Dorothy & Marshall's Visit!

We've been back from Scott & Shelby's wedding for almost three weeks and there's so much more to post about that trip, but first I need to catch up with July's events (since I'm trying to keep this blog in chronological order).  

So, way back in July (the day that Kathy left), I began excitedly preparing for Dorothy and Marshall's visit.  Their plan was to spend the night somewhere between the Grand Canyon and L.A. and arrive the following day.  When Dorothy called that evening, I urged them to drive all the way to L.A. if they felt like they could.  We wanted all the time we could get to be together.

I think they arrived around 2 a.m.- I know they were tired, but we were so glad to have the extra time with them.  I wish I had pictures of how Walter reacted to Dorothy.  I'm not sure if it was because it was in the middle of the night or because Dorothy was wearing a visor or because of the excitement in Dorothy's voice, but Walter was terrified at first.  He was hiding behind the dining room table just looking at her.  It was the funniest thing!  But it wasn't too long before they became good friends!

Taken at the Santa Monica Overlook after breakfast at Cafe Buna

We didn't do too much sight seeing our first day together, but we sure made up for it our second day.    It was so much fun to attend church together and introduce Dorothy to a few of my new friends.  For lunch we went to one of our favorite places, Thyme, and enjoyed some delicious gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.  Afterwards, we picked up Walter and took off exploring.  Our first stop: our favorite place that overlooks the ocean.

It was during this trip that we received the phone call from John that Kramer was very sick and needed to be put down.  It was very comforting to have Dorothy and Marshall with us during such a sad time.  Marshall even bought me some flowers : )

After the overlook we headed to the Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Dolby Theater where the Academy Awards are held. 

The Road to Hollywood is a pathway full of anonymous quotes from stars 

From here we tried to drive to the Griffith Observatory to enjoy the sunset and lights of L.A., but the traffic was just too heavy.  We gave up and drove along Sunset Blvd enjoying a meal from In & Out Burger as we headed home.

On Monday, Steve had to work which meant we didn't have a car.  Honestly I have no idea what all we did that day, but I know we had fun because we were together.

On Tuesday, we rented a car so we could attend The Tonight Show.  It's pretty much an all day event, but it's fun.  I thought for sure we'd end up on the front row because of Dorothy's laugh (which I had her do every time we were close to any of the employees)!  She was such a sport.  We didn't get front row seats, but Dorothy caught one of the balls that the warm up guy threw up our way.  We saw Kate Beckinsale, Adam Carolla, and Lionel Richie.  After the show, the warm up guy handed Marshall one of the cue cards used during the show.   

Steve had to work late so we went to Santa Monica to experience the food trucks where everyone got to pick their favorite truck.

We went to the beach to enjoy our food, the cool breeze, the view, and our friendship.

Wish it could've been a longer visit, but so thankful that they came and hope we'll see them here again!