To live as the Romans and to Keep up with the Jones', you have to Live Smart
I love to travel and I love to run.. both can be expensive,
especially if you do it every weekend like I....
For Under $500 I did the LA Marathon and stayed a week & had a blast.
Now, I have added duatholons and training for triathlons not to mention, trail runs 3 times a week and mountain biking (uh well not as often as I would like but hey, I'm getting there). So, going to Los Angeles, I thought I hit the "nuts button". I signed up on faith to just have a great time, I needed a serious vacation. So I scheduled it. I went to the race site, ok Race: $150, ouch. a money saving trick: if you register through the hostel and raise $400 then the race fee is waived & a night at the hostel was waived. So, I had not much left I knew I could not spend more than $500 for my week long trip so, Rachel Ray's $40 a day was out of the question. I am traveling alone so I needed a safe spot. My dad would kill me if I stayed in the depths of Los Angeles, so I had to stay outside of LA but close enough to everything where I was not too far from the race. At this point, I am going to a location I have never been before and I have no idea what I am doing... so you think. I googled LA Marathon and saw where there is a hostel that you can stay at for $19 a night. Well, I wanted my own bathroom so I paid $32 for a premium room. In this premium room you have a locker, supply your own or they have one for $5, they have CLEAN SHEETS, super important since I saw that 48 hour special on 5 star hotels, I take my own. It has a bathroom, take shower shoes ($1 at dollar store). Ok, so for one week, and just to let you know the Santa Monica Hostel is super nice and across from the beach, down the street from the best shopping, Whole Foods Market- where I walked 6 blocks to go grocery shopping (spent $36 for a week of groceries), and the best restaurants (I knew I wanted to go out to eat at a few places... another trick I will show you) To live as the Romans and to Keep up with the Jones', you have to Live Smart I love to travel and I love to run.. both can be expensive, especially if you do it every weekend like I. Now, I have added duatholons and training for triathlons not to mention, trail runs 3 times a week and mountain biking (uh well not as often as I would like but hey, I'm getting there). So, going to Los Angeles, I thought I hit the "nuts button". I signed up on faith to just have a great time, I needed a serious vacation. So I scheduled it. I went to the race site, ok Race: $150, ouch. So, I had not much left I knew I could not spend more than $500 for my week long trip so, Rachel Ray's $40 a day was out of the question. I am traveling alone so I needed a safe spot. My dad would kill me if I stayed in the depths of Los Angeles, so I had to stay outside of LA but close enough to everything where I was not too far from the race. At this point, I am going to a location I have never been before and I have no idea what I am doing... so you think. I googled LA Marathon and saw where there is a hostel that you can stay at for $19 a night. Well, I wanted my own bathroom so I paid $32 for a premium room. In this premium room you have a locker, supply your own or they have one for $5, they have CLEAN SHEETS, super important since I saw that 48 hour special on 5 star hotels, I take my own. It has a bathroom, take shower shoes ($1 at dollar store). Ok, so for one week, and just to let you know the Santa Monica Hostel is super nice and across from the beach, down the street from the best shopping, Whole Foods Market- where I walked 6 blocks to go grocery shopping (spent $36 for a week of groceries), and the best restaurants (I knew I wanted to go out to eat at a few places... another trick I will tell you called Happy Hour... )
Not to mention there was a magazine I found, how to do LA on a dime.... by the way, they don't go anywhere, they "do" everything; "Do Lunch" not "go to lunch"!
Getting around:
The bus pass from the the airport was $1- I was able to track the map from the airport using the WiFi on the bus so I could keep up with my stop. I was able to reach everyone and tell them I landed and was great. Talked to my very best friends and didn't take pictures, I didn't want to look like a goon amongst the locals. But it is a great way to see the city, without paying ungodly amount of money for tour bus that takes the same route; plus, I got to talk to a few people just hanging out. An hour later, I was at the Hostel. (just a note, a day pass was $6 and I used that the day of the expo; day of the race there were shuttles from the hostel- awesome- because the race ended a few blocks from my
Fabulous Santa Monica Hostel!
On the beach, I rented a cruiser bike with my new Australian friend, Jo, which is another great reason to stay at the hostel when travel alone, everyone is wanting to hang out with you and is ready to have fun. So off we went, I took my camera and took all kinds of photos.
At the Santa Monica Hostel, I check in- I met some girls from Norway and Sweden, super interesting and very sweet. Then another girl from Australia ( and these guys are here straight from their country - so I get the true grit of info; awesome!) there are 6 bunk beds so up to 12 girls can stay. Now, by the weekend the wild American girls from Utah came down and partied but I was training so much and went to bed so early, I never hear them.
Make sure you pack a flashlight so you can see around your room, not to disturb others ($5)
Nice kitchen and common area - the common area was outside where palm trees, and a fountain sit. This is where folks go to smoke, but it wasn't too bad. I honestly barely stayed at the hostel, I went exploring.
How to explore in the area...
Rent a bike: for the day $15; for the hour $6... no brainer there & get a basket (free) and I got a chain for a $20 refundable deposit so the bike doesn't disappear!
