Kathy's June Visit

Back in June, my sister, Kathy, made her annual trip to L.A. to visit her son, Matt,  and daughter-in-law, Amy.  I was thankful that she extended her time in California and came to see me in Marina del Rey.  The last time that we were together was at Natalie and Dan's wedding and boy, did I put her to work!  It was nice to just relax and have some fun together.  And eat!  It seems like we centered our time together on food and California is a great place to do that!

We started off at The Ivy in Beverly Hills for a delightful lunch.  We couldn't identify any of the important looking people, but we sure had fun people watching.  Just look at those roses!

Afterwards, we strolled around Rodeo Drive.  No purchases made here!

On another day we took a road trip to Santa Barbara.  The weather wasn't the greatest; it was a little foggy along our coastal drive, but still beautiful.

We took a detour to Ojai, a quaint mountain town, and had another wonderful lunch and of course some more people watching.  There were some ladies still in their tennis attire (and diamonds) sitting at the table beside us.  They were celebrating a birthday, and Kathy gave me a play by play of what was being unwrapped.

After arriving in Santa Barbara we climbed to the top of the Clock Tower.  Love all the red tiled roofs!  

Out on the pier we enjoyed a little wine tasting and watched the boats.

Well, maybe it was more than a little wine tasting.  We ended up having to stay out on the pier for a little longer than we planned because they didn't have any cheese and crackers to go with our wine. Then on to an outdoor restaurant for clam  chowder and fish and chips; the perfect meal after attending a wine tasting!

 We didn't sight see as much as we did last year, but we sure did eat!  On our last day together we ate at one of my favorite places, Lemonade.  Afterwards, we visited the Grammy Museum to see the Ringo exhibit, Peace and Love.

Thanks Kathy for spending some of your summer vacation with me!  Too bad that I won't be here next year!  

Heart Connection

When Allison and I attended Andy Cohen's book signing I saw that Carol Burnett was on the schedule for the next week.  So I recruited my two "new to California" friends, Eileen and Karen, to go with me.

Eileen's husband works on the same project as Steve.  She lives in Nebraska and visits when she can.  Karen lives here with her husband who works on a project in L.A. but for a different company; their home is in Texas.   They have been here for the past year and I met Karen at our apartment complex just this past January while taking our dogs out.

Eileen, Karen, and me!

I'm so thankful for these new friends!

When I approached the table I shared a little about why I was looking forward to reading her book.  She may be a good actress, but I truly think our hearts connected as one mother to another.  I actually made her cry.

A kind man who was in line ahead of me stopped me after I received my signed book.  He said that he had taken pictures of me talking to her and would it be ok if he emailed them to me.

On a lighter note, here's Carol's face while talking to Karen!

As Carol would say (or sing), "I'm so glad we had this time together . . ."

Allison and Brian's April Visit

On April 6th Allison and Brian arrived!  We had planned to pick them up and drive to the Grand Canyon but Steve ended up  having to work.   While walking in Venice Beach earlier that day, we discovered that the show Ninja Warrior was going to be filmed at 7 p.m.  So after eating the tamales we bought from a Venice Beach vendor - Brian, Allison, and I walked back to watch the action.

 We waited and waited and waited.  

We finally gave up due to our cold tired feet.

The next afternoon we drove to La Jolla which Allison and Brian had never seen.  Can you tell it's one of our favorite places?  Walter sat in Allison's lap for most of the way!

Brian and Steve caught the tail end of a car show which they enjoyed!

On Monday we went to Extra at The Grove.  To much of her dismay, Allison was interviewed by Maria which was televised.

Afterwards we needed a breath of fresh air and went for a drive thru the Angeles National Forrest and on to the Vasquez Rocks.

Of course, Walter went with us!  He's such a good traveler (which is good to know since we will be driving back to Florida with him when we leave here)! 

On Tuesday, Steve took the day off because we all had tickets to see Ellen.  We didn't have to be there until 2 p.m. so Allison and I dropped the guys off at the La Brea Tar Pitts while we explored the Beverly Hills area.  We first stopped at a Beverly Hills Goodwill where I bought a few items and then we went to Rolling Greens,  a unique home and gardening store that Allison had read about on a blog.  

We then window shopped along Robertson Avenue and stumbled upon a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for a long time, The Ivy.  What fun!

We were greeted with complimentary champagne!

We then picked the guys up from their hamburger joint and drove to Ellen.

A sign that I've attended too many talk shows is when I'm disappointed in the experience.  Ellen's guests were Mario Lopez and Bethenny Frankel, people Allison and I had previously seen and Ellen couldn't dance up the stairs due to a back injury.  Ok, there, I said it.  I know I should be thankful that I even got to see Ellen's show.  And like I said, I think I've been to too many shows.  We all got a cd and a Powerball Lotto ticket, but none of them were winning tickets. I know, I'm complaining again.

Brian left early Wednesday morning and I'm not sure what all Allison and I did until she left on Saturday.  I know that we went to Santee Alley and to Olivera Street in downtown L.A.  But besides that, I have no idea.  I know we had fun and enjoyed our time together!

 We picked up some more tamales from this restaurant and took them home for dinner!

An incredible succulent wall (which was huge) near Olivera Street

We went to Andy Cohen's book signing at Barnes & Noble. He was quite entertaining and personable!

One last picture of what a morning is like for Walter when Allison is here visiting!

 We sure hope they can return again before we move back!  Thanks for coming Allison and Brian!