When choosing to go find the abandoned Griffith Park Zoo in Griffith Park, I was under the impression that it would be some kind of strenuous hike. It was not. 

In fact, the hardest part of the whole thing was going the wrong direction for a bit after parking our car, when we should have just headed straight for the open park to the right, where there also happened to be a Shakespeare performance happening. 

As we were wandering up the right path, Whitney noticed the cages to our left. They were literally just right there. There's even picnic tables where the animals once roamed/stood (because there's not a ton of room for roaming). No extreme trail or even really any hiking at all. You just walk up the path and you can see all the old cages. You can go inside the cages if you want. Some areas are gated off. But there's easy openings in the fence if you really have the desire. I can imagine this would be a creepy place to be at night. 

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Growing up, I had never heard that much about Los Feliz. It wasn't until five years ago when I came across this article in LA Magazine that showcased the area and some of the hipster places to check out, that I was determined to pay more attention to it. Usually I'll try to grab something to eat in this area before going to Griffith Observatory or Griffith Park, which it neighbors,

But it's a good go-to stop on the way to Griffith Park and Observatory to get some food and explore some shops. 

READ MORE FOR A SHOPPING + EATING RECOMMENDATION...

Having explored a lot of places in Santa Monica, I had only recently heard about Bergamot Station when I decided to check it out with Whit and Chris. 

I didn't know exactly what to expect. For some reason I thought it was part of a train featuring an art gallery/store (probably because Wikipedia says the site was previously a train station from 1875 to 1953). But turns out it was way different than that.

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The Original Farmers Market and The Grove are inseparable to me. I don't know why you would go to one without exploring the other since they seem to be almost apart of each other. 

READ MORE ABOUT THE GROVE AND THE ORIGINAL FARMERS MARKET...

PHOTOGRAPHY. So I love photography. In the way that you can tell a story with images. And the ability to capture moments in different times and places. I realized after I took my photography class that every photograph is really a perspective of the person that took that photograph. I think we forget that sometimes. 

Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City does an amazing job of showcasing select photographers and showing how photography is important in different ways. How each of these photographers contributes and their personal perspective and method of photography.

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So I've been wanting to go to a drive-in movie essentially since I've gotten a car. And not for the not-watching-the-movie-Grease-lightning-factor — I really want to just pull up to a large screen and watch a movie under the stars. Does that sound cheesy? 

Either way, there's not that many drive-in movie options in Los Angeles. This article mentions some (and maybe when I'm back in Los Angeles this summer I can check it out for myself), but for the most part I've found that they're at the top of parking garages or something urban. Which could be cool, although not exactly my 50's vision. 

Anyhow, a drive-in was not in the cards at this time, so we opted for the next coolest thing — blankets and grass and food and lawn chairs in a Los Angeles park to watch "The Karate Kid" under the non-existent starry sky. 

The event was put together by Eat|See|Hear and located at a park in Beverly Hills with the kind of streets that have five different signs telling you when not to park — that was a little confusing. 

Overall, the event was really fun. They had food trucks, some fun interactive things such as getting a caricature drawn (although Whit and I waited in line for that for about 30 minutes and then were told they didn't have time for one or two more), and the vibe was really relaxed and friendly.  

They also had the director, John G. Avildsen, there to talk about the creation of the film, which was a really neat addition. #onlyinLA

I forgot how great of a film "The Karate Kid" is, and seeing it in that environment and having the director speak added more depth and interest to the film. 

I essentially learned that Mr. Miyagi knows best. Remember to wax on, wax off. 

READ MORE TO SEE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AND A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT WHIT & I

Over the coming days, I'll be highlighting some of my favorite places in Los Angeles that I had the opportunity to visit before I left LA last summer with Whitney, and her boyfriend Chris. We had fully packed days, and itineraries. So that'll be shared as well. 

For starters though...Remember that one time I posted about April and I painting spheres? And how you could too? Well, if not, you can see it (maybe for a reminder) here. My fanny pack has a little pink paint on it even to this day as a reminder. 

In summary though, we essentially had a day where we volunteered to paint these giant blown-up spheres through Portraits of Hope — an organization "aimed at enriching the lives of children and adults — many who may be coping with adversity or serious illness — through their participation in creative, educational, high-profile, one-of-a-kind projects." And by one-of-a-kind, they're referring to colorful city art installations all over the country. 

Well, kind of unfortunately, the opportunity to paint them has passed, and also the opportunity to see the installation has passed. BUT I do want to remember how cool it was when I finally saw the spheres in all their glory, floating at MacArthur Park. And that there were at least three of them that April and I carefully painted. 

READ ON TO SEE PHOTOS & FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SPHERES...

Unlike the beach areas where I grew up — Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beach — the best beaches, like Thousand Steps Beach or Shaws Cove, in Laguna Beach are hidden and not seen until you actually park your car and go discover them. 

One of the last things I did before I left Los Angeles was go to Thousand Steps Beach with Brittney and Krystal to find the "secret pools" I had kept hearing about. And also to see this beach.

READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW TO FIND THE POOLS...