Hello and greetings from California! I’m staying in Manhattan Beach while I am attending the CrossFit Games this weekend. It’s a nice area!
I arrived in Los Angeles at 9:00 AM (PST) yesterday morning, which, of course, was a total time warp: waking up super early, traveling across the country, and then arriving with a full day ahead. It’s kind of weird, but I actually love traveling to the West coast because you get those extra hours!
Anyway, I arrived at LAX where there was a car waiting to take me to my hotel for the weekend. Reebok has our group staying at The Belamar, which is an adorable boutique hotel, not far from Manhattan Beach and downtown area.
My room is adorable, comfy, and cozy, and I slept like a baby last night.
When I checked into my room, I received a huge duffle bag full of new CrossFit gear from Reebok. It was like CrossFit Christmas! Seriously, Reebok is an incredibly generous company.
As soon as I opened the bag, I saw the Reebok CrossFit Nano 3.0, which I’ve been dying to try. A bunch of people at my box have them and rave about them all the time, so I really wanted to try them for myself. (You can have a chance to try the Reebok CrossFit Nano 3.0 for yourself by entering to win a pair!)
A short while later, Monica arrived at The Belmar so we could hang out. Even though we live on opposite sides of the country, we’ve seen a lot of each other lately!
Our first stop of the day: iced coffee! I got mine with soy milk. Yum! It was just what I needed after an early-morning flight!
Then, the two of us walked to Manhattan Beach and caught up on life.
Manhattan Beach is so pretty! I love beach towns.
Monica and I were both starving for lunch, so we popped into a little Mexican place. I ended up ordering a mixed green salad with chicken, guacamole, and bacon. It was good because I was so hungry, but it wasn’t really anything special.
After lunch, Monica and I did a little window shopping and then walked back toward my hotel.
We eventually decided that having a cocktail sounded like a nice way to spend our afternoon, so we snagged some seats outside the Tin Roof Bistro and ordered some drinks and apps.
As soon as I saw the “Tuk Tuk” on the cocktail menu, I knew I needed to order it. Listen to this: chili-infused tequila with Thai-inspire coconut milk, lime juice, and agave nectar. Oh, yes, it was awesome.
Monica and I also ordered the roasted Brussels sprouts to share, but I ate about 90% of them myself. I always get so hungry when I travel cross country””I need to fuel those extra hours!
Question of the Day
How do you deal with time zone changes when you travel? Do they even affect you? Do you tend to eat more? Sleep more? Drink more?
Fun! That hotel room is awesome too.
I so wish I had a bag of reebok gear sitting on my bed tonight 😉
When I travel in different time zones it usually throws off my sleep. Sadness.
Oooo I like that CrossFit bag too!! Cute stuff!!! Going out to play with my dogs now 🙂
I sleep less! Takes me a few days to catch up! I love gaining the hours…it’s going back home that’s the hard part! Those Brussels look awesome!!!
I absolutely agree – when I travel I am definitely more hungry throughout the day, especially after long flights. I know that some of it must be due to flying being so dehydrating, but I swear even when I drink even more water than usual I am more hungry!
I definitely eat more going that direction! When I flew back to WA 11 days ago, I woke up at 5 AM and had a protein shake. On the plane I ate a giant berry salad with granola, a Picky Bar, and air popped popcorn. When we landed in Seattle, I ate a big platter of Mediterranean food (pita, falafel, hummus, baba ganouj — YUM). Then, I had salmon, rice, and veggies for my … second dinner? If you’re awake for that many hours, it just feels right to eat that much!
Free stuff is always awesome, especially when it’s stuff you wanted to buy
I live on the West coast, so anytime I ever really go anywhere I have to lose hours! It’s no bueno
Those shoes are adorable!!
Welcome to Cali.
I love Manhattan Beach area so much. It’s so darn cute and usually a warmer coastline well, compared to northern Cali. Enjoy your stay.
I love traveling to places where there’s a time difference, though I hate losing those hours on the travel back.
I get really tired when I change time zones. I love Mahattan Beach! I am originally from the South Bay (even though I live in Milwaukee now) so I get jealous anytime other people are there and I am not. I actually dated a guy who used to bartend at the Belamar. That was years ago, though.
Travel in general can be tough. One of my biggest travel issues I had was that I had a hard time Unwinding. I used to get so wound up I couldn’t sleep or rest, which ended up taking all the fun out of traveling. Now I pack my chamomile and lavender tea with me. One cup and an hour later, I’m snoozing like a baby bear.
Welcome to the west side!
Those shoes look great!!
So jealous of how sunny and pretty it looks there. It is full on winter weather here.
