Trip Report Returns!
I was going to bag the rest of the trip report but I realized if I don't write it all down somewhere, ten years from now I'll remember I went to California but forget all the details. So, if you don't want to be bored by my million word trip report, skip this post! I mean it.
Where did I leave off?
Tuesday, August 19th - Supposed to go to Venice Beach
Tuesday morning, my friend doesn't have an appointment at the fertility clinic, which is very strange, but we are up early anyway so I convince her to have breakfast with me at the hotel restaurant's breakfast buffet. We are ushered to an excellent people-watching table by the window. She drinks her morning Red Bull and nibbles a piece of toast while I thoroughly and unselfconsciously start enjoying an onion, tomato and smoked salmon omelet, fiesty chicken tequila sausage, the sweetest fresh fruit I've ever eaten, perfectly fluffy oatmeal, and my first ever chocolate waffle dusted with cinnamon. I must have been tripping on the great food, oblivious to my tablemate, because I don't notice when she leaves the table to get her own omelet and sausages, fresh fruit and coffee cake. Finally, we are both so mellowed out by the feasting, we decide to skip Venice Beach for now and just hang out at the pool for the rest of the morning and maybe go to Venice Beach at noon.
No one is at the pool but us. We swim, sunbath, talk to dh's on the phone, swim, soak in the jacuzzi, sunbath, over and over until we're ready for lunch. We figure we might as well postpone lunch until we get to the beach but what neither of us is admitting to the other is neither is keen on going to the beach now. Back at the room we are getting ready for the beach, when my friend mentions she wants to return some hand cream she bought at the Galleria in Glendale. I suggest we go shopping instead of the beach. No argument there. We abandon the packed beach bags and switch to mall mode. We're off to Glendale. Or so we thought!
We are half way to Glendale when the clinic calls my friend and says someone there dropped the ball and orders her to come in immediately for monitoring. UGH! We wind our way back to Pasadena for a stop at the clinic.
It's all for the best because by the time we make it to Glendale, the lunch hour rush is over.
First stop is the Cheesecake Factory, across the street from the Galleria, for lettuce wraps and mixed drinks.
This one is much nicer than the one in Pasadena. The food portions are bigger, it doesn't smell like a wet basement inside, and it has outdoor seating where I enjoy the "dancing fountain" and both us people watch which my friend loves to do. She should have a PhD in people watching. Today, I get a lesson from the master about spotting those who carry a real Gucci bags, those who wear the latest styles (and not last year's) or those who push a stroller that costs more than my husband's old Ford pick-up truck.
After lunch, we shop like I've never shopped in my life. I don't really buy that much, and ordinarily, I don't even like to browse, but here I am over three thousand miles from any obligations, responsibilities, appointments or children. The streets are lined with stores I've only heard of or read about. Some, I've never heard of, but of course my friend has. It's part of her ongoing research.
One is Peter Alexander. It's from Australia but just opened the store we visit a couple months ago. All they sell is sleepwear. There's a rhinestone covered bed in the store. They were having a sale. I bought silk pajamas marked down from 100.00 to 25.00. They come in a matching silk pouch with the word "peace" embroidered on it. The bags and gift boxes sport a picture of the owner's dogs wearing funky wigs.
Peekaboo was another favorite. It's a children's boutique where the owners have designed their own lines of clothing. We buy a few things for our daughters while children around us ride wooden bicycles especially made for riding around in the store. All our purchases are individually wrapped in colorful tissue paper and fastened with sticker art designed by the owner's children. After we pay the bill, we're offered bouncy balls, lollipops, tattoos, and stickers to take home to our children. For a second, I'm reminded of the prize box at the dentist's office.
Before we cross the street to the Galleria, I spot Anthropologie. It looks interesting from the outside. I ask my friend about it and she's emphatic that I'll love this place, and I do. Too bad, even on clearance, one colored glass tumbler is 18.00, and a loosely woven, rough cotton pair of pants is 86.00. LOL. My sister calls me on my cell phone while we wandering through the store, so I head over to a stuffed chair in an empty corner of the store for privacy. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my friend walking toward me with a jewel green dress. It's love at first sight but I shake my head no at her. She mouths, "It's on sale!". I can't take my eyes off it, but I still tell her, "No Way." She mouths, "Try it on." I get off the phone with my sister and go try on the dress. It's fabulous, it's on sale, and I buy it.
Finally, we actually go to the Galleria. "Valley Girl" is playing in my head as we enter the mall toting all our shopping bags. Still in high spirits -me because of the dress and my friend because shopping gets her high anyway- we buy fake ponytails from a hairpiece kiosk and wear them the rest of the day.
I continue to be impress by stores I've never seen before and how much more colorful and bold the styles are both in the stores and on the people in the mall. Although, after a couple hours in the mall, I am tired of clothing, beauty products, and shoe shopping, the
Lego store brightens my eyes. If only I had two extra suitcases!
I settle for t-shirts and key chains. (Shhh, I'm saving them for Christmas.) Just about the time I am really starting to get tired, the mall is starting to close. My friend has been told we must try an In and Out burger, so we head there next.
In and Out Burger serves only burgers, fries, shakes and soft drinks. No nuggets, salads, fish, cookies, fruit, sundaes, etc. I don't order fries. It's part of my diet to not eat white bread, mayonnaise, sweets, or fries). My friend orders fries and as we're driving home she comments that they taste weird. So, I break my diet to taste the fries. YUMMMY. They obviously cut the potatoes and fry them right away, just the way my mom made them when I was little. Obviously, my friend has never had fresh cut french fries.
Good thing I came with a mostly empty suitcase!
We watch the Olympics back at the hotel and go to bed.
) so if something miracleous does not happen by Sept then I'll cancel that. I'll probably just rent a sea kyack for a 1/2 hour (I read that is $10) just so I can get Christopher up close to the Flying Dutchman (he is a HUGH "Pirates of the Carribean" fan!!). Chris has been wanting to ride on a wave runner and go kyaking so either one I'm sure will be fine. Not like there won't be enough to do on the CC anyway. 
Unfortunately, Chase was asking to see his dad this morning so hopefully the cruise will distract him for a little while. 
I can really only pray his dad steps up to the plate some time soon. Not to air all of my dirty laundry but that is the long and the short of it.
Sorry you have to deal with that Dawn. Can I just say that I really admire that you are trying to keep a relationship going between your son and his father. I think when support is used as barter for visitation it only hurts the child in the long run. I can tell that you are a wonderful mom. 
I am glad and surprised both that Chris hasn't wondered why I am packing half the house for two days in SeaWorld. 
