California Dreamin'

I just returned from my first trip to California.  My son, Ryan, has lived in LA for 11 years and my cousin, Wayne, for 21 years.  My idea of what LA is like had been shaped by TV, movies, and things Ryan and Wayne had told me.  I was so wrong. 

Having grown up in such a tiny town I dread having to go to large towns and cities.  I do OK with Little Rock and Springfield but I panic if I have to drive in Dallas, St. Louis, Kansas City or Memphis.  All of these places, especially Dallas, are what I call "run and gun" places to drive.  People drive fast, then slam on their brakes, cut you off and flip you off.  So to my surprise LA wasn't like this.  When Ryan picked me up at the airport we took a surface street and not the freeway and I was thinking to myself that it was not bad at all but dreaded when the time came to take the freeway.  Again, to my surprise, it wasn't that bad.  The speed limit was 65 mph and people let you over when you turned on your blinker and I heard very few horns and didn't see anyone get upset (maybe I was just there at a good time).  Ryan did tell me that traffic moves slowly so everyone is either very early or very late depending on  traffic.  But enough on LA traffic.

Wayne had helped me choose a hotel on Beverly Drive. It was only 5 minutes from his home in West Hollywood and about 10 minutes from Ryan's job.  It was across from CBS Studios and the LA Farmer's Market and just down the street from the Beverly Center.  It was safe for me to walk by myself to stores and restaurants.  I quickly fell in love with the Farmer's Market.  It was colorful, busy, and a fun place to people watch.  I walked there most mornings (my body stayed on Central Time so I was always awake before Ryan or Wayne (who ever was my tour guide for the day) was ready to go.  At the Market there are stalls that sell all kinds of food, fresh produce, meats, and souvenirs.  Bob's Donuts became my favorite morning haunt.  You could get a large coffee and a bear claw for $2.75 and it is located near an entrance so it was a great place to people watch.

Wayne was an excellent tour guide.  He took me (and sometimes Ryan would be with us) to Hollywood where I saw the Walk of  Fame, Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Roosevelt Hotel, we went to Griffith Park and the Observatory, where the views of the city are breathtaking.  I was so impressed that Wayne could look down and point out the individual buildings and roads.  We then drove Mulholland Drive (gorgeous, expensive homes), stopped again at an overlook and once again Wayne impressed me with his knowledge of the layout of the city.  We drove around some more, looked at some great houses in Beverly Hills, and in other areas that I don't recall where we were.  (all this on my first full day!)  I forgot to mention that Ryan had taken me to breakfast at Kitchen 24 in West Hollywood where I ordered the "Tree Hugger."  No surprise there.  Next we went to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive.  I'm sure I walked around with big eyes and my mouth wide open.  I saw the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and peeked inside the lobby.

Ryan lives in Silver Lake only a few miles from downtown.  Silver Lake seems so removed from the city.  It is where young people and young families live.  Ryan took me to a Vietnamese restaurant where I had Pho and tried using chopsticks (I think I will stick with a fork).  It was great and I enjoyed the experience.

The next days are a confusion of activities.  I don't remember what order we did things  but here are the highlights.  Ryan took me to the LaBrea Tarpits which was an awesome experience. There are pictures of the tar pits in my textbooks and it was fun to get to see the pits and excavation sites.  Next we went to LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  I think we stayed there for 3 hours and I was so in awe of everything.  I saw paintings and artwork that I had only seen in books.  We could have stayed there for several hours longer but we had other plans.  For several weeks during the summer the Hollywood Forever Cemetery shows Saturday night movies on the side of a huge mausoleum.  Ryan and I went to watch "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from the 70s.  This was a fun, albeit strange, experience.  There were probably 1200 people in attendance.  Movie goers spread blankets on the ground and brought coolers and picnic baskets to the movie.   I never got scared or felt the heebie jeebies, but it was odd.  One other note.  Ryan took me to Target (no Walmart stores in this area) and it cracked me up to use a parking deck and elevator to go to Target.

