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City smackdown: Los Angeles love
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The City of Angels
Growing up in SoCal, I did not know just how special a place Los Angeles was until I left. This sprawling city, quick to draw the scorn of those not from here, encompasses culture, natural beauty, and diversity in a way few, if any, other cities can. I remember childhood summers filled with gorging myself on the always delicious In N Out before walking down the boardwalk of Venice Beach, taking in the colorful characters and street performers as I browsed the unique goods vying for attention in cramped stalls. Many a day ended with me lounging on the hood of my car watching the sky explode in a fiery crescendo of purples and reds in Malibu before making the journey home along Pacific Coast Highway, stopping at random when something interesting caught my attention. I always had to stop to admire the lights on the Santa Monica Pier.
However, my favorite areas of Los Angeles are the areas that are less known. 2nd St in Long Beach with its many shops and its old fashioned candy store, filled with bikini clad women and men in boardshorts, lazily pedaling on beach cruisers as they sought out a place to eat or shop. Escondido Falls, a beautiful and secluded waterfall in the Santa Monica Mountains. Catalina Island, home to herds of buffalo and surrounded by the alien world of the kelp forest, is located just off the coast.
The defining feature of Los Angeles, the reason why I love this city so much, is that it captures the imaginations of those who live here, and those who do not. Creativity abounds here, and inspiration can come from anywhere, from the snowy capped San Gabriel Mountains to the gritty urban graffiti found along the concrete sides of the Los Angeles river.
Los Angeles is a city defined by stereotypes, yet thrives under a rich tapestry of diversity. The city and the state of California have and continue to capture the hearts and minds of those who seek a creative, open minded place to live and grow.
Los Angeles is a place where you can soak up the golden rays of the sun on white beaches after breakfast, take lunch in a sleepy suburban town, and be tearing up the slopes by dinner. A place that even after 20 years of exploring, continues to surprise with new discoveries and treasures. A place I love dearly and hope to one day return. Los Angeles is Spanish for "The Angels" and a more fitting name could not be asked for. When you wake up in the morning to palm trees enshrouded in golden mists from a rising sun, Heaven is often the word that comes to mind, and if you listen hard enough, you can almost hear the soft rustle of an angel's wing as the city slowly awakens, ready for the new day.
However, my favorite areas of Los Angeles are the areas that are less known. 2nd St in Long Beach with its many shops and its old fashioned candy store, filled with bikini clad women and men in boardshorts, lazily pedaling on beach cruisers as they sought out a place to eat or shop. Escondido Falls, a beautiful and secluded waterfall in the Santa Monica Mountains. Catalina Island, home to herds of buffalo and surrounded by the alien world of the kelp forest, is located just off the coast.
The defining feature of Los Angeles, the reason why I love this city so much, is that it captures the imaginations of those who live here, and those who do not. Creativity abounds here, and inspiration can come from anywhere, from the snowy capped San Gabriel Mountains to the gritty urban graffiti found along the concrete sides of the Los Angeles river.
Los Angeles is a city defined by stereotypes, yet thrives under a rich tapestry of diversity. The city and the state of California have and continue to capture the hearts and minds of those who seek a creative, open minded place to live and grow.
Los Angeles is a place where you can soak up the golden rays of the sun on white beaches after breakfast, take lunch in a sleepy suburban town, and be tearing up the slopes by dinner. A place that even after 20 years of exploring, continues to surprise with new discoveries and treasures. A place I love dearly and hope to one day return. Los Angeles is Spanish for "The Angels" and a more fitting name could not be asked for. When you wake up in the morning to palm trees enshrouded in golden mists from a rising sun, Heaven is often the word that comes to mind, and if you listen hard enough, you can almost hear the soft rustle of an angel's wing as the city slowly awakens, ready for the new day.
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