I always get super hungry when I travel so I can definitely relate. What an awesome opportunity with Reebok!
I live right down the street from The Belmar. One of the best Whole Foods I have ever been to is not far from The Belmar. And Tin Roof is known for their Brussels Sprouts, so good. I am definitely trying the “Tuk Tuk” next time I go there.
When I travel my whole eating plan is thrown off. I am always hungry cause I am usually worn out and tired and need energy.
Jared is so jealous of your 3.0 nanos! Have fun at the Games!
Can you tell us more about the Reebok gear they gave you? What did you get and can you show us pics?
I love Manhattan Beach and always wanted to see it, it’s a nice place. And those shoes are looking adorable!!!
The shoes amazing! I hope I win! Have fun there at The Games.
Manhattan Beach really is such a cute area! and Holy swag bag!! 😉
I usually drink more and eat less, which is probably not the best combination haha! My sleep doesn’t really get affected by the time change, I adapt pretty quickly.
I would like to go lie on a beach today and never get up. It looks so nice.
When you get chicken and stuff from restaurants, etc, do you make sure it’s organic or hormone free , etc? I know I “should” but honestly its’ rather overwhelming (and maybe obsessive?) and maybe I need to RELAX more about it and just…eat? Thoughts?
I’d prefer to eat organic meat, but it’s not always an option and it’s not like I do it a lot, so I just don’t worry about it.
@Tina: Thanks! I don’t want to get obsessive about it either. Too much stress and I guess we have to do things within our means/capabilities.
I get hungry!! When I travel back and forth from school to home (halifax to toronto) there’s a one hour time difference. With a regimented schedule at school, even one hour makes a difference.
those brussels sprouts look gooood!
That drink sounds amazing!
do you know if that duffle is for sale? can’t find it! 🙁
Just asked about it, and it’s supposed to be on the Reebok CrossFit page. If not, it’s coming soon!
I am in the middle of traveling from Denver to Indianapolis, which is a 2 hours difference (mountain time zone vs. eastern time zone)…our eating was all kinds of mixed up yesterday….but that could have been a result of my long run before our flight, the bloody mary pre flight, or the major snacks I had on flight (including a Whole Foods turkey wrap AND vegan everything cookie…YUM). For me, it’s more just trying to adjust to normal meal times in the new time zone, which often results in an extra meal or 2 :).
welcome to my hood! kinda.
Looks like a fun trip! I’m jealous of that sweet bag of loot!
I think we need to see a shot of all your sneakers!
I lived in Redondo Beach for 3 years, and seeing these pictures makes me a little nostalgic! Although I didn’t LOVE living there, my son was born there and really, the beach is pretty sweet! You can hop on your bike and just start going north. I got into bike riding while I lived there. I was glad the Air Force decided to send me there, even though I can say I would never choose to live there on my own. It was great to enjoy a different way of life for a while!
Looks like a fun weekend! Personally I am ok with time zone changes when I’m traveling across country except that I tend to wake up earlier and want to go to bed earlier, which is not a bad thing. I have a harder time when it is a longer time zone change like when we visit our family in Australia. Then it’s just dealing with the pain until you get adjusted to the schedule! 🙂
Looks like you had a great weekend! I love Tin Roof Bistro! Their brussels sprouts are amaaazing!
I love Manhattan Beach and Hermosa…it’s one of my favorite areas to visit in Cali! That drink sounds delish!!
That sounds like a blast! One of my friends used to live in Manhattan Beach, and it’s definitely one of my favorite spots in the LA area. Jet lag usually doesn’t bother me too much as long as I make sure to get on schedule at my destination (eating at normal meal times, going to bed when it’s actually bedtime). The only time it really knocked me out was when I traveled to Istanbul last fall. I just had to take luxurious mid-afternoon naps on my first few days 🙂
This post makes me miss living in Cali! I lived in Redondo Beach, which is 2 beaches south of Manhattan. Such a fun area!
-AJ
FitTravelerAJ.com
I do tend to eat more and that airport food is no good so I am going to adopt your method of meal planning and pack my food to travel… I am always thristy too! I just read on realsimple.com that you can bring an empty water with you while travelling and you can ask certain vendors to fill your bottle for you so that is great! I am on my way to Korea next week for a whole year (yes I’m military) so I might not be the happiest to leave my hubby and our coo-koo dog Silas but I will definitely be prepared while travelling! Thanks for all the great tips!
I was just in LA a few weeks ago and stayed at The Belamar and ate at Tin Roof! We ordered the brussel sprouts and I totally though of you! Weren’t they delish?
Yesssss! 🙂
Hi !!!
Do you know where I can get that exact same crossfit bag from ??