Top 10 in My Second Favorite City

Atlanta still holds my heart for #1, but I did find my second favorite city so far.....drum roll please.....the winner is.....Los Angeles! I love this city for the energy, the diversity, and the active, creative, crazy, laid back people. It's basically like Atlanta, but on the beach! Yeah, it's kind of awesome. I visited my friend Ryan Pest from my high school theater days. He and his crazy crew took me on a whirlwind tour of L.A. Here are my Top 10 favorite spots in LA:

10) Hollywood

I followed in the footsteps of the stars while walking the imaginary Red Carpet at the Dolby Theatre and dodged the tourists and random people dressed up like Mickey asking me for money at the Chinese Theatre.

9) In-N-Out Burger

Sitting in traffic trying to get from the 10 to the 110 to the 29 to the 3,245 may cause episodes of Hanger (when hunger leads to anger). There is no better solution than an "animal" style In-N-Out burger. Ya'll were right. 

8) Olvera Street

This "Mexican Marketplace that recreates a romantic Old Los Angeles with a block-long narrow, tree-shaded, brick-lined market" dates back to the 1930s has some of THE BEST made from scratch Mexican food, including hand made corn tortillas. You guys know how I feel about my Mexican food, right?

7) PLaNETS show at The Troubadour in West Hollywood
This "psych rock band" puts on way more than a typical rock music show. They combine some serious rock with everything from zombie costumes, shadow puppetry, emotionally moving dancing, and crowd interaction for certainly the most interesting night at the club I've ever experienced. I got especially excited when they started playing the Game of Thrones theme song #awesome #dork4life

6) Roof Top Bar (of unknown name) in Downtown LA, aka "DTLA"

Hanging out with a few of the USA Men's Volleyball team and bar hoping in DTLA made for an early flight the next morning, but it was worth it.

 5) True Food in Santa Monica
After a sunset stroll down the Santa Monica Pier Ryan, Alfie and I had some fabulous cocktails and a delicious dinner at True Food. They boast an anti-inflammatory diet heavy on the vegetables with vegan and gluten free options, but it's just amazing tasting real food. Annnnd guess what Atlanta peeps... there is one that just opened on Peachtree St.! You should all check it out.

4) Griffith Observatory in the Hollywood Hills
This observatory and science museum sits in the Hollywood Hills providing a lovely smoggy view of the city. Ryan taught me all sorts of stuff about #science!

3) Huntington Beach
We grabbed some Banzai Bowls and ate our breakfast walking down the pier watching the surfers in the ocean and the volleyball players on the beach. If I moved to LA this is where I would live, for sure!

2) The Getty Center
This is an absolute MUST DO if you visit LA! This Museum itself is as beautiful as it contents. It's surrounded by a colorful garden you can walk through with flowers and water features and has a great view of the city and it's neighboring beaches. Trust me, it's worth sitting in traffic for (but get In-N-Out Burger on the way).

1) Venice Beach and Brunch
My last day in LA was just perfect. The sun finally came out and Ryan, Alfie, and Whitney took me to Venice Beach. We had a long lazy brunch with bottomless mimosas before heading to lay out on the beach. I loved putting my toes in the Pacific and laying in the sand with a backdrop of mountains.

I can't imagine a better visit to LA and I owe it all to the amazingly awesome people (shout out to Ryan, Alfie, Whitney T., Whitney L., Ricky, and Gus-Gus) who took me in and made me one of their own for the short time I was there. Seeing places and stuff is great, but it's really the people I meet and friends I make on my adventures that give my experiences true meaning. Look out LA- I'll be back!

Farrrrrrgo

I have settled nicely into my newest assignment in Sisseton, SD, population of approximately 2500. It's on the complete opposite side of the state from my previous assignment in Pine Ridge.  I'm in the north east corner, near North Dakota and Minnesota. It's an open reservation, meaning non-tribal businesses and people work and live here, which appears to improve the economy and increase income opportunity in the area.

North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota from the top on Nicollet Tower

I am happy to tell you my living arrangements have vastly improved- no more creepy house! I'm in a nice trailer park now. Besides only having a mini-fridge and washing my dishes by hand, I really can't complain. For the first time in my life I have a real 8-5 job WITH a lunch break! I feel so spoiled. Don't worry, I've been staying busy. I love having the time to focus on my health. I'm working out almost everyday and training for my first half marathon. I'll be running the Rock n Roll half in Savannah in November!  

I also picked up a keyboard in Fargo and am tapping into my musical side. Speaking of Fargo...it's a pretty neat little city! No, I have never seen the movie so I can't compare. It's about 1.5 hours away and I have made some friends there through an online meetup group (it's like online dating for friends). Fargo has a nice historic downtown area with several good restaurants and a lively live music scene. 

I guess I'll survive here for the next few months :)