Relive Onward State’s Road Trip To Los Angeles
We didn’t drive to this one, folks.
This past weekend, Penn State football traveled across the country to sunny Los Angeles to play USC in the Nittany Lions’ first cross-country conference game of the expanded Big Ten.
As always, the Onward State crew traveled to cover the road game. Since the drive to Los Angeles would have taken 37 hours, assuming we didn’t stop at all, it wasn’t feasible for our crew to drive. So, we broke the blog’s long-running streak of driving to all regular-season away games.
My co-Visual Editor Hailey and I flew out separately, while writers CJ and Mitch flew with Managing Editor Joe Lister, who was attending the game as a fan. This was Onward State’s longest road trip (if you can even call it that) since the 2023 Rose Bowl.
With all the complicated travel logistics, this was one heck of a journey. However, as is tradition, we’re going to recount the story of our voyage to cover Penn State’s first West Coast conference game. Let’s take a look back at this whirlwind trip.
Wednesday
I was the first Onward State staffer to head westward, catching a flight out of Newark Liberty International Airport late on Wednesday. I hopped off a plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan around 11:30 p.m. PST. After hopping in an Uber, I made it to the Lincoln Inn, the blog’s home for the weekend (minus Hailey, who was staying with other friends).
Thursday
By Thursday morning, everyone was officially on their way to Los Angeles. While we weren’t all together to take a group selfie, we managed to pull one together thanks to some Photoshop help from staffer Aidan Conrad.
Taking use of my alone time while I awaited everyone else’s arrival, I headed for Universal Studios Hollywood, a theme park and active film set on the north side of the Hollywood hills. As a film major and a huge movie buff, this was a must-see for me in L.A.
I won’t bore you all with my extensively detailed opinions on the park, but my highlights were the Mario Kart ride, Jurassic World log flume, and overall detail of the Harry Potter area. It’s a small park but worth a visit, especially for the famous Tram Tour, which takes you through the actual Universal Studio Lot where they still film movies.
While I was at Universal, the blog boys were off with the Lister family exploring the Santa Monica Pier area. We met up around 4 p.m. and headed to Griffith Observatory to see the Hollywood sign and catch a sunset.
This was, ultimately, my favorite thing we did in Los Angeles all trip. The view lived up to California’s reputation for beautiful sunsets and the observatory itself was an awesome free attraction to visit.
After soaking in the waning sunlight over the mountains, we headed down from the hills and into downtown Los Angeles. We dropped Joe off by the Crypto.com Arena, where he was grabbing dinner with his family and friends.
Mitch, CJ, and I went to grab dinner at a West Coast staple, In-N-Out. This burger chain is famous for its simple menu and delicious food. We also experienced another Los Angeles stereotype: seeing celebrities out in the wild. As we were getting ready to chow down on our animal-style fries, country signer Zach Bryan walked right past us.
As for Hailey? I have no idea. She worked in Los Angeles this summer as an intern for the NFL and consequently spent most of the weekend catching up with her old friends. She’ll pop up in this story here and there.
Friday
Friday was the only full day, besides gameday, that everyone was in Los Angeles. We got up and headed to Great White in Venice Beach, a brunch spot that Hailey had recommended to us guys. We got the breakfast burrito, which was pretty good, but I’d be lying if I said it was worth the $19 I paid.
After breakfast, we headed to USC’s campus on official blog duties to scope out enemy territory. The campus is officially closed to the public, but thanks to some help from Joe’s family friend, we secured passes to enter and explore.
The campus was definitely unlike any I’ve ever seen on the East Coast from an architectural standpoint. The little nods to Trojan and Greek mythology around campus were really cool to see as well. In the bookstore, they sold special “USC vs. Penn State” pins, which I appreciated.
We swung by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a sneak peek before Joe again broke off to go hang out with his family. Mitch, CJ, and I headed to Santa Monica to hang out with Hailey on the beach for a bit. The weather was initially pretty hazy, but the smog started to clear up a little bit as the afternoon went on.
My good mood did not last for too long. Tragedy struck the vibes of my afternoon when I was pooped on by a bird…twice.
Baffled by my misfortune, I mourned the loss of my now-stained Onward State T-shirt and headed to the Santa Monica Pier to shop for new attire. The pier was just as honky-tonk touristy as you’d expect, full of eccentric folks from all different walks of life. For my East Coasters out there, it very much reminded me of the Wildwood Boardwalk.
After finding a super cool new “Santa Monica” tee shirt that conveniently didn’t have bird poop all over it, we grabbed dinner at a local spot called The Whaler. After a delicious and overpriced meal, we said goodbye to Hailey and headed back to our hotel for the night.
Saturday
Gameday.
We got our energy going for the game with an American staple: McDonald’s. Since the game kicked off at 12:30 p.m. local time, we got to the Coliseum around 8:30 a.m. so we had time to explore the complex a bit more.
You know what happens next. Penn State went on to defeat USC 33-30 in an absolutely thrilling rollercoaster of a game that ended with a walk-off field goal for the Nittany Lions in overtime. The game was draining for everyone involved, players, fans, and media alike.
After the game, Hailey somehow found the energy to rally and head to a local bar while the rest of us went back to the motel to watch college football and crash.
Sunday
Alone again.
Joe left for the airport around 3 a.m. on Friday, with Mitch and CJ not that far behind. Hailey was off with her NFL friends, leaving me alone with a day to kill in Los Angeles before my flight at 9 p.m. that evening.
I won’t bore you all with too many details from my solo escapades, but I did try to make the most of my final day in the City of Angels. Having skipped breakfast, I chose to fill my stomach at Grand Central Market. This market located in downtown Los Angeles has food from lots of different cultures from all around the world.
I tried Mexican birria tacos, fried Chinese chicken pot stickers, a spicy salmon Japanese sushi roll, and had El Salvadorian food for the first time in my life. I always love getting the chance to try so many different foods from different cultures. This was also one of the cheapest places I ate at all weekend.
My last stop was one I had been told to avoid: the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Yes, it was just as trashy and gross as I was told, and yes, I did feel slightly unsafe at times with an expensive camera in hand, but I’m glad I went. As touristy as it is, it’s quintessential Hollywood.
I caught the new film “Saturday Night” at the TCL Chinese Theater before making my way back to LAX for my flight home to the East Coast.
Monday
I landed at Newark Liberty International Airport around 4:30 a.m., completely disoriented from a lack of sleep and the time zone change. After briefly stopping at my childhood home to take a nap and say hi to my family and dog, I drove back to State College.
Hailey was the final one to bid Los Angeles farewell. I’m not sure exactly what she got up to after the clock hit 0:00 in the Coliseum, but I know she likely made the most of her final 48 hours in her favorite city on Earth. If I had to guess, she’ll be back pretty soon.
By Monday night, we had all made it back to home sweet Happy Valley. While it wasn’t a traditional Onward State road trip, it was a blast. We’ll see you in two weeks, Wisconsin!
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