Travel Diary: Avalon, Catalina Island

Hey everyone! Today I'm sharing some photos and a sort of "Travel Guide" to Catalina Island. My mom and I went last Monday, and it was really fun! We woke up super early (4:30) and drove to Newport Beach, where we took the ferry. We made the mistake of sitting on the top deck- it was freezing! We sat on the top on the way home and it was perfectly warm, so just don't sit on the top on the way there. We arrived at Catalina around 10:45, and we were really hungry because we had been up for so long already. We decided to eat lunch at a little beach, and then walk along the main street that parallels the water. 

We walked along the street until we got to the Casino, which is a main attraction for visitors to see. We didn't go in, but it was cool to see. 

This is the view walking back from the casino. 

This building reminded me of one that should be in Cape Cod.

This hotel on the main street is just the cutest! So many houses were painted bright colors. 

My mom and I took the tram up the hill to the Wrigley Nature Center and Memorial (Wrigley, like the gum). It was really interesting to read about the plants that only grow on Catalina Island, and see the plants that grow there naturally. 

There was a huge memorial for Mr. Wrigley, who lived on Catalina Island. Here's a pic of my mom and I. 

We then took the tram back into town and got some ice cream. We went to Scoops because they sell their own ice cream and not Dryer's. We took our ice cream and ate it by the beach. Yum.

I loved going to Catalina for a day; it was so fun!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Travel Diary: Mammoth Lakes, California

Hey everyone! I'm back to blogging after a week long camping vacation. Every year we go to Mammoth, California and usually camp (we have also stayed in a hotel/a cabin). I thought I would share some snaps from our trip. 

Upper Twin Lake

Lake Mary (our personal fave)

How pretty is this sunset from our campsite?

My first favorite hike is Emerald Lake, and this creek runs next to the trail. 

My other favorite hike is Heart Lake. When you hike to it, you get a great view of Lake Mary!

Hey Cookie and Mom :)

This is the view from the Heart Lake trail. Not too shabby.

Cookie hearts Heart Lake!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Georgetown University Tour

Hey everyone! I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I have been really trying to focus on getting my summer project done, so I left blogging on the back-burner. Today I will be sharing some pictures from a tour of Georgetown University that my soccer team and I went on around two and half weeks ago. 

Georgetown University is located in the neighborhood of Georgetown in Washington DC, and is situated on the Potomac River. It has an undergraduate enrollment of around 7600 students. 

This was my favorite building on campus!

This is the view from the football field looking up at the business school.

There were definitely different materials used to build the various buildings on campus.

Here's the view from some student housing- not too shabby!

The campus has a lot of open green space, and this particular building reminds me of Princeton!

This is the view looking down at the football field from above.

These houses are the cutest, and they're just across the street from GU!

Overall, the campus is super pretty and the town of Georgetown is really cute. Georgetown University is pretty rigorous academically, and is comparable to an Ivy League school. It was interesting to visit another college after committing to Colorado, but I know that i made the right choice!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Fab Friday

Hey everyone, and happy Friday! I don't really have anything planned for this weekend except soccer practice, but hopefully it will be fun. This past week was my first week on summer vacation. I've been pretty busy; I went swimming, saw Now You See Me 2 (it was really good), went to a grad party, and went to Santa Monica!

one:

How beautiful is the Santa Monica pier? I've lived in California my whole life and had never been, so we decided to give it a go! We had beautiful weather and going on a week-day was great because it seemed to be less crowded.

two:

We did some shopping on 3rd Street Promenade, and I ventured into Club Monaco for the first time. It is absolutely adorable! I loved how bright it was and how they added pops of pink and blue. I didn't purchase anything, but I will definitely be back!

three:

We stopped by the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and walked around. They had the prettiest flowers, and were only $5! Unfortunately, we took the train to Santa Monica, so it wasn't very practical to take them home. At least I got some pictures :)

four:

 For lunch we went to the cutest restaurant on 2nd Street. It just opened, and is seriously the best-designed restaurant I've seen. It's called Flower Child, and specializes in healthy vegetarian and vegan options, but you can add different "proteins" to your meals. The restaurant has a very happy, friendly atmosphere, and their food is super yummy! I can't wait to go back!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Alyssa

University of Colorado Boulder + Exciting Annoncement

Hey everyone! Today I'm sharing some more pictures from our trip to Colorado (here's the first post). The main reason for our trip was to visit and tour the University of Colorado Boulder. The campus is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to spend more time there!

Leeds School of Business

Folsom Field (football stadium #skobuffs)

Farrand Field (a quad in the middle of some of the dorms)

Norlin Library

I'm beyond excited to announce that I verbally committed to play Division 1, PAC 12 soccer at the University of Colorado Boulder! I can't wait to be a Buff (in 3 years)!!

I hope you enjoyed seeing some pictures of my future home!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Travel Diary: Colorado

Hey everyone! I'm so happy to finally be on summer break and to get back to blogging! During the last week of May, my parents and I went to Colorado. I had never been, and I had an amazing time. We went to Denver and Boulder, and I thought I would share some pictures!

Day 1

We flew into Denver, and spent an hour exploring the city before getting a rental care and driving up to Boulder.

We stopped and walked around the University of Denver, which was so cute! It really reminded me of a small east coast school.

The main purpose of our trip was to see the University of Colorado Boulder, so we drove up and looked around the campus. The next day (Day 2) we took a tour, and I will have a post coming soon with all of the pictures from CU Boulder's campus! The night of our tour we went up to Pearl Street and ate dinner and did some window shopping. 

Day 3

The next morning we went to the Buff for breakfast after a very exciting morning (more on that to come). I ordered the french toast and it was so good!

That afternoon we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was so pretty and we had a few wildlife sightings!

How cool is this frozen lake? 

Day 4

We started off the morning with a trip to the Boulder Farmer's Market.

So many people rode their bikes to the Farmer's Market!

Every Saturday, a goat farm on the outskirts of Boulder opens to the public for visiting! We went and were able to visit the goats.

This little guy was only a little over one week old!

Some of the older goats were really social and would just hop on your lap.

The goat farm also had flower fields.

Mountain Flower Goat Dairy Farm is so pretty!

That afternoon we drove up by Chataqua Park and went up into the mountains. You got a really good view of Boulder, as well as CU's campus.

 Day 5

On our last day we went to the Alpine Modern Cafe for breakfast. We all had pastries, and the cafe is so cute! After, we drove to CU for one last look at the campus. We then began our descent to Denver. We took a few pictures at the capital building and then began our journey home!

Thank you so much for reading! I know this post was a long one. Make sure to keep your eyes out for a post with all of the pictures from University of Colorado Boulder, along with an exciting announcement!

xoxo,
Alyssa