Road trip from L.A. to Salt Lake City

LA is a great city but hard to get around without a car since each section is so spread out and away from each other.  I found myself mostly in Beverly Hills near Rodeo drive where there is lots of great shopping and food, although it is also pricey.  I would highly recommend visiting Griffith Park Observatory where you can hike up to the Hollywood sign, and going to Santa Monica beach at sunset. The pier is open but a bit crowded so I chose to avoid it. On the way out of LA, we stopped at the original In-N-Out burger which, if you've never had I would highly recommend. Order a Neapolitan shake, animal fries, and a cheeseburger. The original location is just to look at but a short drive away is a real restaurant and In-N-Out University where you can buy all the merch you can imagine. 

Las Vegas is a great place to see if you've never been, even if you don't have any interest in gambling or partying. We spent time eating at nice restaurants, lounging by the pool, and exploring the Venetian which feels like a super dystopic underground world.  I wouldn't actually recommend going to the casinos because as we walked through we saw lots of masks off, people close to each other, and general felt unsafe with how people were treating Covid. We wanted to stay overnight a second night and camp at the Valley of Fire State Park but its first come first serve camping and we were too late to make it with any vacancy. The drive down and back was worth it though.

If you are going to do one thing in Utah go drive to the Bonneville Salt Flats. We took our car out on the miles and miles of salt right off the side of the highway about 2 hours West of SLC. This is where many car companies test their cars speed because of how flat and long the area is. I took some salt home with me. It was very windy but we went in the early winter, its super manageable in the summer. We mostly spent time walking around the city which is home to many Mormons which means everything is closed on Sunday and around sunset. However, when we did go out we saw the Mormon church which was decorated for Christmas, went to the mall, and found some cute little restaurants.