Notebook: 100,000 air miles and no where to go. My first Airbnb trips to Los Angeles, Venice Beach and Joshua Tree.

I had promised my last holiday of the year would be Thailand, but, it was not to be. Upon inspection I noticed I had some Virgin Atlantic air miles to use. I’d accumulated about 100k over the last 8 years and never got around to using any due to working so much.

Virgin Atlantic, Direct, London to LAX, £250… done.

As with all my trips I wanted to experience as much as possible whilst in that general direction, so I decided to experience another ‘first’ for me - Airbnb. I’ve never used Airbnb, I usually just go for hotels and it seems that if travelling alone, its not exactly the cheap option, but I quite like the freedom of a ‘home from home’.

I’d heard that Venice Beach was pretty cool, chilled, on the beach, and some cool spots to hang out, eat, and take pictures. I hadn’t had a beach holiday for so long. Venice made the cut.

West Hollywood was next on the list - equipped with a Soho House, cool stores, coffee shops and restaurants. I wanted to avoid the typical ‘tourist’ spots of the walk of fame, but from what I had heard thats pretty easy to do. Plus I knew a few people in WeHo (West Hollywood). West Hollywood was added to the itinerary.

Now to take some time to relax. I had previously seen instagram pictures of Joshua Tree - out in the desert, about a three hour drive from Venice Beach. I assumed (correctly) it would be the 35 degree equivalent of my Norway trip from earlier in the year, quiet, with breathtaking views. That makes three.

Three airbnb bookings later I had my trip sorted, 4 days in Venice Beach, two days in Joshua Tree, and four days in West Hollywood. Plus a cool Jeep Wrangler from Hertz would be waiting for me at LAX.

Here we go again.