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LaLaScoop is a labor of love. If you have enjoyed our posts, consider sharing them with your friends. We want to inspire as many people as possible to take advantage of what LA has to offer, even during trying times like the pandemic. New takeout and delivery options are popping up every day. Our Jet Away section will help guide your road trips in 2020.
Also, we work with restaurants, brands, and PR agencies to provide the LaLaScoop via social media, affiliate programs, sponsored content, and advertising.
Come on, give us the LaLaScoop!
xo LaLa Ladies
laladreaming@lalascoop.com
Melissa Curtin ~ LaLaScoop Co-founder
melissa@lalascoop.com
Even at a very young age, California called Melissa. After growing up in Connecticut and spending a decade in Washington, DC, Melissa drove across country solo not only for a new job but for a dream – to live an interesting and exciting life. Immediately, Melissa fell in love with the dynamic energy and creative spirit of Los Angeles. Now, 13 years later she looks back and knows it was one of the best decisions of her life.
Although an avid traveler, she always loves returning to LaLaLand. From time spent living in the Hollywood Hills and West Hollywood, she now enjoys the solitude of Malibu, a place that always felt like her church. Hiking in Los Angeles’s endless canyons is her peace. The influential and interesting people make her feel alive. The cultural enclaves of the city make her feel excited. The anonymity of living in a big city makes her feel free. She wants you to discover why LA is the greatest city in the world … so you too will #NeverLeaveLA.
Melissa is also a travel and food writer, private educator, globetrotter, nature lover, and fitness fiend. At age 20 she traveled around the world on Semester at Sea fueling her desire to explore and learn about other cultures. She graduated from Gettysburg College with a B.A. in Psychology and Art History and earned a Master’s Degree in Education soon after from the University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut. Her fondest college memories include 3 service-learning projects she participated in between semesters. She lived and volunteered on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, the schools in St. John, U.S.V.I, and the projects of Chester, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1994, she traveled around the world on Semester at Sea visiting over 13 countries. In 2004 as a Fulbright Scholarship grantee, she taught in England.
As an educator, Melissa has helped children grow and learn for over 20 years. In 2015 she traveled as an educator on a world music tour along with being the private math coach to high profile high school students. Melissa continues to help children excel in reading, writing, and math along with achieve stellar scores on testing for the math GED, the ISEE, and the ERB. After 17 years in the classroom, she now works privately with families based on their academic needs.
Melissa continues to freelance travel and food write for numerous publications online and in print. Find Melissa’s latest articles below.
Print Features
AAA World Magazine:
Why We Still Love Cities Impacted by COVID-19: “Ode to LA”
Southern California Life Magazine:
Blaze your LA Taco Trail (December 2021); Secrets of Downtown LA’s Underbelly History (May 2021); Impress Your Valentine with a Takout Meal at Home (Feb 2021); LA’s Savory Sushi Scene (March 2020); Soho House, Your Home Away From Home (September 2020); Five Memorable Date Spots in LA (2018); Dine in the Sky (June 2019), and many more
Malibu Coast Lifestyle Magazine/Conejo Valley Lifestyle Magazine – numerous articles:
Getting to Know the West with Avelo Airlines (September 2021 -Pages 14-18) Exploring Santa Barbara, The “American Riviera” (July 2021); Daydream Destinations for Your Next Getaway; Beat the Quarantine Blues: Unique Staycations for an Easy Escape (November 2020); A World Away, Close to Home: Two Harbors, Catalina Island (October 2020);
Wellness Lounge Magazine:
Winter Issue 2020 – New Ways to Get Some Sound Sleep
LA Travel Magazine – numerous articles in print:
Get to Know LA through Tacos; 10 Ways to Get to Know Torrance; Liek Nowhere Else on Earth; SoCal’s Channel Islands (Holiday Edition 2021) Lotusland, the Dreamy Gardens of Montecito and Captiva Island, The Perfect Family Florida Getaway (Summer 2021); All Aboard to the Grand Canyon (Spring/Summer 2019); Destination Cuba: Leave your Expectations at Home and Bring an Open Mind; The Sky is More Blue in Malibu (Winter 2018); Eating your way by the Bay (Winter 2020)
LA Downtowner newspaper:
Mayfair Hotel: A Downtown LA Renaissance and Q Sushi: LA’s new Michelin Star
Resident Magazine (NYC) – numerous years of articles such as See Breathtaking Croatia by Sea
Sheriff Nottingham The 5th of November – Volume 1 (literary journal) published 2015 – Soaking in the Memories of Fiji