Get away from the tourist area, such as
Venice Beach, interesting as it is its cool to walk through and see all the eclectic folk. Where you can play basketball, tennis, rugby, soccer, volleyball all for free -
Muscle beach is there so you don't need to worry about paying for a gym. Well, that and you are in California where the outdoor fun is at your fitness fingertips.
Bus: day pass $6 / one way $1
Eat local food- I will not be caught dead in a fast food joint anyways, but especially if I am on vacation.
So Jo and I on our bike ride went down to Marina Del Ray and ate at an incredible Cuban restaurant, one of my favorite mouth-watering food choice on the planet, because I love the way the foods are paired; sweet with salty, pork with sweet and hot... beans & a sweet salsa with plantains- Oh heaven Where out Thou, to die for!
Mercedes Cuban Restaurant, lunch with tip $12
By getting out of the tourist areas, you will save a ton of cash!
There in Marina Del Ray, I found a wonderful coffee shop,
Cow's End, a hot spot for locals and sheriff. Everyone so friendly and wonderful, I loved there vibe for sure! I guess everyone does get to close their eyes and breath fresh air in Marina Del Ray, because I felt every bit of their warm, inviting friendliness. Less than $5 for breakfast: Coffee & a huge bowl of oatmeal; I had this after an early morning run.
So far I have spent $209 including hotel
The flight I found on TripAdvisor.com for $200 r/t
It was St Patrick's Day... before the race, so I couldn't celebrate in crazy green beer style so I went to dinner with friends, this was a nice meal for a pretty penny I got lucky and a fabulous friend from the area, Cass, purchased my meal other wise it would have cost $36 (with tip) for an incredible Mahi Mahi with artichoke hearts and side of a particular flavorful rice. The restaurant had an Irish band, an outside area with a fire pit where pre-drink cocktails or dinner of a more causal setting can take place. Inside, an open kitchen area and they are well known for their lobsters!
We walked around a bit, I was exhausted and was ready for my very comfortable bunk bed.
The hostel has free WiFi, not like nice hotels I have stayed in that make you pay $12.95 to use their stuff... rip off central!
At the expo, I splurged on shoes, I am a sucker for stuff but it was expected to pour the next day for the race. So I purchased the phenomenal
K-Swiss Kwicky Blade Lights, $130 shoes, neon yellow and I am not kidding when I say this, Hydrophobic Shoes, yes they repel water like they are scare of it. These shoes have a draining system in the bottom of the shoe where sticks don't get in but water by the bucket loads get out. I met the 1983 New York Marathon winner, Ron Dixon, he gave me, personally shoe/ running advice, how exciting... totally made my whole trip and worth whatever pennies I had left! Ok, not only did Ron Dixon give me advice but later, how awesome K-Swiss is, I found out after calling K-Swiss to tell them how amazing their shoes rocked my world and proved to be able to put on straight out of the box onto my foot and drain and help me run like wild with assistance from their incredible compression socks ... the president of the company sold me the shoes, never knew it until I called to comment. Small companies rule! Thanks K-Swiss!! I have never spent that much on shoes but worth every dime. As a runner and a person that has ran in serious rain, I knew my knees would thank me.
Amazing trip so far... I ran the race with my new friends, Seb came in wearing his
fast flat racers from K-Swiss another person that wore them out of the box he was flying at 2:46 finish time... I was 40 minutes behind him... btw for all you racers, there is a trick to get where Seb was- you will have to pay me for. It is that priceless! But, I will say this, you are in LA and there is a bartering system in place for sure and so, if there are bananas at the start of the race, it is not for consumption it is for strategical corral placement...
Saving on food at Restuarants... two words:
Happy Hour. You can get full on an appetizer for $3 and beer for $2. $5 fancy meal. I had an appetizer at
Budda's Belly and fish taco's at
Wahoo's on Wilshire- and Wa-hoooo it was awesome!!! Under $10 of fun and 2 beers to boot! I'm such a cheap date! I did go with my friend Seb to celebrate after the race to the fish taco place, Wahoo's for a Corona and we doubled the shrimp in the taco for $2, we had to have the protein; still it was $15 for him and I and two cervezas. And always get something that you can't get at home, its like being a tourist without showing your Kodak camera and map!
Always have things at your fingertips for quick reference: apps for weather, local bus routes, your id and $20 cash and a debit/credit card.
and do as the Romans do with out spending as much as they think you are spending...
At the end of the trip I stayed under my $500 ($418 with airfare and hotel ); however, I did buy the shoes, but that was my super splurge at $130 but I had some money saved for just that...and had a blast.
With a little planning you too can save a fortune.
Places to check out in the blog- google each one:
Santa Monica Hostel
Wahoo's
Budda's Belly
TripAdvisor.com
K-Swiss
Bus Line: Big Blue Bus(Santa Monica Bus System) & Metro Line (LA)
United Airways
Bike rental near Santa Monica Pier: not on web- but the best one there. The others had weird charges
Mercedes
Cow's End
Happy travels!
An example of Spring Attire, my shoes are 
