After a long travel day, we finally made it to the beautiful West Coast!

The Santa Monica Pier greeted us with blue skies, warm sunshine, and the smell of the Pacific Ocean. Leaning into the boardwalk experience, we refueled with some local eats and began to explore!

Beneath the Pier, we spent some time learning about the local sea life at Heal the Bay Aquarium.

Heal the Bay Aquarium also featured touch tanks and a shark feeding!

As our long day began to catch up with us, we said goodbye to Santa Monica and set our sights on dinner! Koreatown was filled with delicious options just a short breezy walk from our hotel.

With full happy bellies, we settled back into our hotel for the evening to rest up for our next adventure: Joshua Tree. Our wonderful Envoys guides prepped us for the 48 hours ahead by providing weather updates, packing lists, and advice for the upcoming terrain.

Our campsite will be one of the most remote within the National Park which will help our group completely disconnect from the outside world and immerse ourselves in the beautiful lands that await us.

With an early Monday morning call time, we said goodbyes to those back home through FaceTimes, texts, and phone calls. It wasn’t long until it was lights out for everyone, replenishing our bodies with some much needed sleep and showers.

Here’s to two incredibly unique days ahead for our California team! Check back in to read all about our Joshua Tree discoveries on Wednesday!