Travel Diary: Sunny California Summer Trip 2022 Recap

“California Gurls we’re unforgettable…” What an ICONIC song haha. (Oh, 2010s music…) Anyway, I recently went on a girls’ trip with some friends to my home state, California. It was such a magical time and almost felt like another world/reality. I wish it was a more extended trip, but I’m glad I was able to take a break from work and take a vacation! This is just a little highlight reel/photo diary of the trip with Chaunice, Jess, Natalie, and Reona.

Sunday, June 12, 2022 – Heart of LA

The girls and I started our day at a brunch spot called Marmalade Cafe. The Mango Mimosa was very delicious, along with the Garden Vegetable Frittata!

We walked around the Grove and noticed a little live band playing in the yard… of course we had to stay and watch! What started as a quick stop ended up turning into a two-hour mini-music festival for us, which I’m not mad about at all!

To conclude the first full day of the trip, we visited the old place I grew up in. We got to eat some Korean food and ended with dessert from this mochi donut place!

Monday, June 13, 2022 – Asian Fusion

As if the Korean food from yesterday wasn’t enough, we made our way around Grand Central Market and had our fair share of Filipino food. There were a lot of different food options, but we decided to go with Filipino food.

We also walked around Olvera Street and visited Little Tokyo and Korea Town. Some people were playing the guitar and singing.

The little karaoke spot we found had a special for happy hour, so we took advantage of that! We just had to sing some throwback songs! <3

Afterward, we went to Cabra for dinner and ate some Peruvian-style food. They have a family-style type of dining experience, which means the food you order is meant for sharing with the other people you’re dining with.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 – Universal and Santa Monica

We started the day with Universal Studios by walking around Universal City and then going into the park. We got to walk on a red carpet, which felt pretty special. The lines were pretty long, so we got to explore the place. The first ride we went on was the Harry Potter ride. There were lots of simulation-type of rides, which felt like living through a 3-D movie. So cool! Another simulation-type of ride was the DreamWorks ride with Po from “Kung Fu Panda.” They incorporated some characters from other DreamWorks movies, such as Shrek and Donkey (Shrek), Poppy (Trolls), and Marty (Madagascar). ICONIC!

Later in the evening, we got to chase the sunset and take some golden hour photos! Wow! In the past, I usually went to the beach in the afternoon when the sun is super high in the sky. But after seeing that beautiful golden hour sunset, I can’t go at any other time. We got a spot right by the ocean and seeing the waves crashing and coming in and out of shore was so therapeutic.

To conclude the night, we ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Our waiter was so funny! We asked him to take a picture of us girls, and then he went up and begins to pose as if we asked to take a picture of HIM LOL

Wednesday, June 15, 2022 – Lego Land

Today was a road trip kinda day. We traveled from Los Angeles to Anaheim and San Diego. The drive was beautiful! We passed by the ocean waters and saw the hills. It’s funny how something so ordinary can look so beautiful when you’re on vacation! We also had a fun road trip experience! We bonded over listening to some throwback songs/songs we listened to growing up. <3 ahh, the good old days of music…

Anyway, we got to explore Lego Landand. We started by going to their Sea Life Aquarium and saw the real-life Nemo, Dory, and Gil fish. We even participated in the little scavenger hunt they had… our reward at the end was pencils LOL. The Lego structures they had around the park were very impressive! I also saw some dinosaur-themed structures and sent pictures to my co-workers to show the kiddos at work (they LOVE dinosaurs!). There were some rides that we went on as well. Don’t underestimate those kid rides because they definitely surprised us with how fast they went! To end our journey at Lego Land, we went on a boat tour and had a blast at the “Block Party” with some fun live music.

To end the night, we went out to eat at this hibachi place with some of Reona’s family. The food had a buffet-style type of thing going on and once you piled on your bowl, you have to get it cooked. It was really good!

Thursday, June 16, 2022 – Disney Land

In the morning, we went back down to San Diego to explore the Downtown San Diego area. The food smelled amazing! We didn’t stay for a long time, but it was nice to walk around the area.

The rest of the day was spent at Disney Land. I’ve been looking forward to this part of this trip because I absolutely loved Disney growing up and it was like living a childhood dream! Although I do have to admit, the long lines were ridiculous… We ended up getting fast passes, which I recommend doing so that you can maximize your time there.

One of the food places we visited at Disney was Jolly Holiday Bakery! Their raspberry macaron was recommended to us, so we just had to check it out! Needless to say, it was so good! It was just the right amount of sweetness!

At one point, Reona saw Minnie Mouse and was able to take pictures with her! How AWESOME is that?! I was out doing something else and missed the call… I finally found her and she told me that Minnie was in one of the nearby buildings. We saw her and went over to her… only for her to leave to get ready for the electrical parade show. 🙁 I didn’t travel all the way to California to NOT see Minnie Mouse… *cue dramatic music* thankfully I was able to get a nice view of the electrical show and saw her again!

Friday, June 17, 2022 – Gotta Get Down on Friday

Today was just a really chill day, especially after a whole week of full-experience days. If the picture below is not an accurate representation of what a crazy cool this week will do to you, then I don’t know what will LOL. We got to stay with Reona’s family! For lunch, we went to this really high-tech-looking rotating sushi place! I mean, robots were coming to our tables to serve us drinks! *mind blown* We ran some errands around the town. At one point, this person came up and began joking around with us LOL. Towards the end, we low-key had a therapy session because he was telling us about a situation he had with his partner. I got to put my little “counselor hat” on and hopefully gave him some insight into the situation.

Saturday, June 18, 2022 – Victoria Beach

On the last full day, we decided to chase the ocean waves and sandy beaches. The ocean was just so blue and beautiful! We relaxed in a spot on Victoria Beach. I can’t stop gushing over how nice the view was at that spot! I love a good California beach view! Although I do have to say, nothing beats a nice sunset beach view! Nonetheless, having a nice relaxing beach day was a great way to conclude my vacation. 🙂