WE'VE MOVED!

Hey guys!

I have some super exciting news... Wanderlusting in DC has officially begun a new chapter. With that, comes a new name, a new look, a new hosting platform and (finally) new updates.

I hadn't checked on this page in quite some time and for that I am sorry. However, I was so shocked and excited to find that I still had readers checking daily for updates. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your continued support and patience. This new blog will focus on many things, and I'm incredibly excited to share it with you.

My new blog is called The District Fox and can be found HERE. You can sign up for updates so you will be notified right away when I post! Also, don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram. You can also find me on BlogLovin and Pinterest.

Again, thank you for reading. I appreciate all of you so much.

Here's to new beginnings!

Cheers!

Casey

Day 11, 12 & 13: San Clemente/LaJolla/San Diego/Home

So, hey again. Maybe if I pretend that I didn't completely neglect this blog for two months everyone else will forget as well. Maybe? Probably not. I'm on a train from NYC back to DC after celebrating Christmas in the city. Seems like a good time to finally sneak in an update (and hopefully do so more often).

I think what I'm going to do is wrap up the last 3 days of the trip in this post and then transition the blog into more everyday, lifestyle posts. Food, style, local designers, etc. So here we go.

After waking up in San Clemente, the first thing we had to do was hit the beach. Our hotel was inland but not too far, so the drive to the beach was quick. We stayed for a few hours to catch some sun (which later turned into a decent sunburn, whoops) and then headed to LaJolla to grab some seriously authentic Mexican food. The drive from San Clemente was just over an hour so it was an easy mid-day trip.

LaJolla is beautiful and right on the coast. I had been about 10 years prior with my family and swore that one day I would live there. I just need to make about 3 million dollars more each year and I can! After driving around the city a bit we headed to find food. I honestly don't remember the name of the restaurant we ate at because 1. It took us 30 minutes to find parking alone and 2. we walked back and forth a few times before finally settling on the place we chose. Wherever we ate was good (I remember Sangria being involved) and then we continued our drive to San Diego.

After a quick 20 minute drive into San Diego and checking in to the hostel (International Travelers House), we dropped the car off at Alamo (I think, it's been a while hehe) and caught an uber to the hostel. The drop off process was incredibly easy and everyone was super friendly. Our hostel was a mile away so the ride back was also super painless. The hostel was great; at about $25 each/night we got breakfast, dinner, free activities (baseball game&karaoke while we were there) and awesome roomies. We obviously had a shared room and made friends with a guy from the UK, a girl from Germany and a couple from South Korea. The staff were all super friendly and the food was pretty good! It was also super centrally located, so we walked to everything.

We had originally planned to go surfing, to the zoo, the botanical gardens, etc. but ended up doing absolutely none of that (it was a bit chilly our last two days) and pretty much shopped, ate and wandered downtown. We did meet up with Naomi's friend Alex who works for Invisible Children for lunch one day. Other than that, lots of naps and lots of food (frozen yogurt, in particular). Clearly, we were tired.

On our final day we walked to the train station a bit early and actually switched our tickets on the Pacific Surfliner Train to give us more time back in LA (our flights were both out of LAX). The train literally rides up the California coast and it is amazing.

We met up with Nour&Anthony one last time for dinner at Sugarfish, which literally has the freshest sushi you will ever eat in your life, and topped it off with froyo at the most LA hotspot, Pinkberry.

After dinner, Nour dropped us off at the airport and Naomi and I headed to our separate terminals (after lots of hugs, of course). And that was it. 13 days of adventure. San Francisco to San Diego. Over 500 miles. Months of planning and it seemed like it ended so quickly. It's been about 7 or 8 months since the trip and it's crazy to think how much has already changed since then: TWO new jobs, new friends, anniversaries, oh and I'm going to Israel in two months. Well... on to the next.

XO,

Casey

Day 10: Los Angeles, part 3

Oh, whoops. Hi. I'm not saying I forgot about this for like a month, but yeah, I guess I kind of did. Well hello again. Welcome back. On to the next part of our trip: our 3rd (and final) day in LA.

