above 5000 rpm), but it was still pretty fast. After that, he is allowed to use the launch modes, one of which will completely burn out the tires in a matter of seconds.
USC Coliseum
(Click above for video) My coliseum pictures were taken with a disposable that has not been developed yet. I spelled out O-H-I-O for 4 pics just to start the chest bumping for Pasadena. Gorgeous front, but really unattractive the rest of the way around the stadium. The statues out front have extremely detailed "parts" (you rarely see that for the female figures).
USC Campus
We were running late and so I had to breeze through this campus, but it truly is gorgeous. It serves as an interesting contrast, however, because it is in one of the worst areas of LA.
Venice Beach
other characters coming...
...... 
...... 
...... 
Definitely the most interesting place you can visit in SoCal. You run into all sorts of characters on this beach, in all manners of dress and attire. There were religious chant/dances, drum line performances, and many crazy types. The basketball court pictured looks a lot like the one from 'White Men Can't Jump.' The picture after that is actually a set of gymnastics equipment. The final pictures were from the 'Free Speech' section of Venice Beach. I kindly informed the author that none of the states she listed were in the Midwest... which she didn't realize and replied 'I can see your opinion' keeping to her 'open mind' approach to life. The other guy responded, 'anything between LA and NYC is midwest to us.'
The Rest of LA
Interesting contrast at how much of the late night life happens outside of downtown LA (I live near Chicago, and everything happens right downtown), moreso Sunset Blvd and such. Despite being around extremely high-end buildings, Beverly Hills was just on another level. The last shot is of Laugh Factory which was a fantastic comedy club where I sat in the front row and got picked on. We saw the star walk and the chinese graumann theater too... those will be added soon (disposable camera pics).
Orange County Malls - South Coast Plaza
This is the only indoor mall of the three shown here. It truly is a different world out there. They have primarily the preppiest and most expensive stores, and then you learn there is a more expensive section elsewhere. In that area of the South Coast Plaza, you can find some of the most exotic and pricey designer shopping around.
Orange County Malls - The Block
The Block at Orange was my favorite shopping area. It was all outdoor, and had tons of cool signs, advertisements, and nice tiled walkways. The stores also had a lot more stuff that interested me, like electronics, sports stores, and so on. I also had never had Jamba Juice before (fantastic smoothies), as they do not have it many places in the midwest.
Orange County Malls - Spectrum
Did not have time to walk around the Spectrum, but it might have been the most outlandish of the three shopping areas. There was not enough parking, and we actually parked our valet car in the driveup area.
BDay at Dave & Busters
We had reserved a 20+ person room at Dave & Buster's, where we had the outdoor seats overlooking the gorgeous surroundings. We had our own buffet line and bartender, as well as cool little heat lamps to keep us warm (it got down to 60ish). The inside was much more fun, as we played almost all of the fun head-to-head arcade games.
Flying Around
The friend we stayed with has plenty of money, as he started his own dotcom business in HS and is still making good money in other ventures now. We flew out to Catalina Island and later to San Diego. As you can see the landing strip was rather exciting, but the pilot handled the winds admirably. It was my first time in a Cessna plane.
Catalina Island
Pretty, but not somewhere I would visit twice. We rented our own boat and went down the coastline, but other than that it was a short trip. I think the lack of vegetation and the crowded nature of California inflates people's opinion of this island. It is unique in that most of it is a conservatory, but I'd rather visit Mackinac Island, the Pokonos, or the Rockies anyday.
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego is easily the prettiest area I saw in SoCal. The first four pictures are of a spectacular convention center which is easily one of my favorite buildings ever (the stairs solidified its spot). We ate at the Strip Club, which before city legislation used to be an actual strip club in the red light district. The area is now family friendly, but they kept the heritage by playing up the puns in their name. It is a fun restaurant where you order the meat raw and cook it yourself on open grilles. I thought it must be a very easy place to turn a profit as an owner. The last two pictures are of Balboa Park and the Coronado Bay Bridge.
Orange County Beaches
We had a campfire along the pier at the second picture, which is Corona Del Mar beach, or CDM (they abbreviate everything out there). The other three pictures are of Newport, which had a picturesque pier with a restaurant at the end of it. The last picture is taken from the beginning of the pier, albeit not by my camera.
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