The Second Wave (in two parts): Part I

So, Hannah and Toni left on Monday :(, but Sherry and Maddie came on Tuesday! 

Not gonna lie...I'm exhausted. But sleep is for when no one is here and I'm bored. ;)

Here we go...

Tuesday 28 July 2015
Due to a flight delay, Sherry and Maddie arrived late on Tuesday night. They had rented their own car, so we met them at the hotel and walked to dinner. I was surprised there wasn't a ton of stuff open after 9pm. We settled on a place at the promenade that had tasty food, but was pretty expensive and had terrible service. :-/ Fail. Welcome to LA.

Wednesday 29 July 2015
I worked today and was lucky enough to sneak in a yoga class before Sherry and Maddie came and met me at USC. 

Maddie is headed off to college next year, so their primary reason for visiting California was to tour some schools. Unfortunately, even though USC is pretty much the Granddaddy of film schools (her interest), Maddie feels that its too big for her. My 17 year old self completely understands (I went to college at 17 too and was NOT prepared for a huge University), but my 34 year old self is like, 'GO TO USC IF YOU CAN!!' :P However, it's not reallllly my place to influence her in such a major life decision that costs a ton of money and displaces her from her parents...so I, obviously and happily, support whatever she chooses. :) But I can't deny that I'd LOVE her to be out here! I just don't think that's going to happen...yet. ;)

We toured around the Film School at USC anyways just to get a taste for it. I mean, the buildings here are named after donors Speilberg and Lucas. Heard of em? Yeah, me either. ;) 

Since the Special Olympics is taking place at USC this year, there were no official tours, but we had a nice time walking around campus and getting some lunch.

Watching some of the runners

Clouds building over downtown. This is SO rare here!

Since we were already in downtown, we decided to see a bit more of the city. LA is such a funny city because it's sooooooooooooo spread out. I think it's something like 400 square miles. While Downtown LA is the geographic center, it is certainly not bustling like a 'normal' city would be. In fact, only really in the last few years has downtown been revitalized to have more going on. When I moved here in 2008 it was a virtual ghost town! Much of LA exists on the west side as it's called...west of downtown. There's also East LA...which I don't know much about :P and of course, Pasadena and the Valley to the North. 

ANYWAY...

I keep hearing of this place called "The Last Bookstore".  This bookstore is housed in an old bank building and has thousands of books new and old. There's a book labyrinth too. I though it would be a cool place to check out.


So, we headed further into downtown and found the bookstore easily enough. 

This place did not disappoint. The building was really cool and retained so much of the original architecture of the bank. We wandered the first floor and into the vault looking at allllll the books. 

Finally, we headed upstairs into the 'labyrinth', which was just a cool maze of bookshelves.

I think we spent a few hours in the store. It was just really neat and well worth a visit.

On the way out, there is an artist's section and we had a fun time looking at all the paintings and works of art. I wish I could afford them, because some were really beautiful or clever and funny. Sherry and Maddie made some purchases both at the little artist's store and at the bookstore.

From the bookstore, we wandered up the street a bit and checked out the Grand Central Market (another place on my 'Things to do in Downtown LA' checklist ;)).

The market was a lot like those I'd seen in Europe and Asia, but on a much smaller scale. We strolled through and checked out all the food places, but there really wasn't much to see.

We walked across the street and peeked into the Bradbury Building (another on the list) to be awed by its fantastic 'steampunk' design. 

Returning to the car, I drove Sherry and Maddie around a bit in downtown to show them where I used to live, the beautiful Disney Concert Hall, etc. 

We returned to Santa Monica, scooped up Preston and had dinner at an Italian place on the Promenade.

Thursday 29 July 2015
I had to work again (womp wa), but Sherry and Maddie took off to tour CalArts. I think Maddie liked it, but still being so far from home...I'm not sure it's really in the running. 

We met up in the evening to grab some crepes and milkshakes before hitting up the concert at the pier again.

Maddie wasn't all that into it, so we only stayed for a little bit chatting. -1 for the hostess with the mostess. 

Blurry moon 

Nonetheless, it was nice again to watch the sun go down and hear some music.

Friday 30 July 2015
Since I was able to get out of work early today, I hurried to meet Maddie and Sherry at the Promenade in Santa Monica.

They had spent the morning there doing some shopping. Maddie is slowly transitioning to a California girl. Maybe there's hope yet she'll be out here and I'll have her all to myself! ;)

It was a warm day, so we decided to see a movie in the recently remodeled theater.

Oh my! The remodel is SO nice!! All the seats are reclining, lazy boy style...and best of all?! They have my favorite ice! You know that ice...the soft crunchy kind that comes out in little pellets? Mmmm!! 

