Rollin' the Dice of Her Life

No, I didn't step off the bus to begin my career as an actress in L.A., but this is my favorite song about this geographical location, so it'll have to do. And it reminds me that my Neil got us tickets to see 'em in August! He couldn't keep it to himself, the little cutie, and told me the very day he ordered them even though it was meant for my birthday. Now, if I can figure out a way to see George Michael in Chicago, and NKOTB finally tells us whether or not they're touring, the trifecta will be complete.

I completely meant to add a write-up of each day spent in L.A. so I wouldn't forget what happened, but that city is hard work! I was bone-tired by like 6 PM every night with always something else to do, and never spent more than half an hour up past everyone else. So, I will attempt to recap while it's still a bit fresh:

Friday 3/21:

Set off from Dad's at about 4 AM, acknowledging the near-full moon in the sky as Mom's watch over us on the anniversary of her passing 2 years ago. I liked that we were together for it--half of us, anyway. The drive was relatively painless, as I slept through most of it and Dad never needed my driving help (thanks be to golly). The bed set up in the back of the Sube helped immensely. Kansas and Eastern Colorado were dull, dull, dull, but the view improved quickly when the Rockies began appearing. After that, the rest of the afternoon/evening was lovely, on into Grand Junction, where we stopped for the night.

Saturday 3/22:

Left Colorado at about 7:30, and the day was gorgeous. Colorado, Utah, Nevada, on through California--the beauty never stopped. I'd never seen Vegas before (maybe once, from an airplane on the way to Reno), and though I had no desire to stop there, I always like to see famous landmarks (The Palms--no Steven or Trishelle in sight; the solid-gold-lookin' Trump Tower; the Luxor pyramid thing). And then it was through the desert to L.A., where we arrived at about 8. We left for Cravings Restaurant soon after, and the L.A. residers (Steve, Gib, Lily) pointed out all the famous places just in that little drive: The Laugh Factory where Kramer lost his shit; the Viper Room where River Phoenix lost his, in an entirely different way; the shop where L.A. Ink is set; Ketchup, the site of Lauren/Jason's encounter with Heidi/Spencer...it was exciting and awesome, like NYC, a bit. The restaurant was hip yet quaint and the air smelled wonderful, like that whiff of flowers you get sometimes on a summer evening, except all the time.

Sunday 3/23:

First we got up and headed to the Farmer's Market for breakfast, but since everything was pretty much closed, we settled for some bakery items and a walk through the pretty Grove (where Lauren and company enjoyed the fake snow).

We decided to make this our Beach Day, and headed to Laguna Beach with Gibbo at the helm. However, it soon became clear that in L.A., Easter Sunday is everyone's Beach Day. The LB drive was going slow as molasses, so those in the know suggested we go to Santa Monica's beach instead, despite Lily's insistence that it was dirty.

We sat on the beach and got our feet wet, then I took a walk to get some drinks and munchies for all, and enjoyed getting to know a few blocks of this cute town. I even got some color in my cheeks from the sun--not hard, given my skin composition, but I was glad to have the free blusher. The water was ice-cold, but that didn't prevent the boys from going out and jumping in the waves. Steve later let me know that he peed in it too!


Oh, Dad. You're such a HomeSlice! In the background is the famed Santa Monica Pier, where Matt the Recent AssFaced British Bachelor has a Fantasy American-Themed date with the lovely Amanda.

We went home after a couple of hours, stopping at Whole Foods on the way to pick up stuff for Easter dinner. We cleaned up at Lily's place and drove over to Steve's, Gibbo taking us on Mulholland Drive so we could see the spectacular views of LA and the Valley on either side. And those houses--whoa!

The evening was super, with a nice dinner, board games, and a fantastic Easter egg hunt in Steve's courtyard. Dad snuck the money eggs all the way from Missouri! I totally won with almost $40 found, and the scratches are still evident on my hand from where I pushed through the thorny bushes to grab eggs. The casualties of Easter.

Also, Scattergories is my new favorite.

Later, we sat in the courtyard while the boys smoked, with the sound of banana leaves (or something) thunking down all around us. It was so reminiscent of Pensacola nights!

Monday 3/24:

Shopping Day. (But first stop: Jamba Juice for smoothies and, for me, fresh-squeezed OJ with an energy shot of green tea extract.) Lily took me and Joe to the IKEA in Burbank where she and Gibbo bought most of the furnishings for their place. I knew what I wanted, but I also knew that there were *plenty* of other items in IKEA that would be tempting. I limited myself to two pillows, a plastic bag holder, five sets of multicolored frames, and 15 sets of red and black boxes (the ones Neil and I have been wanting for months and my only planned purchase). It smelled, as always, of cinnamon rolls and Swedish meatballs.

Then, we drove back home (past Jay Leno's studio!) and picked up Dad to go to Steve's mall in Beverly Hills. On my agenda was The Container Store and Macy's, to check out the Fit Flop collection. Not on my agenda was seeing Janice Dickinson in the airy food court, but there it was. She looked weirdly plastic. Steve looked all cute and professional in his Brookstone, and sat us in some massaging chairs with foot rubbers and boy was it good. For his break we chose different fancy food court places--me and Joe with crepes, Dad his fish taco, Steve some gourmet mac and cheese, and Lily some kind of Asian cuisine. We all split a large chocolate cupcake at the end, before returning Steve to his store, and took off on our own. Dad, Lil, Joe and I walked around, going into Macy's together and waving at Steve whenever we passed Brookstone, but they drew the line at TCS. I purchased gobs of foam hanger stickies and a fridge refresher--the least I think I've ever bought in one of those!

Next, Lily took me (well, us, but it was for me) to the scrapbook store she occasionals. (If 'frequents' is a verb, can't occasionals be one?) It was small, but well-stocked, and the lady who ran it was some kind of talker. She showed me how to not be scared of rub-ons, and I bought a cute green Doodlebug rub-on metal tool with a ball at the end. It's very satisfying.

We didn't have much time after that, so we only stopped at a Crossroads used clothing store for Dad (he bought a fairly hip Ferragamo button-up) before heading home. Gilby had a basketball game that night, so he couldn't join us for dinner at this nice French restaurant in the Farmer's Market. I got a Croque-Monsieur and was reminded of my solo lunch in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. Corbin Bernsen sat a mere 2 tables away, throwing us a cocky "Check it, I'm Corbin Bernsen" look on the way out. We've inadvertently caught him on camera!!! (He's the one in the background on Joe's side. The one that's not a Dawson family member. I know, I know, it doesn't look like him. But it totally was.)

Observations:

Dad noticed that nobody blocked the intersection, ever. And that when he wanted to make a left turn on a left-turn-yield light, two lanes of cars just let him go.

Things We Didn't Get To But Will Next Time:

Laguna Beach (Surf Shop keychain!)

Pinkberry (Better choices, this time)

Kodak Theatre tour

Walk of Fame & Graumann's Theatre handprints

Rodeo Drive

Hollywood Sign hike-up

Huntington Gardens