Coronado has one of the prettiest beaches you will ever see. The water is crystal clear and the sand there is like walking on soft, heated pillows. Ocean water has a distinct smell that is indescribable. The ocean breeze makes it too chilly to not wear a cozy jacket or have a stylish body wrap. When the sun's out makes for a perfect day on the beach!
Along the coast of the beach, there are very beautiful, and highly priced homes. Driving on the road leading to the beach kept increasing in size and distinctively structured houses. My aunt pointed out a beautiful home that is owned by her doctor. She told me that abundant of the people there have high-paying jobs, like surgeons, doctors, lawyers, etc.
The city of Coronado is interesting because it's kind of an island that is connected by one of two ways: a highway and a bridge. Unfortunately there is still traffic there, and the times of noon and four are really bad. However it gives you an excuse to stare at the beautiful city.
When I visited last summer, I had the opportunity to walk around downtown, which was similar to downtown Iowa City like how all the stores are connected and it's easy to just walk store to store and absorb the city. My aunt showed my family and I her favorite place to eat there which is a place called Burger Lounge that is exclusively in California (More info on the Burger Lounge page).
There is also a park in Coronado that is just beautiful. The grass is a good dark green color and very thick making the ground as cushioned as carpet. Trees are plentiful where it' s not too difficult to find shade when it gets too hot. I was told that this park is filled every Sunday where bands and sermons go on, outside to enjoy California's beautiful weather. This park is for all ages, even young children can go, there is a playground where the kids can play.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
In-N-Out Burger
An amazing fast food place in California is a place called In-N-Out Burger. Something interesting about this food chain- it's only in five states including: Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and lastly the majority of the stores are in California. I rarely eat fast food but I didn't hesitate to eat In-N-Out. I remember the first time I've tried it was the first time I went to Los Angeles back in 2012, my family and I had just gotten off of the plane and were starving. If anyone has been on a plane recently, you'd know how expensive it is, I'd rather spend 10 dollars at a nice restaurant instead of just a small bag of chips. Anyway, I've seen some YouTubers who have said great things about In-N-Out so I decided to give it a try.
The menu isn't too difficult, there's only a few items to choose from but most of the time there is at least a 10 minute wait to even order your food. Just to remind you all that it is a fast-food place, and you have to wait to even order. You may be thinking Just go through the drive-thru however that wait is always longer than the wait inside.
Their fries are one of the best I have ever had. They are crispy and stay that way even if you save them until after you finish your burger. Unlike McDonalds or Wendy's where they get soggy if you don't eat it within five minutes.
Their Animal (Style) Burger is literally one of the best burgers I've had. I guess you could compare it to a Whopper from Burger King, except better. There are onions, pickles, as well as some sauce that brings all the flavors together to satisfy the stomach. Every time I have gone to In-N-Out I've gotten that burger and truthfully I wouldn't have it any other way.
The menu isn't too difficult, there's only a few items to choose from but most of the time there is at least a 10 minute wait to even order your food. Just to remind you all that it is a fast-food place, and you have to wait to even order. You may be thinking Just go through the drive-thru however that wait is always longer than the wait inside.
Their fries are one of the best I have ever had. They are crispy and stay that way even if you save them until after you finish your burger. Unlike McDonalds or Wendy's where they get soggy if you don't eat it within five minutes.
Their Animal (Style) Burger is literally one of the best burgers I've had. I guess you could compare it to a Whopper from Burger King, except better. There are onions, pickles, as well as some sauce that brings all the flavors together to satisfy the stomach. Every time I have gone to In-N-Out I've gotten that burger and truthfully I wouldn't have it any other way.
If You Want A Burger, Eat Burger Lounge
This is a place strictly in California where you can get organic burgers that are double the cost of a Big Mac from McDonalds. Honestly it's worth it though. The reason these burgers are so expensive is because they use free range cows and chickens which means they are able to eat and roam around before they are killed instead of farms where there are 3 cows in a stall, not having any room to move about.
You can tell from eating these burgers that the animals lived a pretty normal and joyous life, whereas at slaughter houses would stand on their own feces. The meat has more of a meat flavor, juicier than most other burgers, has a distinguishable texture that is evident the animals meat wasn't processed and or has added preservatives.
