Vacay - Day 3, August 25th, 2014

Waking up hungry and early seemed to be the rule here in California.  This time, however, we had a good plan set into place for breakfast.  On our way to Diana’s the day before, we passed a place called Norm’s that boasted steak and eggs for a really good deal.  We looked up the address in Costa Mesa and went there first thing.  While steak and eggs sounded good, we still had our usual; coffee, two eggs over easy, hashbrowns, bacon and whole wheat toast.  It was still all under $20 and much larger portions.   

After breakfast, we returned to the hotel to pack up, shower, and prepare for the next part of our vacation.  We were heading north to spend some time in the Los Angeles, Venice Beach and Hollywood area before arriving in Simi Valley where my boyfriend’s friend lived and where we will be staying the next couple of nights.  First on our list of things to do was visit the big donut. 

It was actually Randy’s Donuts’ big donut.  As we were still in the plane approaching LAX, my boyfriend – who had the window seat – noticed the giant donut as we flew over it.  We are both huge Marvel fans, so getting a selfie in front of the giant donut Tony Stark was sitting in during a scene in Iron Man 2 was on our list.  It was a lot of fun.  Too bad we were so full from Norm’s that we didn't same Randy’s Donuts.  It said on the side of the building that they were the best donuts in America.  Funny thing is, the scene from Iron Man indicated there was an area to dine inside, but it was actually just a walk up restaurant.  Might as well been a food truck.  In fact, there were a lot of walk-up food places and food trucks in L.A.  Probably because there was limitations on available parking. 

Next on the list was Venice Beach.  I was forewarned that there were a lot of characters there, and they were right.  As soon as we got a couple of shops in along the sidewalk, there was a medical marijuana “hospital”.  A man in bright green scrubs with pot leaves all over it was standing outside.  It advertised $40 for the evaluation (and later along the shops it would be $30).  We must have passed three or four of those. 

We stopped at a shop to get a shirt as a   It was a very hot day, despite being close to the ocean and feeling the breezes coming off the water.  We were both sunburned at the end of the day.  

I came across Zoltar. Any “Big” fans out there?  As I was having my photo taken in front of it, a couple stopped by to comment.  The man had large, almost crazed eyes, as he insisted he wasn't on drugs and Zoltar would talk to him as he walked by.  I smiled politely and nodded.  We tried taking the photo again and the woman with him – who had a particular style what pronounced her stomach butt – insisted I needed to smile several times.  I really wasn't keen on getting advice from a woman wearing a tube top and short shorts that were at least two sizes too small for her, hence the stomach butt crack that was showing.  Plumber’s crack in the front can be as nauseating as from the rear.  We eventually removed our shoes and socks and walked along the long expanse of sand toward the ocean to walk along the shoreline.  A few waves came up on us suddenly, soaking our shorts.  We went along for some time to a little finger of land jutting out and I found some shells that were interesting and kept them.

We also came across what at first appeared to be another shell, but I noticed it was a by-the-wind sailor.  It was a jellyfish I was reading about before I came on this journey.  Apparently, the little sea creatures were being washed up on the western shorelines due to a shift in the wind whereas normally they would float along driven by the wind and living a very long, prosperous life.  My boyfriend nearly stepped on it until I warned him it was a jellyfish.  He asked if it would sting and since I knew it fed just like any other jellyfish from the article, I insisted it would.  We went through the hot sand toward the skate park where we sat, cooled our feet and put our shoes and socks back on.

We sat in the shade of the park for a while to watch the skateboarders and people mingling about.  I noticed a peculiar thing – people wear the oddest things here.  There was a teenage girl wearing a long sleeve denim jacket with short shorts on, and flip-flops, but wearing one sock.  Then you would have several women wearing barely-there bikinis, followed by girls wearing bikini bottoms, but hoodies over the tops.  Men would be in short denim shorts with long, curly hair and no tops, but bronzed and squeezed enough that they looked like topless women from behind.  Then, there was Muscle Beach.  There were a range of men and boys from young to quite old; fat to trim to scrawny.  The sounds of weights being dropped and grunts almost beat out the din from the waves of people suddenly crowding the walkway.  I didn't recall it being that busy when we first arrived.  I was getting hungry and crabby about how people around here simply continued walking straight at you instead of moving aside.  It was pretty unnerving to not have anyone show you the courtesy of nodding and moving aside as you performed the same courtesy so you don’t run straight into each other.  I was getting pretty tired of dodging mindless, sightless drones. 
souvenir and again to get a cold drink for me.

