From Huntington to Hermosa: My SoCal Travels

This past weekend marked my 4th trip to SoCal this year, and as always, it was a blast. Since I’ve been busy (read: lazy) and haven’t written much about my travels, let me catch you up on my SoCal trips taken year-to-date:

• May, round 1: Huntington Beach solo trip to visit Thien and watch the NCAA Mens’ Volleyball Championships. It also marked 10 years since I met the devoted BYU fans that would become my friends at my first NCAA Championships in Chicago.
• May, round 2: Back to Huntington Beach, this time with the Gap hoodie gang (it’s exactly what it sounds like) to watch AVP. We stayed basically right next to the beach, and had acai bowls every chance we got.
• August: AVP Manhattan Beach. We ditched the road trip for a quick flight, and scored the same Airbnb as last year. It was mostly the same crew, but there were also some new faces, and all-around good vibes.
• Last weekend: Hermosa Beach with “the Bens.” No agenda, just beach and volleyball. Sometimes, simplicity wins.

I met Ben Butler at church last fall, and we started hanging out as we got to know each other. He mentioned he played volleyball, so naturally, I invited him to a meetup to assess his skill level. He passed, so we started playing together more regularly. When he told me he’d played in Hermosa Beach last summer, I immediately told him, “I’ll go to Hermosa Beach anytime you want — it’s my happy place.”

Ben Fu and I also met at church around the same time, and we connected over being Asian, having Asian parents, and eating Asian food. It was convenient that the Bens were good friends and roommates, which made it easy for me to get to know both of them. They also possessed a certain youthful exuberance that I’m not sure I ever had.

One of the highlights of this last trip was the novelty of traveling with new friends. There’s no better way to get to know people than spending all your waking hours together on a weekend. What food do they like to eat? (Panda) What sports did they play in high school? (Lacrosse/soccer) What high school superlative did they win? (Biggest appetite)

On top of all that, I learned some new slang, and I even taught one of the Bens how to (properly) use his iPhone. Which one? I’ll let you figure that out.

This trip was different from my usual SoCal volleyball adventure because we weren’t there for a volleyball tournament — it was just for fun. That meant more time to explore the beaches and less pressure to stick to a schedule. On Saturday, we took a beach volleyball class, which was a win because there were only 3 of us and we got to meet more players to get some games in. We had tried to play Friday too, but it was a bit quieter due to the wind, but by Saturday and Sunday we found some cool people to play with and got in some solid games.

As much as I love the familiarity of my SoCal trips — the beaches, the volleyball, and the good company — there’s something about mixing things up that keeps each trip fresh and exciting. Whether it’s traveling with new friends, switching up the Airbnb, or meeting yet newer friends along the way, I’ve learned that variety adds just the right touch of adventure. So as much as I love returning to the same sandy shores, it’s the unexpected moments that make for lasting memories. Here’s to more sun, more volleyball, and hopefully, more surprises on the horizon.