I think that next on the agenda was a trip to Canter's Deli near Wayne's home followed by a trip to downtown LA.  Again, I was so surprised at how easily the traffic flowed.  I saw the Disney Concert Hall, the infamous courthouse where the OJ and Michael Jackson trails were held, as well as many other landmark buildings. Wayne and Ryan both showed me the buildings where they used to work and/or live. That night I went to the Bootleg Bar where Ryan's band, Magic Trash, was performing.  I had not seen Ryan perform in a long time and it was a lot of fun to watch and also to meet his friends.  Their vinyl had just come in that day so that was exciting.  The record is white with a black center, which I though was very cool.

On Monday I was left to my own devices until afternoon.  I made my morning trip to the Farmer's Market and then to the Grove Shopping Center, as well as a visit to Trader Joes.  I was still restless so I walked the 1.25 miles to the Beverly Center.  Ryan used to work there and he had told me that celebrity sightings are common.  I felt so out of place there with my JC Penney clothes and since I'm not a celebrity watcher I didn't see any - they could have been on the escalator with me and I wouldn't have known.  That afternoon Ryan and Wayne were both free and we took off to Silver Lake, eating dinner at Mexico City. It was authentic Mexican food, not Tex Mex and I tried mole sauce with cocoa in it.  I love "bitter" tasting foods so was pleased with my choice.  Next we went to Prospect Studios in Silver Lake where I got a special tour of the Grey's Anatomy set and got to meet several of the crew.  This is a treat that most people don't get.  I have Wayne and Peyton to thank for this experience.  On the way back to my hotel we drove through Hollywood and it was fun to see everything all lit up and see all the people out and about.

Tuesday, Ryan and I drove down to San Pedro and caught the Catalina Express to Catalina Island.  The ferry normally takes one hour to get to Avalon but we had missed the first boat and had to take a 2 hour ferry that went to Two Harbors first.  This was fine with me because I was just sight-seeing anyway.  Two Harbors is the area where people wishing to hike and camp visit.  Avalon is gorgeous and has the feel of being in the Caribbean.  I loved it and hope to go back there someday to stay a few days.  We didn't get to see nearly as many things as we wanted because we walked, rather than rent a golf cart (lesson leaned).  We had to catch the 6 o'clock ferry back.  I did try the shrimp so I could compare Pacific shrimp to Gulf shrimp.  I like Gulf Shrimp better.  It's more tender and flavorful.

At 3:18 AM on Wednesday I was awakened by an earthquake!  I have felt small ones here but this was the largest I had ever experienced.  I thought at first that someone had pushed against my door then sat on my bed.  I sat up and realized that my bed was moving!  I grabbed my laptop and logged on to usgs.gov and saw that it was a 3.8, later downsized to a 3.7.  After my heart quit racing I fell back asleep.  Later that morning Wayne and I headed to Pasadena.  Pasadena is beautiful and lush.  I loved looking at the older homes there.  We went to Huntington Gardens and Museum.  The gardens are amazing, especially the Cactus and Japanese gardens.  I don't even know where to start to describe the museum.  It gave me chills to know that I was looking at the original Pinkie and Blueboy, Madonna and Child and the Gutenberg Bible.  There are hundreds of works of art there and everyone should go see them if given the opportunity.  Wayne then drove me to see the Rose Bowl and through Burbank, pointing out all the different studios. Following that we went to Venice Beach and walked the Boardwalk just enjoying the view of the ocean and watching the odd people along the boardwalk.  Wayne took me back to my hotel and we said goodbye.  I enjoyed all the time that I spent with Wayne and appreciated all that he did for me.

On my last night in LA Ryan took me back downtown to Bottega Louie.  It's upbeat and trendy. You can go casual or dress up.  It was a great experience and food was great.  Following that I returned to my last night in LA.

Morning came quickly and Ryan picked me up about 11 to go back to LAX.  My heart was heavy as I had to leave.  Those of you who have children living far away can relate to this.  I missed JC and home but it tore me apart to have to say goodbye. I went through security and went to the restroom to shed a few tears.

I hope to return to LA and take things a little slower the next time.  I've seen the "touristy" stuff and would like to relax a bit more on the next trip.  A lot of my friends and family have commented to me that they would be scared to make a trip like that alone.  I was never scared, apprehensive is more appropriate.  I love to see new places, explore and rise to new challenges even though sometimes I'm fighting down my anxiety.

I encourage each of you to pick something that you are apprehensive about and challenge yourself to tackle whatever it is.  There is so much to see and experience out there - just go for it.