We had popcorn and candy and soda and mmmm. I liked the movie we saw, "Paper Towns", though Maddie said it was pretty different from the book. I've not read the book, so I didn't mind, but that is one of my pet peeves. I can understand that things often need to be cut out to make the transition to screen...but when they add things for no apparent reason? Whyyy whyy? Or when characters are just straight up different people...Dumbledore verbally (and physically!) attacking Harry in 'The Goblet of Fire'!! Mad face. I hate that Dumbledore. Do not even get me started. :P

Right, so we left from there and Maddie and Sherry finally came to see our place. Poor Preston had been staging it with the perfect lighting and candles for days only to have them not come over to see it. Haha. 

They got the (brief) tour and we took off for Urth Cafe...an LA institution, with the best and freshest food. Yum.

I think Urth Cafe was as big hit. Even before we left, they were talking about going back. Woot woot. +1 for for the hostess. Out of the negative. ;)

Ripples

When I was growing up-the only babysitter my brother and I ever really had was my cousin Holly. She would come and stay with us and usually spend the night. 

It was always a ton of fun. We would play, stay up late, and watch movies we probably shouldn't have. 

On one of those nights, we were watching something scary upstairs in the guest bedroom. I think that, really, Holly was watching and my brother and I were pretending we couldn't sleep. 

At some point, my dog Sam came upstairs to let us know he had to go out. We took him downstairs, but when I opened the door to let him out, he wouldn't go. Sam just stood there with the hair on his back standing up. 

Well, being the ever dramatic child that I was...I became convinced that someone...some...thing was out there. 

So, we all freaked out. Someone was in the yard!!!! Terrified, we raced back upstairs with the cordless phone (remember cordless phones??). We tried to peek out the windows, but we couldn't see anything. 

We debated calling the police and finally decided on calling Holly's dad...my Uncle Pat. He's not really my uncle. Pat is my mom's first cousin, but it was just less confusing for me as a child to call all my moms cousins aunt/uncle. 

Since we were so panicked, Pat got in his car in the middle of the night and drove the thirty minutes to our house to walk around the yard and make sure we were safe. 

After he checked out the yard, he checked on us. And told us to get to bed. :) 

What kind of amazing dad drives over a mountain in the middle of the night to make sure his daughter is safe and sound? My Uncle Pat is that kind of amazing dad. 

And he passed away today after a long struggle with cancer. I think when a truly good person dies...it ripples out to all that knew and loved them. Their passing resonates and all their goodness is echoed and remembered. I remember Pat today and he has been on my mind. My heart goes out to my family in their loss. <3

The First Wave

:D teehee! My post title cracks me up.

When I returned from Bermuda-Frederick to LA...it was 3am. I got up at 7 and went to work and then I went to the grocery store and then I put away all the groceries and then I promptly passed out on the couch. On Tuesday, I worked (our busiest day) and cleaned out my car--it had been a while. On Wednesday, I worked again and cleaned our apartment like mad. On Thursday, I worked a half day and then my Aunt Toni and cousin Hannah arrived. WHEW!!

Hannah just graduated high school this year. As a graduation present, my Aunt Toni brought her to see California(what a great grandma!). Much like me at the same age, Hannah feels California calling to her, so I was happy to oblige and show her the best time that I could. :) 

Thursday 23 July 2015
I picked Hannah and Toni up at the airport and we headed to their hotel in Santa Monica. It was a cute place not too far from my house. Aunt Toni wanted to rest for a bit, so I took Hannah to Downtown Santa Monica.

We walked along the bluff, hit the promenade, and had some subpar tacos for lunch. 

Hannah and I headed back to the hotel to collect my Aunt Toni and we returned to my apartment to meet up with Preston and my friends Erica and Meredith. We had plans to walk down to the Pier for the summer weekly concert series.

Preston went to pick up some sandwiches we had ordered from a nearby Italian deli, which claims to have the BEST sandwich in LA. Verdict: 'The Godmother' was tasty, but I wouldn't rank it as the BEST. 

We walked down to the beach and set up with the hundreds (possibly even thousands) of other people on blankets in the sand for a nice picnic.

It was a beautiful setting. Toni and Hannah got to put their feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was surprisingly warm! We enjoyed the music and watched the stars come out before heading home.

Friday 24 July 2015
I got through work as fast as possible today and drove back to Santa Monica to pick up my family for a day of sight seeing in LA.

We headed first to the Griffith Observatory, which is a famous LA landmark with great views of the whole city. 

Since we were hungry, we stopped first at a little cafe in Griffith Park for a quick bite. Then we headed up the hill towards the Observatory. It was a MAD HOUSE. Oh my gosh. We had to park along the road and hike up to it. 

Even in the hot weather, the views are well worth the climb. We strolled the grounds for a bit and snapped some photos before heading back to the air conditioning of the car. 