Pinwheel sculpture in the open mall before the Farmer's Market

The Farmer’s Market was something that was supposedly a place to see and eat, so we put in the address to the GPS and were on our way.  We ended up parking about a block out of the way, went through another outdoor mall into the Farmer’s Market.  There were a lot of unique foods there, but we went with Chinese.  It was $21, but good sized portions.  We wandered around afterwards and found some delicious chocolate turtles to get and snacked on those as we finished wandering and headed back to the car.  It wasn't what we were expecting at all.  Overcrowded, open air Farmer’s Market with permanent stalls.  The most interesting thing I saw was the organic produce section – also where we got the chocolate truffles – that had so much more in variety than we see in Michigan.

Since it was almost 2pm, we still had a great deal of time to spare before we wanted to head up to Simi Valley.  His friend didn't get home until after 6:15 and we didn't want to just walk in after a long day of work.  So, we went with another of my friend, Diana’s, suggestions – Santa Monica Pier. 

Stairs at the end of the pier

We parked right on the pier itself.  There was an amusement park next to the parking area – and quite frankly, I was amazed there were spots to park in.  There were a lot of people on the pier.  As soon as we got out of the parking area into the main thoroughfare, there was a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant – first one I ever saw up close.  I drove past a few, but never stood in front of one.  There was also a kiosk indicating this was the end of Route 66.  My boyfriend’s dad drove Route 66 on his motorcycle so he got a photo of that and sent it to his dad's Facebook.  Along the thoroughfare there were pier performers.  One guy was calling people in to make a semicircle around him.  We joined in.  I feared this would be one of those deals where he would bring in people from the audience to be part of his act.  After watching him break dance for a while, that was exactly what happened.  As we were leaving – I certainly didn't want to become part of the show – my boyfriend was grabbed by the performer from behind.  Don’t worry, he escaped – but barely.  At the end of the pier was a restaurant. 

View at the end of the pier

People were fishing at the end of the pier.  There was several tiers of stairs to walk up and down from the top half of the restaurant to below deck.  We could see the barnacles encrusted along the pylons beneath the pier.  There was also a section telling the entire history of the pier.  I was amazed to discover I was walking on history – 105 years old!

After an hour we were ready to see something else, so Rodeo Drive was next.  There was metered parking at a park – with real grass - uphill from the main section of Rodeo Drive.  We were stuck behind a woman in a Lamborghini, showing it off for all the men on the sidewalk.  The muscle car had a throaty purr that was near deafening.  The walk down was interesting.  After taking a selfie by the sign, I noticed the shops would have people standing in the doorways, but as we got closer, those people disappeared.  It was as though they judged us as unworthy of being greeted nor even seeing them as we walked by. 

We found a side street that took us into a quiet area with a pyramid like glass roof of a little atrium of some sort on a lower level.  There were shops in there too and a lot of women covered up from head to toe like a Bedouin going into those shops.  One was a beauty salon.  The went around that corridor, walked down a bit further and crossed the street to head up another side street with cobbled stones. 

Sitting area of atrium

A lot of people were in the beginning of this street taking photos of themselves with the street going up in the background.  I haven’t the foggiest if this was significant, but apparently a lot of other people did.  I’m not as Rodeo Drive savvy as they were.  It was a nice little place.  Tiffany’s was up there; complete with an outdoor café setup around it with a small wrought iron fence.  Next to Tiffany’s there was an art gallery.  We went inside and were treated to seeing the work of Salvador Dali, complete with early sketches.  There was even original bronze statues by Dali on display.  My boyfriend, the art major, was excited with the find.  While we were in there, a man greeted us and explained the exhibits and generously to let us know of other art exhibits in the area to look into.  One of them was the Getty Center.  When we had seen all the displays – and maybe some that wasn't part of the exhibit on accident – we left and continued on our way.  The road curved around and descended into steps with a fountain at the bottom.  Again, people were taking photos of themselves by the fountain.  Must have been a famous one I wasn't knowledgeable about.  As we continued on, we passed a salon where they were giving out samples of a product line called Adore.  One of the ladies asked if I wanted to come in for a free sample for the eyes.  I suspected it was a pitch – I was right – but getting Rodeo Drive treatment wasn't to be passed up.  Apparently, there is a deal once a year where they pull people in from the street and let them try out their eye treatments that they give to the stars during the Emmy’s.  The deal is that the products that normally sell for $600 are going for $199.  While I loved the instant results - and that she evened up my eyes so I didn't look like a stroke patient - there was no way I was going to spend $200 there.  I said no a couple of times before I was allowed to leave and we returned to the car.

