In early January I flew to Los Angeles to work the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and escape New England winter. I’m two weeks in and this has proven to be a wise choice — I wear short sleeves daily, drink iced coffee, and take long walks in the sunshine (that last part is forced because I don’t have a car out here, but I quite like it). In short: winter is the perfect time to be in Southern California.

During my cross-country flight I couldn’t help but take frequent photos out the window. I almost never take daytime flights to Los Angeles because when I lived here I always flew at night to squeeze in more time with family on the east coast. So there’s a novelty to watching the country pass below.

The Rocky Mountains:

The Grand Canyon:

I think this is Big Bear Lake:

San Bernardino County:

South of downtown LA:

The 405:

And finally, LAX:

I spent my first three nights at the HI Hostel in Santa Monica. The HI brand is world-wide and I’ve stayed in many of their properties around the world, but this was my very first hostel stay in the United States. I picked it because of the location (between Third Street Promenade and the Santa Monica Pier — it doesn’t get more central than that) and the fact that I could walk to work from there, so I could manage without a car. Including taxes and non-member fees, the total came to $50 per night for a six-bed female dorm room. (The first night our room was full, the next two nights I had it all to myself.) While that makes it one of the most expensive hostels I’ve stayed in, it’s not bad for the area. I looked into AirBnb but the cheapest nice place (read: non-sketchy) came to $90/night including all fees, so the hostel won out. A few interesting notes: you can only stay in this hostel for a maximum of 15 days per year, so they don’t want anyone to take up residence there. And it’s technically not open for LA County residents, meaning I had to use my passport as an ID when I checked in since I still have a California license with an LA address.

In short: this hostel was the perfect place to stay short-term while working nearby in Santa Monica. (A few days later I moved into my apartment sublet in the Valley, which I could’ve done from the beginning but it would’ve meant a much longer public transit commute.)

Here’s the dining area (there’s a large kitchen in the back); they served a full and free breakfast each morning:

Outdoor lounge area:

And indoor lounge with fireplace and comfty seating (where I edited photos most nights):

Each night they had a different activity; this particular evening was Food Truck and Comedy Night:

And here’s my room — each bed has its own light with two power points to charge devices:

I took full advantage of being this close to the ocean. On the afternoon I arrived — by the way, it cost me $1 to get from LAX to the hostel via Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus; total travel time was 45 minutes — I threw my bags into the room and hustled outside with my camera to take advantage of the daylight. And I picked up a delicious iced coffee along the Third Street Promenade.

Being in this area always reminds me of marathon training with LA Leggers — I did that eight years ago with my Y&R co-worker Molly; we came down to Santa Monica every Saturday morning at the crack of dawn to run double-digit miles before 9am. Isn’t that nuts? I can’t believe we did that. And Molly and her husband still do it! They are my heroes.

Here’s one of TWO wedding couples I saw on this particular Tuesday afternoon. Are there always mid-week bridal photo shoots happening here?

Santa Monica Pier in the distance:

That glorious sunset light…

What an exhilarating afternoon! Such a joy to listen to the waves crashing on the shore and watch a spectacular sunset. It’s free and provides such a high. Proximity to the ocean is a wonderful thing.

I grabbed dinner at True Foods Kitchen, a small chain I first learned about in Denver a few years ago when my uncle introduced me to one of their locations. The food is EXCELLENT and fresh and healthy (based on an anti-inflammatory diet). I ended up eating here three nights during my stay in Santa Monica, lingering over my dish while editing photos.

That wraps up my return to LA. Back to Africa posts tomorrow!