The Last Place I Wanted To Go…

Author’s Note: Last year I wrote this story to show that not every story needs to be written. There are other ways to tell a tale. This is a story mostly in pictures. I’m publishing it again as a prelude to Part 3 of An Unexpected Journey, which I hope to write by the end of June.

Four years ago, I would have told you that Los Angeles was one of the places I desired to travel to least. In May of 2019, we made a decision that would forever change our lives. The decision took us to LA more times than I could have ever imagined; this is a pictorial story of my time spent in southern California:

June 2019

We drove to the coast, emotionally and physically exhausted, after saying goodbye to one of our own. The sun did not warm the sadness in my soul. The ocean showed me the vast journey that lay before us.


July 2019: This picture was taken on one of my two trips to LA in July.

Agora Hills: the first area we stayed

August 2019: These pictures were taken on one of my two trips to LA in August.This trip was for my husband children and myself. During this time we tried to add some levity to a very difficult time

August Sunset: driving the Pacific Coast Highway after a long flight
El Matador State Beach
Santa Monica Pier
Griffith Park
A valiant attempt in the blistering sun: a hike on the Griffith Park Trails to the Hollywood sign.
Venice Beach


September 2019

Sunrise during an early morning run in Agoura Hills


October 2019:

The Getty Museum
The Museum of Death


November 2019


December 2019

Trip 1: the weekend of December 14-15

Malibu Creek State Park: a hike to the area where scenes from the tv show MASH were filmed.

Trip 2: December 24-31,

An attempt to bring us together and add some fun, in an otherwise excruciatingly hard time.

Christmas Day Hike in Malibu Creek State Park


Universal City December 26, 2019
The only snow we experienced over the holidays
The view from Universal City
View from a hike in Topanga State Park
Urban Los Angeles


January 2020


February 2020: Finally feeling the sun warm our spirits

Early mornings on Venice Beach



March 2020: I flew to LA, in early March, with a fear that I would not make it home. COVID was starting to close down the world. I had a back up plan if the planes were grounded, but that did not happen.

I wanted to go to the water, but not the beach. I found an area called Marina Del Rey and was pleasantly surprised to find sea lions.


Road trip up the coast to Santa Barbara

Old Mission Santa Barbara
Old Mission Santa Barbara

Mid March – End of June 2020

I used this time to regenerate. During the lockdown, not only was I missing the reason we went to LA, but I was strangely yearning for the area itself. I had grown to love and appreciate the beauty of the rugged hills and the vast beaches.

July 2020-August 2020: A series of four trips were taken to and from LA. Due to COVID many things were closed, but we managed numerous walks and roadtrips.

Many hours were spent in Marina Del Rey and on Venice Beach, just walking.

Venice Canals

On August 27, 2020 we departed LA. We did not return until March 2022 and that was a trip purely for pleasure.

We were emotionally and physically exhausted. I rarely brought my camera; most of these picture were taken with our cell phones. Obviously not every trip had pictorial documentation.

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Author: Sarah

sarah@tell-me-your-story.org

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