After finally getting to sleep around 3am (wayyy past my bedtime) we woke up, had a breakfast party where Sam practically force-fed me waffle crisp cereal, showered the bonfire smoke smell out of our hair, got dressed and headed to downtown LA to assist our friend Anthony on a music video shoot. But before that happened, something super incredible and wonderful happened...

IN N OUT.

As a lifelong east coaster, I had only heard of the magical place that created insanely delicious burgers and fries that you could smother in cheesy, oniony, thousand islandy goodness.. So to say I got excited about the potential of animal fries in my belly was an understatement. Before the shoot we headed to a nearby (not really, but we didn't care) In N Out to indulge in the best meal of our lives. I got a regular cheeseburger and Naomi and I split the animal style fries. Looking back, I should have gotten my burger animal style as well but all the more reason to go back :) It was worth the wait and I've craved it almost every day since.

After we inhaled our food (but before food coma set in) we headed to the incredible loft where the music video was being shot. Our friend Anthony manages an incredibly talented artist, Halsey, who we had also met a few days prior at what I now refer to as 'the Nickelodeon party'. Her song, Ghost, is breathtakingly haunting and so damn catchy. That day, they were filming a video for the stripped down version of the song, using 15 different iPhones all capturing the same images from 15 different angles. It was such a unique and artistic set up, plus the loft we filmed in was incredible. Oh, and possibly the best part: our new friend Nour. Nour is fabulously trendy, ridiculously beautiful and oh so humble and fun. I'm so glad we met because I feel like she's a little piece of my soul out in California and I can't wait till she moves to NYC (Nour, that's a hint. Get here faster).

Incredible views of downtown+insane architecture. Hi, can I live here?

Casually creeping on everyone

After Halsey's shoot wrapped, my friend Jamison texted me that he was in town. Jamison does sound for Parachute, who happen to be one of my favorite bands to see live. After discovering Nour was also a fan of the band, we all headed down to the school festival they were playing at and watched their set. Parachute did a great job as always, though there isn't much to be said about their opening acts who were a bunch of teenagers "famous" from Vine. Though their acts were laughable, we all enjoyed watching their over-the-top diva behavior backstage. Stay humble kids, and don't rent a Ferrari trying to convince people you own it if you're not even old enough to drive it.

Look at these cuties

Before Parachute's flight out of LAX, and before Naomi and I had to head to San Clemente, we (all 12 of us) grabbed dinner at The Counter. This place is incredible. Essentially it's a build your own burger restaurant and they do not mess around. So. Many. Options. Somehow I ended up with a monstrosity of a burger that was larger than everyone else's, but nonetheless, it was delicious. Anndddd I just realized I had burgers twice that day. Hashtag clean eating.

My custom creation: The Monster Burger

After we said our goodbyes, Naomi and I began the hour-ish long drive to San Clemente. We checked in to the Hotel Miramar and were delighted to find super massive rooms and tonnnsss of movie channels (have you figured out that we love a good movie night?) that made for a relaxing evening.

Next: San Clemente beach & day 1 in San Diego!

XO,

Casey

p.s. Halsey's album just dropped yesterday so go check it out because she's dope as shit and wicked talented: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/room-93-ep/id930637389

p.p.s. For all you fellow east coasters who also love In N Out, the closest burger I can find is Shake Shack, and Red Robin has an appetizer called "Tavern Fries" that is basically animal style fries PLUS bacon. So now you can get your In N Out fix anytime, anywhere. (you're welcome)

Activities mentioned in this post:
The Counter; Los Angeles (multiple locations) 
Hotel Miramar; San Clemente, parking: free, wifi: free, $88/night

Wearing:
Brandy Melville tank (Naomi's), H&M flannel (Naomi's), PacSun jeans, Mossimo combat boots, Harry Potter Time Turner necklace (custom made from a keychain)

Twenty Five.

A few weeks ago I turned 25. As Josh so lovingly reminded me, I'm now closer to 30 than I am to 20. So that sucks. But I can rent a car now, so that doesn't suck. My best friend flew up from Florida and we had such a wonderful time together. We celebrated with a bonfire, s'mores, a food festival, a Parachute concert, a gay dance club, brunch at my favorite French spot in town (Le Diplomate), a farmers market, the zoo, puppies, more food, and a movie marathon.