If you ever find yourself in either Los Angles or San Diego, I would highly recommend that you look up the nearest Burger Lounge. If a person who dislikes fast food likes a particular fast food, it must mean the food is delicious. Don't let the high cost through you off, trying new things is always good, right?
When I went to the one in Coronado, there was a long line, and more people in line than there were open chairs. You literally had to walk over by a table that looked about ready to get up and immediately sit down once the people who were previously sitting there gets up. If that doesn't tell you how good this place is, I don't know what will.
You can tell from eating these burgers that the animals lived a pretty normal and joyous life, whereas at slaughter houses would stand on their own feces. The meat has more of a meat flavor, juicier than most other burgers, has a distinguishable texture that is evident the animals meat wasn't processed and or has added preservatives.
If you ever find yourself in either Los Angles or San Diego, I would highly recommend that you look up the nearest Burger Lounge. If a person who dislikes fast food likes a particular fast food, it must mean the food is delicious. Don't let the high cost through you off, trying new things is always good, right?
When I went to the one in Coronado, there was a long line, and more people in line than there were open chairs. You literally had to walk over by a table that looked about ready to get up and immediately sit down once the people who were previously sitting there gets up. If that doesn't tell you how good this place is, I don't know what will.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Beverly Hills
In the outskirts of Los Angeles is a town called Beverly Hills. I'm sure almost everyone reading this knows the stereotypical Beverly Hills that's just a bunch of rich people. There's more to this place than the people. For example if you walk on the streets, it's very scenic with beautiful palm trees in the median, luxurious cars, and unique stores.
In Beverly Hills there's a hotel (Beverly Hills Hotel) which I was fortunate to have taken a picture outside of the building. There's a beautiful garden next to very well taken care of grass See figure 1. With the limited amount of rain or precipitation Southern California gets, it's amazing to see grass as green as the one at the Beverly Hills Hotel. All I can really say is that the Beverly Hills Hotel is a gorgeous sight to look at.
Side Note: Looking at these pictures makes me realize my family and I took pictures (yes more than one) outside of a hotel.. However you can't even deny that you wouldn't take a picture outside of a beautiful hotel.
Figure 1
In Beverly Hills there's a hotel (Beverly Hills Hotel) which I was fortunate to have taken a picture outside of the building. There's a beautiful garden next to very well taken care of grass See figure 1. With the limited amount of rain or precipitation Southern California gets, it's amazing to see grass as green as the one at the Beverly Hills Hotel. All I can really say is that the Beverly Hills Hotel is a gorgeous sight to look at.
Side Note: Looking at these pictures makes me realize my family and I took pictures (yes more than one) outside of a hotel.. However you can't even deny that you wouldn't take a picture outside of a beautiful hotel.
Figure 1
The video above is a song by Weezer called Beverly Hills which I thought was relevant.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
La Jolla, California
The La Jolla Cove is one of the fascinating places near the University of San Diego because of the fact there are sea lions in the cove and you can swim near those beautiful creatures. If you're anything like me and don't want to go in water, there are amazing photography opportunities. I tried taking a panorama, but a picture couldn't describe the beauty of this place. [In the photo below] You can see the little cliffs. Those little cliffs contains many cracks where the water eroded the rocks. In between the cracks you may find a little crab. Unfortunately we were running out of time and when I built enough courage to pick one up, we had to leave. It's beautiful to see such simple creatures living in their habitats. I spent a good amount of time just observing the tiny creatures to figure some interesting things that they do, like if you stick your hand in the water near them, they find a little hole in the rock and hide themselves in there. Seeing it happen is more fascinating rather than just reading it. If you ever find yourself around the La Jolla area, take a stop by the La Jolla Cove and witness the beauty firsthand.
Near the cliffs theres a grassy area where bands come and perform, or where people can just sit under some trees and become one with nature. You can literally close your eyes and just be in a state of bliss because it's so peaceful.
Even though this place is very touristy, if you're from the area, it's a nice place where you can bring your friends and hang out, or even take a study group there so you can take a break from the books and maybe take a swim or go cliff jumping.
Near the cliffs theres a grassy area where bands come and perform, or where people can just sit under some trees and become one with nature. You can literally close your eyes and just be in a state of bliss because it's so peaceful.
Even though this place is very touristy, if you're from the area, it's a nice place where you can bring your friends and hang out, or even take a study group there so you can take a break from the books and maybe take a swim or go cliff jumping.
