Labor Day in LA

For Labor Day weekend, we drove down to LA, picking my sister up along the way.  The trip was to visit friends and family, especially Cousin T who just moved down there after her wedding!

 We started at the zoo, thanks to tickets from my uncle! It was very hot. And the LA zoo is HUGE. So it was a very long day, haha.

West Nile Virus warning @_@

Poor little guy only has three legs..

Prairie dog girls!

Loved this goat rock exhibit! They were chasing each other around the whole rock!

This tree is cool! And dangerous!

A raccoon telling you to recycle. Makes sense, they love to dig through trash canes >.>"

After the zoo we went to the Galleria in Koreatown for lunch. Penga-Sis and Cousin T enjoyed Korean version bentos. The fruit salad/potato salad crossover was interesting.

I had a bibimbap style sashimi bowl. So tasty!

After some shopping, we met my Aunt and Uncle at their atelier (my uncle is a runway/wedding dress designer). We stopped by for a stroll at the LACMA, playing in their outdoor art installations.

Spaghetti strings!

Famous lamps!

Giant rock!

Penga-Sis is an earth bender, ya know~

And the end of a long day - with Jambas, pretzels, and cover bands at the Grove!

We checked out their American Girl store..holy cow, I would have died if they had this when I was younger. A full salon for your doll! I have a Molly doll in storage back at home, which I guess made me a pretty spoiled kid.

 The next day we all met up again (this time with my Cousin E too) and had dim sum lunch in Chinatown, followed by shopping of course. While I love SF Chinatown - LA's is the best I've ever been too for shopping. Tons of shop stalls all lined up together in a giant alley - it's seriously awesome.

They sell fake butts at Chinatown. Everyone needs a fake bum.

And no trip to LA is complete without a walk through Japantown as well! It was a good day of shopping, as I found two SKET Dance figures at Marukai. Seriously, buy your action figures through the grocery stores if you can find them - they are usually cheaper.

Cousin E, me and Penga-Sis. You can see all the strap charms she bought hanging out her pocket, as well as the awesome pixellated sunglasses she found for $5. 

Anyway, we had a great time, and I'm glad my Aunt and Cousin E got to hang out with us a bit, despite the whole family being super busy with their NY fashion week prep. And for once I didn't get sick! Usually LA dries me out and makes me feel gross, but I remembered to constantly hydrate and moisturize this time.

Me talking to Penga-Sis: "Put this lotion on so you don't turn into crispy duck"
Penga-Sis: "We're gonna eat crispy duck? That sounds good."

We should go to LA more often. When's that high speed rail coming again? Ha!