My backyard is a bit magical, isn't it?

My roommates baked me my favorite cake because they're adorable like that.

(Wearing: H&M tank, Hollister sweater)

Parachute is always on top of their game. Fun fact: this venue turns into a gay bar. Of course we went.

Spent the whole weekend with these two. They're great.

(wearing: Garage tank (similar on sale))

The best lunch in town: Founding Farmers featuring brie&apple farm bread and house-made hibiscus soda

(wearing: H&M blouse, H&M pants, Michael Kors purse, Restricted pumps)

And to everyone who took time out of their day to send me a text, write on my Facebook wall, come to my party or send me a tweet: thank you. You all made me feel so loved and I appreciate more than you know.

XO,

Casey

                 

Day 9: Los Angeles, part 2

So today's post is about our last day in LA, or so we thought. The heat wave had started to subside a bit, so we woke up early that Saturday, packed up our car and headed to start our hike up to the Griffith Observatory. Griffith is located in Los Feliz (where we were staying) so we only had to drive five minutes to get to the parking area at the bottom of the trails.

View from the hike to the top

Now, I am not an athletic person. At all. My idea of exercise usually consists of yoga, dance and maybe some squats. But I was determined to complete this hike. Also, I bought super cute work out clothes specifically for this hike so I was kinda forced to put them to good use. Commence torture.

There are a few different paths you can take to hike up to the observatory. We chose the "beginner hike". It's not labeled but after a lot of research we were able to figure it out. We started early to 1. avoid the crowds and 2. try and avoid the heat. That only kinda worked, but it still was a lot cooler than Disney a few days prior. The hike is uphill, obviously, and even the beginner trail is a bit of a challenge in some spots. We did stop a few times for a minute or two to catch our breath, take photos and drink water. Which reminds me, BRING LOTS OF WATER.

Started from the bottom now we're here

The Griffith Observatory

The views are spectacular, and even if I were physically capable of running uphill, I would probably take my time anyway just to see how the city changes the higher you go. I was hoping we would get lucky with a clear day but it was pretty smoggy, which is quite normal for LA.

Not the best view of the sign, but still an incredible sight

Downtown LA is in there somewhere...

I'd estimate it took us about 30ish minutes to get to the top, maybe 45 at most. We hung around the outside of the planetarium for a bit, explored the inside to cool off and then started our trek back down. If you're thinking going down is a lot easier than going up, you're wrong. It's definitely not as tiring, but it's very easy to slip and fall (we watched about 3 people in front of us take a tumble) as the trails are steep, sandy and dusty. Just be careful and take your time.

After getting back to our car and changing, we decided we wanted a better view of the hollywood sign, so we consulted our handy iphones and found a spot we could drive to just a few minutes from Griffith. The drive is gorgeous, winding through the Hollywood hills and passing the most breathtaking homes. Drive slow as the roads are narrow and there are loads of cars going up and down (both residents and tourists).

A much better view from Lake Hollywood park

We snapped some photos and then headed to brunch. Originally, my friend Brian was supposed to join us but he flaked on us and went for a run. Then after we got to Alcove (back in Los Feliz, where Brian lives) he decided to continue his run and ended up literally running to brunch. Brian recommended Alcove and it did not disappoint. I wish I had taken pictures of the outdoor seating area we were in but the photos wouldn't even do it justice. The restaurant is inside a historic bungalow and is surrounded by gorgeous plants and flowers; it feels like a fairy tale. On the weekends you can either order at the counter and have them bring it to you or have a server. We chose the latter. Our server was fantastic and the food was even better. Brian and I both got eggs benedict with build your own mimosas while Naomi got lots of fresh fruit. Everything was delicious.

After brunch, (and after an hour long hunt for our car that we somehow lost/forgot where we parked) we decided we had spent too much time in West LA and headed to explore Beverly Hills. We also stopped by the Urban Light exhibit downtown and hung around that area for a while. We wanted to see the lights at night but had other plans and unfortunately weren't able to stay until it got dark. Downtown LA is a lot different than DC but actually reminded me of Downtown Tampa (where I'm from) quite a bit. So in a way it felt very familiar.

