Elliott Street, Pasadena, California, USA

The streets of Pasadena are lined with multimillion dollar houses, some cars you only read about on the pages of magazines, and one of its most defining characteristics: lush green trees. These are called street shade trees because of the shadows they cast. This deserted street is the epitome of the Pasadena atmosphere and what separates this area from its surroundings.

Plaskett Creek Camping, Big Sur, California, USA

Right off the windy, scenic roads of the Pacific Coast Highway is the Plaskett Creek Campground, located just across the road from the Sand Dollar Beach in the Big Sur area. Derived from "el sur grande" in Spanish, with a rough translation to "the big south", this area was named because of an expedition led by Gaspar de Portola, a Spanish explorer that was a part in the establishment of the town of Monterey - Big Sur was considered a vast, open area located south of Monterey. The Esselen tribes of Native Americans, among others were said to be the first to that area. Darkness was quickly approaching as we were ready to relax under the Monterey pine trees within the Los Padres National Forest. Our campsite was ready with tents, chairs, covers for the rain, and a burning fire. Surrounding the campfire, we made s'mores, played games, and ate burgers as the dark night descended upon us. Good times!

Venetian Masks, Venice, Italy

Strolling along the streets of Venice and along the many waterfronts, vendors and stores were filled with elaborate masks in all kinds of colors, designs and personas. A Venetian mask can be used for a multitude of purposes; to disguise class or identity, whether it is to be able to act without social confinements, act with criminal intentions, or used in romantic encounters. Or, it can be used as a way to portray a message, whether it is simply through appearance or performance. Popularly used in the Carnival of Venice that runs for the approximate 2 weeks before Ash Wednesday, but always sold year-round, these masks are famously from the City of Water, Venice. I came across this particular mask while window shopping, and was amazed at how extravagantly designed it was with gold coloring and incredibly detailed features. Each mask tells a different story that one can conjure up just from looking at the unique details of the mask.

Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Avenue of the Stars cuts through the high rise office buildings of Century City and is home to the Century Plaza Hotel, just adjacent to these fountains. The iconic Hotel has hosted presidents, Apollo 11 astronauts and many other high-profile people and events. At night, these fountains light up spectacularly with eye-catching water displays. Through the fountains, high rise buildings can be seen in the distance. A night like this one was quiet and there were few cars or people around, making it considerably easier to stop and take photos!

Good night!

Los Angeles Marathon, Los Angeles, California, USA

Congratulations, Myley, on finishing the Los Angeles Marathon!!! Taking place on Memorial Day, the weather was overcast in the morning and made for excellent running conditions compared to typical hot and sunny Memorial Days in years past. Meandering through the streets of Los Angeles, the 26.2 mile marathon started in downtown LA, went south, west, north, east (a bit more complicated than that) and returned to 5th and Figueroa in downtown LA. As a spectator around the 23rd mile, I watched as runners of all ages trekked their way to the finish lines. It was inspiring, and quite amazing because of the sheer endurance, self-motivation and months of training it took to get to that point. Congratulations to everyone that completed the run!

Victor the Florist, Santa Barbara, California, USA

Walking through the magnificent Santa Barbara Courthouse brings into view the mountains of Santa Barbara. I took this photo of the "Victor the Florist" store off of Santa Barbara Street. With palm trees surrounding and the pink color of the store, with white buildings around, this intersection seemed old-fashioned, but charming. Along with some of my favorite food from Santa Barbara, this was a great day trip to start Memorial Day weekend!

Big Boots, Cheyenne Depot, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA

We powered through delays due to snow storms and road closures, stops at a bison ranch coming from Denver, Colorado, but we eventually made it to Wyoming! Road closures even blocked all the roads to Wyoming and we had to wait for about 30 minutes at a rest stop for them to open roads due to a snow storm that had closed the whole freeway the day before. We arrived in the capital city, Cheyenne, and were greeted with isolated roads. It was a Sunday after all. After seeing the Wyoming State Capital Building, we went directly down the street to the Cheyenne Depot, a past Union Pacific Depot. Located outside the building is this 8 foot tall boot, among many that are painted by local artists to illustrate the history of both Wyoming and Cheyenne. The display is called the Cheyenne Big Boots!