You can see a boat in the middle towards the left side, as well as some heads popping up from the water. This shows there are endless things to do in the La Jolla Cove.
Americana at Brand
There's a mall in Glendale, CA (suburb of Los Angeles) called Americana at Brand. It's basically a typical California mall- an outlet mall with clothing stores, shoe stores, an apple store, and restaurants, however this mall has a "dancing fountain". This water fountain plays music and is basically like the water speakers you can find in Spencers but in the fountain the water shoots out in various ways and heights to the different beats of the songs.
The dancing never stops, it's always mind-blowing. You may think that looking at water may get boring however a short clip from Igor Bondarev (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQEXswRCcVg) could prove you wrong. Just the different movements and lighting makes the fountain a great place to look a beauty without having to spend too much money or waste any energy. You can witness this beauty basically at any time of the day- either in daylight or night time.
I went to this mall right when the stores were about to close so it was that point of the day when the sun was setting and they turned on the lights to the fountain. The sight of the dancing fountain is unbelievable. This place should be on the list of things to see when you go to Los Angeles. It's costless yet worth seeing, who wouldn't want to dance with a water fountain?
The dancing never stops, it's always mind-blowing. You may think that looking at water may get boring however a short clip from Igor Bondarev (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQEXswRCcVg) could prove you wrong. Just the different movements and lighting makes the fountain a great place to look a beauty without having to spend too much money or waste any energy. You can witness this beauty basically at any time of the day- either in daylight or night time.
I went to this mall right when the stores were about to close so it was that point of the day when the sun was setting and they turned on the lights to the fountain. The sight of the dancing fountain is unbelievable. This place should be on the list of things to see when you go to Los Angeles. It's costless yet worth seeing, who wouldn't want to dance with a water fountain?
University of California San Diego
As we get closer in graduating high school, many students our age may start to be thinking about what colleges to go to and where to look. A recent ranking showed the University of California San Diego as number one for the fifth year in a row. I was fortunate enough this summer to have visited this college and look at the campus and walk around it with a tour guide while she told us about what UCSD has to offer. It's about a 10 minute walk to the beach from campus (to the La Jolla Cove).
An interesting fact about UCSD is a collection of six colleges- Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt, John Muir, Revelle, Thurgood Marshall, and lastly Sixth college. On the tour, our guide made sure that you can major in all that UCSD has to offer at any of the colleges, however each of the colleges have different ways to earn your major, for example Warren focuses on three aspects- Social, Intellectual, and Professional compared to John Muir where they focus more on an individual and accommodate their work/study habits as well as their interests.
On campus there are many restaurants/ fast food options, including a Burger King inside of the building. I ate at a Greek restaurant which I had a gyro (I must say it was pretty good). There's also a huge, eight story library which is designed to look like hands holding a book. My tour guide told us that the first couple levels are louder than the other levels so the best place to study is the eighth level in the library because it's extremely quiet. Near the library are two cool objects. One is a statue of Theodore Geisel, also known as Dr. Suess. That library was designed the way it was because of him so they made a statue in honor of him. The other cool object near the library is a tree known as 'The Singing Tree' that plays the most random noises and songs.
An interesting fact about UCSD is a collection of six colleges- Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt, John Muir, Revelle, Thurgood Marshall, and lastly Sixth college. On the tour, our guide made sure that you can major in all that UCSD has to offer at any of the colleges, however each of the colleges have different ways to earn your major, for example Warren focuses on three aspects- Social, Intellectual, and Professional compared to John Muir where they focus more on an individual and accommodate their work/study habits as well as their interests.
On campus there are many restaurants/ fast food options, including a Burger King inside of the building. I ate at a Greek restaurant which I had a gyro (I must say it was pretty good). There's also a huge, eight story library which is designed to look like hands holding a book. My tour guide told us that the first couple levels are louder than the other levels so the best place to study is the eighth level in the library because it's extremely quiet. Near the library are two cool objects. One is a statue of Theodore Geisel, also known as Dr. Suess. That library was designed the way it was because of him so they made a statue in honor of him. The other cool object near the library is a tree known as 'The Singing Tree' that plays the most random noises and songs.
Me on the stage where one of the head councils lectured to us about the qualifications they look for when they accept students to their university.
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