My Time in Los Angeles: Day 2

From what I can only is assumed was caused by jetlag, I found myself waking up at 4:30AM on the second day of my Los Angeles trip. This would be fine if we were going somewhere at 6 or even 7AM. Well, our day of activities wouldn’t start until 9:30AM. I had 5 hours to kill. It was only 7:30AM back home so technically, I slept in. I moved out into the living room so I wouldn’t disturb my little sister’s sleep.

My other sister who also usually got up early joined me and we tried to confirm the itinerary of the day. We would only be here for one more day while my little sister, step-mom, and dad would be here for the rest of the week.

Eventually, the rest of the family woke up and my step-mom made us breakfast. The plan was to leave at 9:30 but we didn’t set out on our way until 10AM (we’ll regret this later).

Palm Tree Street

To get some “iconic” LA photo ops, we headed over to Windsor street (AKA Palm Tree Street) first to take pictures. This was the street where you could see the Hollywood sign in the back but there was so much haze you could barely see it with your eyes, let alone with a camera.

Griffith Observatory

The Park and Parking

Next up was the Griffith Observatory. Originally, we were supposed to get there about 30 minutes before they opened.

My plan was for me, my little sister, and Dad to walk the Fern Dell Trail up to the observatory and my step-mom and sister could take the car to meet us at the top. I was trying to do it while it was still cool.

My dad said instead of going uphill, we could go down the trail when we were leaving the observatory and my step-mom and sister could use the car to pick us up. I was fine with that…until we got there.

I read that parking could get bad but parking was no joke! We arrived to the Griffith Park area at around 11AM. The observatory had only been opened for an hour and yet all the parking lots were packed.

We were going to park at one of the trail lots and just walk up since there was spaces available but then as we kept driving up, we realized just how far the observatory was. Let’s just say, we ended up not walking the trails.

It probably took us 20 minutes to find parking after going up, down the other side of the park, and back up. We parked in one the parallel spots and were going to pay but none of the parking meters were functional. Hey, that’s free parking. Even from where we parked there was still about a 5 minute walk to the observatory. You could see the Hollywood sign during the walk which was pretty cool.

The Observatory

The Griffith Observatory is free and full of things involving space, the moon cycle, the stars, and it shows live footage of the sun. We walked on the outside and went to the second level. We didn’t get to explore all of it because hunger got the best of us. That, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t run out of time before I got to see my friend/roommate from college.

In-N-Out

For lunch, we headed over to the In-N-Out on Sunset Boulevard. Since a lot of west coast folk talk about In-N-Out, I wanted to make sure I got to try it while I was in California.

When we got there the line for the drive-thru was ridiculously long, nearly extending out into the street. It reminded of what Chick-Fil-A’s’ drive-thru looked like at home. We were planning to eat inside anyway and got lucky enough to find a parking a spot.

After taking some pictures of the sign, we headed inside. It was just as busy as it was in the drive-thru. The workers, however, said it wasn’t even busy for them at that time. I was amazed because the place was packed. We all ordered separately and found a booth to sit in.

I feel like I’m going to get hate but the In-N-Out burger was just…okay. I even got it animal style and I still don’t get the hype. It actually reminded me of a McDonald’s burger though I haven’t had one of those in years. The rest of my family really like their burgers but I would’ve rather tried something else.

Towards the end of our lunch, my sister tried to share some kindness and buy a man’s food for him. Things took a turn when In-N-Out security kicked the man out of the building before he could even get the food she bought for him. We took that as our sign to depart.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

This probably isn’t recommended but because the Hollywood Walk of Fame was just a couple of blocks up from In-N-Out, we walked there after we ate. It was only for a block and half since we were so close (and we wouldn’t have to worry about street parking).

I’m not going to lie, it was a little underwhelming. The street sidewalk is dirty and grimy like any other street sidewalk. I still liked seeing the stars and celebrity names. Even found some for people/groups I didn’t even know had one.

If you’re already on Hollywood Boulevard then I suggest to go ahead and take a look at the stars. However, if you aren’t going to be in the area, there’s no need to make a special trip over unless you’re watching someone you admire getting their own star put in.

Wanderlust and Friends

After walking back to the car, we headed off to Wanderlust on Glendale, the location closest to my friend. I’d seen Wanderlust Creamy on social media years before and I always wanted to try them. I’d considered ordering ice cream from them but it as $22 just for shipping and at the time I had to buy a minimum of 4 pints. $70 for ice cream just seems a bit steep you know?

This was a great chance to finally try Wanderlust and spend time with my roommate/friend from college.

Wanderlust will give you a sample of an ice cream you want to try if you like before committing. I ended up getting the three scoop cup with Lilikoi Li Hing Pineapple (a seasonal, vegan/dairy-free flavor), Ube Malted Crunch, and Abuelita Malted Crunch two of their signature flavors that I’d always wanted to try. 

I was nervous that the fruit-based ice cream (more like sherbet) would taste weird with the two cream based ones but it was fine. The pineapple flavor was strong and still sticks out to me but I wish I could’ve taken a pint of the other two home with me. The flight would’ve been four hours and technically ice cream shouldn’t be at room temperature for more than 2-hours so that was out.

Catching Up

After my family, friend, and I got our ice cream, my dad and step-mom headed out to get ready for their So-Fi Stadium tour. Neither of my sisters nor myself (or my step-mom which we found out later), wanted to do the tour so I thought it would be a great opportunity to hang out with my friend longer.

We hadn’t seen each other since the Disney Trip last year in March so we caught up from the past year (and years prior that we didn’t get chance to talk about while at Disney).

Then we all took an Uber back to her place and played UNO for a bit. I tried to get my friend to talk about LA life for my little sister since she was thinking about living here one day.

Dinner Time

After a couple of hours, my sisters and I took an Uber back to our Airbnb. We wanted to have a chance to get ready for dinner. We waited for the parents to go home from the tour. Dad enjoyed himself of course, like a kid getting a new toy.

The Dunes

Shortly, after that got back, we headed out to dinner at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in Inglewood.  Before we got there, we stopped by the Dunes apartments from Insecure to take pictures. We weren’t the only ones with the idea because there was a group of young adults taking photos in front the apartments too. They even took our pictures for us.

Roscoe’s

After our Dunes photoshoot, we got Roscoe’s. I was surprised that it was kind of empty. Even more surprised by how long it took us to get service because it was empty.

Wait time aside, the food was pretty good, and you get a lot of it. I ordered the chicken tenders with mac & cheese. The tenders are dipped in the waffle batter and fried to still get the chicken and waffles taste. I got full off the one chicken tender they were so big. I also got their Eclipse beverage to drink (lemonade, orange juice, and fruit punch). Super sweet but still good.

We were all a little impatient and hangry from running around all day so we were a little irritated by the long wait. However, one gentleman (who I’m not sure was a manager or another waiter) was extremely helpful, even more helpful than our waitress, with getting our food out to us or answering our questions.

My sister was generous again to show her appreciation by giving him $20 for his hard work.

When we got home, we all pretty much crashed after taking showers. Our next day would be a little more chill…well, at least for my family, not so much for me.