Royce Hall, University of California, Los Angeles

One of UCLA's most recognizable buildings, Royce Hall was built in the Italian Romanesque Revival style. It was completed in 1929 and it was one of the four original buildings on the UCLA campus. It was named after Josiah Royce, an American objective idealist philosopher, who also had many years studying and writing history. The exterior of the building was designed similarly to the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. Royce Hall reflects into the beautiful Shapiro fountain across the green lawn. This view of the campus was part of my easy decision to decide to attend UCLA. Visiting the school always bring back such great memories. GO UCLA! :)

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Surrounding ancient legend of dragons coming to defend the local people, this bay in Northern Vietnam is most famous for its nearly 2,000 limestone monoliths that tower over the water. They are covered in green vegetation and add to the legends that define this area. Many of these islands have been given names, mainly associated with animals that they seem to represent. These particular islands shown in the photo are called the "kissing rocks" or "fighting cocks", depending on how you want to interpret it. The day was lovely and the water was relaxing. We all climbed down the ladder and jumped into the water as our boat was anchored in the middle of the bay. We were able to swim around in the warm water and come back up to the boat to dry off and proceed to have a fresh seafood meal!

Special Feature: Travel Tips, from experience

I love traveling and I especially love the planning aspect of it. However, things do not always go as planned. So, I've listed a couple tips that I've learned from experience that will hopefully help you out! Sorry, no photo on this post, but photo of the day to come after.

(1) ALARM CLOCK -- Don't forget about an alarm clock! If you're like me...you use your cell phone as an alarm, but low chance that the phone will be able to get service, and therefore, time on your phone. Without time, forget about using that as your alarm. I suggest little travel alarm clocks that are battery-powered. 

(2) ATM/CREDIT CARDS -- I prefer to use ATMs and/or credit cards in other countries. Who wants to carry around a stack of cash?! And, with cash, you have to use expensive currency exchange places to get local currency. So, I'd say to bring some money in cash and then use ATMs to get out more money as you need it. Just remember to get a good amount each time you get out cash (its usually a flat rate fee + about 3%) to make it most worth it - ATMs offer good exchange rates. Do some research to make sure the country you're going to has a lot of ATMs. Credit cards usually charge about a 3% international fee on top of all your purchases (check for specifics) so if you're in a country where you can easily use that, I think its a good idea.

(3) PASSPORT COPY  -- Always remember to bring a copy of your passport just in case your passport gets stolen. Make sure to put copies in different locations so it doesn't all get taken all at once if that happens. I think its always a good idea to scan it and have it saved in your email too. Access to email is worldwide and easily accessible.

(4) PHONE NUMBERS -- Write down phone numbers! Seems simple enough, but I've left the country without writing down any numbers and my cell phone isn't always around when I'm traveling. Don't be left stranded at the airport with no ride home if your cell phone battery has died. 

(5) CREDIT CARD TRAVEL ALERTS -- Call your credit card/debit card company and let them know you're traveling. You don't want to be in another country and realize that your account has been suspended because of "suspicious" activity. You just need to tell them start/end dates and the countries you're going to.

(6) TRAVEL BAGS -- Travel bags are very important. If you are going around all day, you don't want an uncomfortable, unsafe purse. My preference is for over the shoulder bags with multiple pockets (that all zip) so that you can put all the essentials in and not have to dig around for things you need (tourist alert!). I think over the shoulder bags are also the most comfortable to wear for a long time - I hate having travel purses that are constantly sliding down my shoulder.

What do you think? Anything you disagree with? Any other suggestions?

I'm hoping to add to this list as I think of things. Good night!