NATIVE FOODS CAFE
Ian and I love zoos, we go to pretty much every one we're close to, wherever that may be in the country. Why? I love elephants and he loves reptiles -- can't really see those in the wild too often. We took an uber to the LA zoo, and of course there was a huge line to wait for tickets at like 1 pm. Alas, we made it in and I quickly passed my "navigator" role off to Ian because, as much as I like maps, I'm horrible at reading them. We made our way past the food, the children, saw the kangaroos and a dozen sleeping koalas (adorable), glanced at some gorillas, and started looking for the elephants. We ended up way in the far corner by the primates and were super confused, but it was worth it getting to see a month-old baby monkey swinging around with its mom :) So the zoo has the elephant exhibit in the middle of the park. That makes sense. What was less awesome, was the fact that there's no easy way to get to see them. We followed the paths doing a loop around the enclosure pretty much the whole way around, watching for the "Asia Outlook" or whichever other outlooks there were, and had no luck. Almost at the exit, we found one that, surprisingly, wasn't absurdly crowded where we could see them. Naturally, by this time, it was feeding time so they were all hobbling over to the far side of the enclosure to eat and sleep, but we got to take a good look at 2 of them, and that was much appreciated!After leaving the zoo, I wanted to explore the old abandoned LA zoo that's just down the road in Griffith Park. We had some incredible difficulties finding it, which I'm sure most people don't, but since I was in charge of directions, that explains everything. Eventually, after hiking up a mountain and coming in the back entrance, we started to get a clue and see some rusty graffiti-covered structures. Yep, that's the place. We were incredibly confused about everything we saw since it was all backwards, but eventually we figured out that the long tunnels we were at the top of were how the keepers would feed the animals. It makes more sense right away if you come in the right way, oops.
Naturally, by the end of this excursion, we were both pretty ready for some food.
So we called an uber to take us to Culver City, where the nearest Native Foods is. It's the kind of place where you walk in, order at a counter, and sit to wait for them to bring your your food. It's a perfect place if you want a casual but delicious dinner. Ian always eats vegan when he's with me and he's really starting to appreciate places where everything is vegan and you don't have to sort through the menu and find the 2 or 3 options that could be made vegan. We ordered and struggled to find a place to sit because it was FREEZING inside and there were no seats by the heat lamps outside.... but I stared at this one couple until they left and pounced on their table outside. Mm much better. Our food came and it looked something like this <<. As a starter we got the chili which was SO good, I would recommend it to anyone. I wish I could remember better but I'm pretty sure he got the Sesame Kale Macro Bowl and I got the Twister Wrap. I liked mine a lot -- I wish it had been warmer but that's what guac and salsa will do to you, and Ian managed his, but what can ya do if you don't like tempeh of kale. All in all, a good meal and I would love to come back! We abandoned the idea of an expensive uber or lyft ride home and just decided to take the expo line straight to campus and pass out for the night. REAL FOOD DAILY
Day 2's adventure was hiking. I've looked up plenty of cool hiking spots in LA and one of the ones my friends and I have always been intrigued by is an abandoned nazi camp, also known as Murphy's Ranch, hidden away in Rustic Canyon. If you want to read more about it, here's he link we used for directions. Of course, I got us lost here too, but that's not the point (I REALLY suck at directions). There's a bit of a boring hike along a fire road for the beginning of the trek, but there are some amazing views of Santa Monica.
There are 2 sets of stairs that take you down to the camp, and we found the second. We made it to the bottom and I promptly led us in the absolute wrong direction, go me. We wound up at the gate and some abandoned water towers first instead of the iconic buildings, but we got there eventually too. It's a lot less paved than I thought it would be once you get past the initial fueling station, but our backwards hiking managed to get us in the right place again (sort of a deja-vu feeling..) and we got some great pictures of the abandoned buildings. There's a pretty cool story to the place and I recommend reading up on it even if you don't want to go, because it's a pretty random but interesting place in LA. Who would've thought -- Nazis waiting out WWII in this hidden canyon.... Anyways, we headed back to the car (THANK YOU RACHEL FOR LETTING US USE IT) and had to pick a place to eat. Of course there was terrible service because my phone refuses to work like a normal cell phone, but we decided to eat somewhere nearby or at least somewhere that would put us in the direction of home. We were right near Westwood but I've wanted to try Real Food Daily more often than I've had the urge to visit UCLA. 
I've wanted to go to RFD since I, a) heard about it from my friends last year and b) since I saw one in the LAX American Airlines terminal. Awkwardly enough, though, we picked the one that was literally across the street from the Beverly Center.. and we were in sweaty hiking clothes. But LA is all about looking fit, right? Anyway, we found street parking behind the restaurant in a residential area and just walked around the block to it. Again, it was cold inside, so we asked for a table outside. Also figured it was a good idea not to stink up the restaurant. We had a nice view of the street... and a couple gentlemen's clubs and lingerie stores, pleasant. Either way, the food was delicious. Ian's was the Kung Pao, which was really good but had some weird ingredients in it. There was lotus root which was different but I have no complaints about it, it was just crunchy and mostly tasteless. But there was also a cube of something I've never seen before and didn't recognize at all, and it wasn't bad, per se, but we both avoided it. Mine was the Mediterranean Bowl, which they list as a salad, but it was the best salad I've ever had. It had some mock cheese and some modified mashed potatoes but it was soooooo good. We both shared both of them and, very full, waddled back to the car and drove home in good-old LA traffic. Home sweet home.
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