Online Articles
LA Travel Magazine –
Palm Springs Modernism is Nonstop Design Inspiration (November 2021)
Destination Cuba: Leave your Expectations at Home and Bring an Open Mind
The Heart of the Hotel – A peaceful presence eases fear of swimming with sharks and Destination Guide: La Paz
Zagat Stories – Nick Liberato on Building a Better Takeaway Menu
Lonely Planet – This Oktoberfest, raise a glass to Germany’s Wine Queens
Lonely Planet – Wine of the Rhine: three German wine regions off the beaten path
Lonely Planet – From churros to crab enchiladas, eat your way through Puerto Vallarta
Roadtrippers – In California’s wine country, a luminescent ‘super bloom’ brings the landscape to life at night
MoneyInc.com – Numerous travel and hotel articles
Canadian Traveller – Monterey County: The Crowning Jewel of California’s Highway 1 Road Trip
World Footprints – Swim with whale sharks – the largest fish in the ocean; Quirky Albuquerque, Five Things to Experience in the Land of Enchantment
Malibu Coast Lifestyle/Conejo Valley Lifestyle Magazine – Getting to Know the West with Avelo Airlines; Grill Like a Pro; Malibu Farm Restaurant and Cafe Serves Up Community Spirit; Beat the Quarantine Blues: Unique Staycations for an Easy Escape; Local Businesses Adapt to a New Normal
TrustedTravelGirl.com – Find Wellness at Terranea Resort
Business Insider – 10 Things that shocked me when I traveled to Copenhagen
Resident Magazine – numerous articles including Croatia, Tulum, LA restaurants, Miramonte in Indian Wells, Shade Hotel in Redondo Beach and Oslo, Oregon, Coachella, Tulum and LA food, Moraga Winery in Bel Air,
Wesaidgotravel.com – numerous articles including 48 Hours in Portland, Eating and Drinking through Seattle, Escape LA: Loreto, Mexico’s Secret Oasis
JohnnyJet.com – many articles including Escape LA: 48 Hours in Ojai; Formentera: Ibiza’s Sleepy Little Sister; Ibiza, Spain – Playground for Adults; 15 Highlights in Costa Rica, a Naturalist’s Delight; Top 10 Reasons to go on a Backroads Trip; Koh Lanta, Southern Thailand’s Secret Gem, Top Reasons Vieques Island, Puerto Rico should be your #1 Caribbean Destination
Touring Bird (Google’s former travel site) – Maui tips
Bleu Magazine – Tulum is Magic
Destinations Magazine – Miami Guide
Nimvo.com – Five Easy Affordable Ways to Create an Outdoor Living Space
In the News
Orbitz.com – 10 Nude Beach Myths Debunked!
AroundtheWorldwithJustin.com – 9 Things to Do in Quarantine from World Travelers
Curiosity Magazine – The Most Transparent Article on Travel Writing You’ll Ever Read
Voyage LA – Meet Trailblazer Melissa Curtin McDavitt
WelikeLA.com – How are you working from home during Covid-19? Readers share their WFH setups
Clearvoice.com – Knowing These Data Points Will Help Freelancers Impress Clients
Agloballifestyle.com – Why 5 Writers and Influencers Recommend Visiting Tulsa
Malibu Surfside News – Hijack’s Art, urging social change
Conejo Valley – Influencers Love Conejo Valley
Malibu Magazine print – on the cover and in my own words: “After the Woolsey Fire” (Feb 2019)
Travel Tales Podcast – Ep. 63 Melissa Curtin 2012
JohnnyJet.com – Travel Style: Melissa Curtin
JohnnyJet.com – An Interview with John J. Curtin, My Dad, the Cape Horner: His Journey Sailing Around South America
Rochelle Robinson ~ LaLaScoop Co-founder
rochelle@lalascoop.com
Before there were seatbelt laws, Rochelle took seasonal drives down the curvy coastline from Seattle to Los Angeles on her mom’s lap, as her dad took the wheel of their family 911 – top-down, breeze blowing, feeling the freedom of nearing California. These childhood trips landed the three of them in quaint beach towns like Carmel by the Sea to the vibrant streets of LA. Always a glutton for the water and sunshine, it is no wonder that as a young adult she found herself taking one of her first jobs in Los Angeles without hesitation. With a quick stint in San Diego, Los Angeles has been where she has worked, played, loved, and soaked in the powerful peacefulness of the ocean waves for nearly 20 years now. Although her heart is torn for the absence of her family, the eclectic experiences and opportunities that LA has to offer continue to draw her in as an artist, writer, outdoor and fitness enthusiast, teacher, entrepreneur, and simply as a person. Co-creating LaLaScoop with her dear friend Melissa Curtin is a hopeful ploy to open up the LA experience for visitors, locals, and transplants so that, if even merely in our hearts, we will… Never Leave LA.
And so it is so, Rochelle has literally, but not figuratively, left LA and is rooting down in Seattle. She’s opening up our JetAway section to the Seattle area. If you’re traveling or have peeps in the PNW, take a gander.
Rochelle is the owner/trainer at Andiamo Body (home of Beachside Booty Boosts), a fine artist for LSO Designs, and is an elementary school teacher.
lalascoop.com 