By that time it was a good idea to start toward Simi Valley.  It was already rush hour which adds on time to an hour long drive.  We figured we could get something to eat when we got to Simi Valley and his friend would give us a nice place to go.  We got in as she was having her dinner.  We dragged our things to the room she provided us.  The bathroom was shown to us and she gave us an idea of her schedule for the next couple of days then told us Don Cuco’s would be a good place to have a nice dinner.  We dressed up a bit for this occasion.  The restaurant was dimly lit with loud Hispanic music.  A lot of families were there including one table with at least two newborns with them.  We both got dishes that comprised of three different meats and a variety of veggies, rice, and refried beans.  We were stuffed before we got halfway through our plates.  Probably didn't help we ate quite a few freshly made chips with salsa while we waited.  I also had a couple glasses of wine and he had several beers.  We still had a bottle of wine waiting for us when we got back.  We opened that and shared it with his friend when we returned.  She was watching the Emmy’s and we chatted while we all finished off that bottle of wine. 

Another day came to an end with us falling asleep, exhausted from our fun-filled, long days.  Visit here next week for Day 4 and….

Happy Reading!

I dedicate this post to Walter Burl Owsiany, Jr. who rode the great and scenic Route 66 and was present in his younger son's thoughts when we visited Santa Monica Pier - the final stop of Route 66.  Walt was a storyteller all his own and he made an impression on me in the brief time I had known him that encourages me to keep living life and telling my story.  Walt passed away on 09-07-14.  His memorial will be on 09-14-14 from 1-4 EST.  I invite my readers to spend this time honoring him.  If you have a motorcycle, go out and rev its motor at 2:30pm EST for a "rumble salute".  Or fondly recall those you know who love the open road in a moment of silence. 
Walt, you will be missed.

Peritus sed numquam obliteratus

Vacay - Day 1, August 23rd, 2014

Hurray for the Vacay!

So, Day 1 was mostly uneventful.  We got up around 4:30 am EST, showered and finished packing and hit the road.  We had a 2.5 hour drive - including bathroom stops - to Chicago to get to the airport for our flight.  We stopped at Speedway and picked up a couple of breakfast sandwiches and a couple of caffeinated drinks for the beginning of our trip.  The drive was foggy, but humid.  The dew point was at 75 degrees with 100% humidity.  The fog seemed to burn off after awhile, but returned the closer we got to Chicago.  In fact, as we got into Chicago, the Sears Tower looked like it was floating inside a cloud -  the fog was that thick.  The funny part was getting a text message from my friend, Diana Murdock, at 6 AM (that's 3 AM her time) asking if we arrived yet.  LOL!   

Getting tickets and passing through security went more quickly than getting a shuttle from the parking lot to the terminal.  Seriously, they went by us as we got out of the car and started unloading it, but since we weren't ready, they didn't stop.  We walked to the nearest shuttle stop, but none of the shuttles were driving by it.  So we hiked it over toward the train that was shut down due to construction and finally had a shuttle stop for us.  

We went inside terminal 3 and handed over our driver's licenses and checked one bag, which went through its own security check before we did.  We had one carry on and my purse to take on the flight.  Then it was time for our security check.  We were smart and had flip-flops on to make it easier to get off for this part of our journey.  It was my first time going through the new full-body scanners.  I haven't been on a flight since 2003, so a lot had changed for me.  

