Chicagoans in the Wild

FRIDAY! I was so excited to have a free day. Even though we had pockets of availability during the week, LA is so spread out, so being able to do things that are a little bit far away was really something we needed time for.

We started off the day with a 9 a.m. hike alongside Allison and Patty, and I was pretty excited to do this because they said that it wasn’t going to be too strenuous, but it was also going to be fun because we were going to see the Hollywood sign!

The hike was amazing! Shout out to our tour guide, Noelle! She is a comedian so she made some fun jokes and also happened to be a Chicago native, so we got to bond over that. Once we got to the Hollywood sign, she made all of us pose in these really unique ways, and we got a bunch of photos in front of the sign!

After the hike, we went to Doughbriks, and it was really good, honestly! The pizza was very much Detroit style in the sense it was very thick, and very flavorful. And shout out to Gill, who works there, because he played Mamma Mia and turned on a disco ball for us, and we got to dance around!

Towards the end of our meal, a very stunning, fashionable lady was walking towards us, and I complimented her jacket. And when she turned back to say thank you...

...my gears started turning, and I realized that it was Monique Coleman from High School Musical!

So then naturally, I asked her, “Were you in High School Musical?!” and started squealing. She said she had to drop off dry cleaning and would be right back. And five minutes later, what do you know, she showed up and we took a photo with her! She was so sweet. 10 out of 10 experience! She’s also gorgeous and has great style, so there’s that.

I honestly felt really happy in that moment for Jessica, another member of our group, because she had been hunting for a celebrity since she arrived in LA (this wouldn’t be our last sighting though…)

After Doughbrik’s, we walked to the Menendez brothers house, again because this was something Rambler Maritza had on her list. And it was interesting to see. Genuinely, in a neighborhood full of Beverly Hills quintessential gorgeous houses, it was just this one lot that was under construction. It definitely had a bit of an eerie vibe. So we kept going, but it was nice to walk through the neighborhood. It was super quiet, even though it was so nice out! I was surprised no one was outside. But we saw some cool cars and cool houses, so that was fun.

Then we went to Rodeo Drive, another must see for LA. It was cool, but we didn’t stay for long. One store we saw was closing, so everything must had to go and it was 75% off. I look inside and see a big sign that says “Was 3K, is now $750,” and I kept it moving!

And then we took the bus to Santa Monica, which was sort of our big thrill for the day and what we had been planning for the entire week. We walked around, shopped around, got some frozen yogurt, hung out on the pier, and watched the sunset, which was really gorgeous!

Finally we went to dinner at Casa Martin, which is a restaurant in Santa Monica really close to the pier! I split a plate of nachos with my friend Sonali, and it was so good. We ended up just taking the train home and ending the night with a swim at the pool, playing mermaids of course. 

I was so tired, so I went to bed and then packed early the next morning. But it was genuinely the perfect end to such a nice week in LA. I’m definitely going to miss the gorgeous weather, the sun, and just the trip. It was such a wonderful spring break,  especially as a senior spring break, and I will remember it forever.