Our next stop was Hollywood. We parked at the Hollywood and Highland mall and walked up to the Walk of Fame to see the sidewalk stars. We went over to Grauman's Theater to look upon all the hand/foot prints from celebrities past and present.

Everyone who visits LA wants to come to Hollywood...and it's surely a 'do not miss' kind of spot, but ugh...it's so disgusting! It's dirty and busy and there are weird people dressed up in costumes that try to take pictures with you for money. Guys walk around with headphones they'll put on your head to hear their new CD. It's uncomfortable and crowded and you've got to watch your purse!

We grabbed some smoothies at a shop upstairs in the Kodak Theater/mall and got out of there!

From Hollywood, we drove to Beverly Hills. What a difference! Beverly Hills is so green and clean! We parked near Rodeo Drive and strolled down admiring all the shops we can't afford. :P 

We drove through some of the surrounding streets to gawk at the huge houses and followed Santa Monica Blvd back into Santa Monica.

After such a long day, we decided to stay in and have pasta for dinner. 

Hannah has really been wanting to see the movie "Santa Ana", so we tried to find it online and we did! We put the movie on and sat down to watch. About twenty minutes in...we realized The Rock was not showing up. Haha! Somehow we had the wrong movie! We were watched "San Andreas Fault", which had a very similar story line and a much smaller budget!! Lol. We were already invested, so we finished the movie. It was unintentionally hilarious and I would highly recommend it. I am still laughing that we watched the wrong movie.

Saturday 25 July 2015
I picked up Hannah and Toni in the morning and we headed to Calabasas. Hannah is ALL about the Kardashians and Calabasas is their hometown. It's just north of LA and I had never been there. 

Unfortunately, we saw no Kardashians (blast. I would have been the COOLEST cousin ever if we had!!), but we did see lots of big houses and got some frappuccinos from Starbucks. Mmmm s'mores. Totally worth the 500 calories. :D 

We drove back through the mountains of Malibu and then along the coast to Santa Monica. 

Since it was so hot, we took a little break at my place and got some lunch.

A little later in the afternoon Hannah, Toni, and I hopped on some bikes to bike along the beach path down to Venice.

I love biking on the beach. :) We saw all the wild and craziness of Venice and headed back towards Santa Monica. On the way, some guy asked Toni if she was Hannah's pimp. Um what?!

Looks just like a California Girl <3

I don't know what's going on with this weather, but it's hotter than it usually is here. Whew. Summer has arrived at last. We returned to our apartment and cooled down a bit outside before dinner.

I cooked a new recipe in the crockpot. It was ok, but I do love crockpot meals on hot summer days. Saves me from cooking! 

Sunday 26 July 2015
I picked up the fam again and we headed to see Downtown LA and USC where I work. 

Next stop: In N Out. A California Institution.

We backtracked towards Melrose to check out the DASH Store. A must see for Hannah. hehe. 

Next, we headed south towards Long Beach. I lived in Long Beach for nearly 6 years and boy do I miss it. Whenever I go to Long Beach it feels like going home. SOOOOO I like taking people there to show them my old stomping grounds.

There's a beautiful drive around the Palos Verdes Peninsula just southwest of where I live, so that's where we headed. 

We stopped at the Point Vincente Interpretive Center, which was a first for me. They have a couple cute little exhibits about the area, notably the ecology and geology. It was definitely worth the stop, plus they have restrooms. :P

We continued around the peninsula to San Pedro which is in the western part of Long Beach. Hannah is interested in studying marine biology, so my friend Erica had suggested we stop at a rescue center for seals and sea lions. 

There's been a big problem this year with seal and sea lion pups coming ashore near death from starvation. The people at the rescue center informed us that this is mostly due to warming waters and lack of fish due to high population.

It was fun watching the seals and sea lions play. They are so similar, so we learned some of the differences between them (such as-sea lions have little ears and seals do not. Sea lions have a loud bark, but seals do not (I didn't really get this one bc the seals were definitely making noise!) and sea lions walk around on their front flippers, but seals...do not.) These animals were so huge that it was hard to believe that they were only pups!

We finally headed into my old neighbor of Belmont Shore and took a break for some drinks and apps at Erica's place. We walked from there to dinner on the beach. I seem to always take visitors to this place, because it really has the best view, but man...the food is just not good. I'm not going there anymore. :P Lesson learned.

We left Long Beach and headed back to Santa Monica to finally watch the CORRECT 'San Andreas' movie. It was ok...and of course a bit over the top. I kind of liked 'San Andreas Fault' better, because it was so funny.

Toni and Hannah leave tomorrow. Sad. But, my Aunt Sherry and Maddie arrive on Tuesday in the second wave...stay tuned!