Urban Light - Los Angeles County Museum of Art 

At the last minute we decided not to head down to San Clemente (our next stop) and instead stay in LA an extra day. Our friend Anthony graciously offered his sofa to us, so we headed to his house in the valley, where we ended up having a dinner party and a bonfire that lasted till 2 am. Somehow I managed to forget to take a single picture after our hike, but sometimes it's nice knowing you enjoyed your night without your phone consistently in your hands.

Next: Los Angeles, day 3

XO,

Casey

Activities mentioned in this post:
Griffith Observatory hiking trail; free parking and entry. Shuttles available to the Observatory, planetarium shows: $3-$7 available for purchase inside the observatory for the day of the show only.
Lake Hollywood Park (view of the Hollywood sign): free parking
Alcove Cafe and Bakery: street parking, valet available, located in Los Feliz
Urban Lights Exhibit: parking: metered on streets nearby, free entry

Wearing:
H&M crop top, Adidas running pants (similar), Reebok running shoes (similar), H&M dress, Mossimo sandals

Day 8: Los Angeles

After our magical day at Disneyland we headed to the room we booked on Airbnb in Los Feliz, showered and headed to bed. We were beat and wanted to catch up on all the sleep we missed in Santa Monica. The next morning we woke up excited to start the 2nd half of our trip in southern California. Naomi and I both have tons of friends in LA and we were making plans left and right to hang out.

After grabbing coffee and pastries at The Coffee Bean (very LA of us, though I prefer Starbucks' bakery items!) we relaxed for a bit and then headed to NoHo to meet my friend Alex. At his recommendation, we headed to EAT for a late brunch. LA was still experiencing an extreme heatwave and the restaurant was somehow even hotter inside than it was outside, so we grabbed a table under the misting fans and each ordered a variety of dishes. I stuck with my usual eggs benedict, but took a chance on the Ned's Benedict (with avocado, my fav) and it did not disappoint. After a wonderful time eating and catching up, Naomi and I headed back to our house and settled in for a nap and catching up on our various Netflix shows (I told you we were party animals).

You can't tell, but we were dying in the heat

We didn't have any definite plans for the evening, so we headed back to NoHo to check out City Walk at Universal Studios. We had intended to spend a day at Universal but after our exhausting day at Disney we thought it would be best to not tire ourselves out too much. That combined with the still horrifyingly high temps and the cost of another park admission kept us just inside City Walk. Naomi wanted Panda Express so we loaded up on their famous orange chicken and checked out the shops and sights around.

Not a bad view from the Universal parking garage

Later that evening we received an invite to a party in Silverlake so we packed up our minion souvenirs and headed to the address we were given. We rolled up, found free parking (also, high five for not once receiving a parking ticket the entire trip!) and met up with Anthony, Sam and Halsey. The host of the party turned out to be an actor on a Nickelodeon show, and his house was incredible with a beautiful outdoor deck and breathtaking views of downtown LA. He was also incredibly nice and welcoming, which was quite refreshing and unexpected. We made plenty of friends that night, learned that not all child actors are stuck up, that others awkwardly grind on each other while no one else dances, and that LA is a very small world. Who knew? We headed back to our house a little after midnight to get ready for our hike up to the Griffith observatory. Yet, as soon as we got home I received about 3 invitations to hang out despite it being 1am. I guess the real parties in LA don't start till way past my bedtime.

