It's funny how most of California is basically empty. And then SoCal is a just a cluster *** of cities built on top of cities on top of the ocean and mountains.
Mountains you can't see particularly well unless you're on them, which detracts from the view, or it recently rained and the smog's cleared up for a bit. But then you're wiping green ooze off of stuff.
Despite that;
-Going over the ridge and looking over the San Fernando Valley was really awesome.
-Santa Monica Pier and the Third Street Promenade was amazing, if crowded. The mall was spectacular as well.
-Yosemite was breathtaking.
-Sequoia was rather nice, for what I was able to see of it. Unfortunately it was the middle of fire season and the Redwoods had a rough year, so that was all closed off.
-The Getty is worth a few visits at the very least.
-Knott's Berry Farm was fun, if you're into amusement parks.
-Hermosa Beach was really awesome, especially given I'd never seen the ocean in person before.
-The Korean Bell in San Pedro was really cool. And the view from the hill it's on is gorgeous.
-The USS Iowa was a really cool piece of history. Also, Iowans get to board for free. *** yeah, Iowa.
-'Little Osaka' was really nice. The ramen place my girlfriend and I ate at was really good.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck the highways though. 11 pm? Backed up. 2 am? Not much better. Peak hours? Just kill yourself, you'll be dead before you reach your destination anyway.
Also, Death Valley can bite me.