Everything went smoothly and we were on the terminal.  There were no seats available at our terminal, but we were early enough to check out a shop down from the terminal and get second breakfast at the McDonald's across from our terminal.  By the time we got back and our food was ready, they were boarding the flight and we had a couple of seats available for us to sit down and could enjoy our breakfast sandwiches and drinks before our section was called.  Unfortunately, they received word that there was construction at LAX that is delaying our flight for another hour, so they unboarded the plane.  

We people-watched during that time.  There were a number of interesting characters available to watch and laugh about at O'Hare Airport.  Funky hairstyles and clothing choices was my favorite part, but we also had a number of sailors - both men and woman - walking up and down the terminal hall.  I didn't take any photos because I really wanted to have my phone for photos later in my vacation.  

They started calling sections again and we decided to take turns going to the bathroom to keep our seats.  While I was waiting for my turn, they called the first class section.  I decided to take a chance and look over to see who that might be.  There were a lot of uninteresting people in line, but third back was a tall blonde woman dressed all in black with a small backpack on.  She looked so familiar as she waited for the three people ahead of her in line.  She turned slightly and I could barely make out her profile, but the sense of familiarity increased.  When my boyfriend came back from the bathroom, I asked him to look over the woman carefully and tell me if she doesn't look like Jane Lynch.  He said she had a strong resemblance and we should take a closer look as we get on the plane.  We IMDB'ed her to get a fresh idea of what Jane Lynch looked like as we waited to be called up.  I was hopeful.  This trip was about visiting a place where I could see celebrities first hand and this may be my first of many encounters.

Finally, our section was called and we were in line to board.  Slowly we inched onto the plane as people held us up by putting their carry-on's in the overheads and moved around the seating arrangements - getting in and out as people arrived for their inside seats and such.  The plane wasn't nearly as full as one would expect.  There were several empty seats, in fact.

And First Class finally was in sight.  As we inched through, I looked through the seats that were already occupied with individuals wrapped in red blankets with ear buds in and sleeping or on the verge of falling asleep.  It made me wonder if these people were allowed to stay on board to be so far gone already. All the seats in First Class were taken - upon first sight.  The last row of seats on the left were occupied by a couple of technicians that were in the process of fixing the seats, especially the one by the window.  Jane was in the first row of coach on the right and avoiding eye contact.  Her arms were crossed - her face looked cross too.  I don't blame her for being upset having to wait even more for her comfy seat.  First we waited because of an unexpected delay, and now her seat was broken.  As much as I wanted to tell her I love her game show, she obviously wasn't wanting any attention, so I opted out of delivering her words of praise.  If I were in her position, I wouldn't want to hear anything from a fan, either.  It was definitely Jane Lynch, though.  There was no doubt about it.  My boyfriend agreed, it was definitely her and we gave her the peace we would have liked if in her situation.  Jane, if you ever come across this blog, please know, we had nothing but compassion for your situation and we love the Hollywood Game Show.   Keep bringing on those celebrities to get drunk and make them do goofy things - it's crazy hilarious!

While our flight started at 10:30 instead of 9:25 and we were expected to arrive in LAX at 12:30 pm instead of 11:25 am, we still had many hours of flight ahead of us.  Fortunately, the flight experience was wonderful.  Virgin America had little screens on the back of every chair, plenty of room for my boyfriend's long legs, the ability to make orders on the same screen as you watch free satellite TV or play free video games.  I fell asleep watching a YouTube of the King of Random.  It was pretty cool with a lot of random facts.  We had white wine with cheese, crackers, and fruit as a snack on the plane, plus some on-the-house drinks.  We did have to get up and use the facilities and stretch our legs during the flight, but with so many open seats, it was easy to do that as well.

Then, we arrived.  And it was time to use the restroom again.  Unfortunately, there was a ginormous line in the ladies, and not a one of them a celebrity to gawk at.  Oh well, do your business and get out.  Then, we went to get luggage.  Ours was the fourth one on the carousel, so that was pretty sweet.  Then we had to wait for a shuttle to take us to the Alamo rental place.  A little more time than we would have liked being as hungry as we were, but it was pretty quick to go on the kiosk, fill in all the needed stuff and pick out our car.  We went with a bluish silvery Hyundai Sonata.  It was big compared to my boyfriend's Toyota Scion.  We loaded up, got our GPS hooked up - bringing that was smart as it would have cost us $5/day to use Alamo's GPS - and found the nearest Subway for lunch.  Wow, was that more than I bargained for.  For the same thing back home, it cost under $10, but in L.A. it was almost $16.