Next: Los Angeles, day 2

XO,

Casey

Activities and lodging mentioned in this post:
Room on AirBnb in Los Feliz; $120 for two nights, free reserved parking
City Walk at Universal Studios; $10 parking after 3pm, free entry to City Walk
EAT; on Magnolia Blvd in NoHo, hourly street parking (free for up to 2 hours)

Wearing:
Forever 21 dress (similar), American Eagle hat

Day 7: DISNEYLAND

Well, yesterday I turned 25. So now I'm older and wiser and maybe, just maybe, that wisdom will push me to update this more than once a week. I'm trying, I really am. I'm very excited to share this portion of the trip with you all because it was one of the best days of my life. I've loved Disney for as long as I can remember. I was obsessed with all the movies (and still am), grew up going to the parks in Orlando and even broke out into songs from Aladdin just yesterday with my best friend. Yes, I am 25 and obsessed with Disney. Despite my obsession, I had never made it to Disneyland in California. I'd dreamed of it for years and I swore to myself that I would go no matter what during our trip. And I persevered. I say that because it was over 100 degrees out that day. Yes, one. hundred. degrees. But it didn't matter because I was in the happiest place on earth.

I was set on making the most of my only day at the parks, so we hatched a fool proof game plan. Originally, Naomi wanted to purchase a single park pass. I shot that idea down immediately and convinced her to get a park hopper. It's a great deal because you can go back and forth between the two parks (in Orlando, it's 4 - which is a lot more tiring and time consuming, but breaks down into a better deal price wise) all day without any limitations as far as number of times you can enter the park. This worked out well for us - since we had our handy Disneyland wait times app - and just changed parks to ride the rides with shorter wait times. I will say, Disneyland versus Disneyworld makes this easier, as the Orlando parks are much more spread out, meaning more travel time. Disneyland and California Adventure are literally next to each other and you can just walk from one to the next. Yay!

We got there early (before the parks opened) to beat LA rush hour traffic and park. We also chose to go on a Thursday. Originally our itinerary had us doing the parks on a Saturday and I quickly realized how bad of an idea that was. Disney is always crowded, but weekends, especially near the start of summer vacation, are essentially a no-go for me. Since I consider myself an expert on forecasting park crowds (I'm actually, legitimately, very good at this) I switched the date to Thursday, and we drove down to Anaheim from Santa Monica that morning. We hit almost no traffic, parked in the garage ($17 - though I'm pretty sure it went up a dollar or two since we were there in May) and took the tram to the entrances. I forced (like, actually yelled) Naomi to jog ahead of the crowds and we purchased our park hoppers ($137 each at the time, now listed at $150 online) and skipped our way into a magical day of rides, junk food and lots and lots of pictures. Luckily, Naomi loves Disney just as much as I do so we had an absolutely wonderful time.

The Disneyland castle is a lot smaller than the one in Disneyworld. But still wonderful

We started in Disneyland, grabbed Starbucks (I mean, seriously. Starbucks inside Disney? That's the dream) cried over the castle, rode a bunch of rides, almost died outside of Haunted Mansion because of the extreme heat, ate some surprisingly delicious theme park food, rode more rides, and then headed to California Adventure to do the same.

California Adventure

I'll spare you the details because even though I could literally (and usually do) talk about Disney for hours, I don't remember the order we rode everything in. And quite frankly, it's pretty unnecessary to tell you about. Our wait time app really made all the difference, as we could monitor the super popular rides (Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Soarin, California Screamin, etc) and pop over to them when there were much shorter lines. Single rider lines are also your friend if you're with just one other person. More often than not, you'll end up riding together anyway. So if you don't mind sitting next to a stranger while your friend is a row or two behind you, it's a great way to skip a lot of the waiting and make the most out of your day. We ended our day back at Disneyland and stayed until closing. I probably cried while leaving the parks that day and still miss the incredible day I had. In fact, my nostalgia is so bad right now I'm having to hold back from booking another flight out to LA like, tomorrow. But for now, enjoy the multitude of photos I took and I'll be back with another Disney update soon (I went to Disneyworld a few weeks back for my best friend's birthday and have tentative plans to attend the food and wine festival in October!).

Club 33. Has a ten year wait list or something ridiculous & a $11,000 yearly membership fee

Walt Disney's apartment, the light in the window would be on when he was in the parks. It has remained on since his death.

Next: Los Angeles

XO,

Casey

Activities mentioned in this post:
Disneyland and California Adventure; Individual one day park tickets: $95, one day park hopper: $150, parking: $17 (prices listed reflect those currently on the Disneyland website)

Wearing:
H&M crop top, H&M shorts, Mossimo shoes, Disney Ears, PacSun satchel