So here is the kicker, my boyfriend was telling me he found a site where it tells you how much a $100 is really worth per state.  For instance, in Michigan, $100 is more like $105.  In California, $100 is more like $88.  Ouch, my wallet is hurting just talking about it.  I probably should have done more research on that before going.  But, I was there, will have to be more savvy in my search for places to eat.  A little 16 ounce bottle of water was going for $3 in Cali where I was used to buying a liter of water for $1. Needless to say, I was pretty thirsty most of the time.

So, we have lunch and a car, and we put in the address for our hotel in Irvine.  Boyfriend was so great at finding bargains online.  At Hotels.com, this place was going for $96 a night and was close to Costa Mesa.  It boasted the "I" experience on the website and it was probably the most comfortable and quiet room I ever stayed in.

We arrived about 45 minutes after we left Subway.  Traffic wasn't as bad as it could have been and what we ended up experiencing later, but it was way more congested than we were used to.  I think traveling south was what made the traffic lighter.  In fact, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach traffic was way better than Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills traffic.

We arrived at the hotel, checked in, discovered the additional cost of $18 a day for parking and took photos from our window.  All the photos on this post is from our hotel room the first day.  We were on the seventh floor and had a fantastic view of the mountains.  After unpacking, we headed for a dip in the hot tub and pool.  We had the place to ourselves after another couple left. shortly after our arrival.

Then we were famished.  We went back to the hotel room, rinsed off, changed and researched places to eat.  I was in the mood for fresh caught fish.  The first place we found was called the California Fish Grill and ended up being a chain restaurant.  It was California's version of Panera Bread, but with fish.  So our next place was in Newport Beach.  It was called Blue Water Grill.  There was at least a fifteen minute wait and we got a nice table out on the deck right on the pier.  It was beautiful to be surrounded by the boats and water as the sun set.  I tried oysters on the half shell for the first time.  It was not terrible, but not my favorite either.  Now I can say I've had them.  I ordered the Jumbo Shrimp Linguine and my boyfriend ordered the tilapia.  The jumbo shrimp was large, perfectly cooked, and seasoned deliciously.  The tilapia was buttery, well-seasoned and melted in your mouth like mashed potatoes.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  We had some cocktails and wine with the meal.  I had my first Mai Tai - it was so yummy, but definitely put me over the pleasant buzz the wine and first cocktail had me at.  I don't remember the name of the first cocktail, but it was more sweet than alcoholic tasting with a light tartness.  It was tasty, but reminded me of Koolaid.

We went for a walk after dinner.  It was dark and cool and there was a Bachelorette Party going on at the restaurant at an adjacent pier.  Then we had a fifteen minute drive back to the hotel and we crashed the blissful crash of the exhausted traveler.  First day is done.  Join me next week for Day Two.

Happy Reading!  

Vacay!

Hurray for the Vacay!

 

I know you probably can't understand the excitement I am feeling right now.  But, imagine you haven't gone on a true vacation for the last sixteen years and the other times you've "been somewhere" it was coupled with a major move or more involved with children than yourself.  I adore my kids - don't get me wrong - but often those trips are close to home and more work than play - as many of you parents are perfectly aware of.

 

So, here I am, on the precipice of this vacation that was nearly twenty years in coming.  The idea occurred to me that I have been in so many of the states, but haven't been to this one and I know a couple of wonderfully talented authors who live there - one of which I will be meeting for the first time!!

 

So, I plan to take notes of every day I'm there and will post a blog each week afterwards to describe the day.  Did that make sense?  Each week, I'll describe one day of my vacation.  I'll get into details of where we went, who we saw, what we saw, and how much we paid.  Why not.  Usually when you go on vacation, it's the great money-spender of the year aside from Christmas, but I'm determined to have fun without digging too deeply into my pockets.  I've been putting the research in, so soon it will be time to see if it "pays off." 

 

Keeping my phone on and out for photos that I will post within the blog posts and ready to have a memorable time!  Warning:  Phone does not take the best of photos, so here's hoping they will be totally worthless.

 

Happy Reading!