If you look really closely, you can see the HOLLLYWOOD SIGN:
As Randy Newman sang:
Roll down the window, put down the top
Crank up the Beach Boys, baby
Don't let the music stop
We're gonna ride it 'til we just can't ride it no more
From the South Bay to the Valley
From the West Side to the East Side
Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day
I love L.A. (We love it)
I love L.A. (We love it)
We love it
We had a great weekend in L.A. We got a little bit of a late start, because we had to hit the bank and get gas, but we finally got on the road a little before 11:00am. We figured we’d be in L.A. by 1:00pm or 1:30pm, but we hit traffic (due to an accident on I-5 going North), so that slowed us down. By the time we got there, grabbed a fast bite, and stopped at STARBUCKS (of course), it was almost 2:00pm. We got to our cousins’, said hello to everyone and then Eric stayed behind with Kyle and all the kids, and I jumped in the car with Ilene and Karen and we went to pick up Ilene’s friend, Stephanie.
They had an adventure planned for us. Ilene’s son is getting Bar Mitzvahed in December and they’re starting to plan the décor. Stephanie is helping Ilene with the table arrangements. The theme is a “winter wonderland,” and they took us to a huge warehouse downtown called MOSKATELL’S. They have decorations for every season, every occasion, and everything else you can possibly think of. There are tons of art supplies, too. We were wandering up and down every aisle and Stephanie was putting together a prototype centerpiece with a clear glass vase and lots of interesting décor in sparkly silver and white. I could see she has great taste and made her promise to email me a picture when she’s got it together, so I can see the final result.
After she made all her purchases, they took me on a great tour of L.A., showing me a lot of great tourist spots. It was a lot of fun. Then, we stopped at STARBUCKS again, on the way home.
When we got back to Ilene's house, we pretty much turned around AGAIN and got back in the car to go to dinner at The Farmer’s Market with the whole family. It was a great choice, because they have over 100 shops, restaurants and grocers. Everyone was able to get exactly what they wanted. It was Ilene and her husband and their 3 kids, Karen and her husband and their 2 kids, and me and Eric. Almost each of us got food from a different vendor – sushi, pizza, sandwiches, churrascaria, cajun, etc. We all sat together, but ate whatever appealed to us. I had sushi, which was really delicious!
After dinner, everyone sat around and talked, but Ilene and I took her daughter to the AMERICAN GIRL store in THE GROVE mall, which is right next door. Those dolls are so fabulous. When I was little I would have LOVED these dolls. The outfits are so cute, and the accessories are amazing. We helped Elise pick out something special and she got accessories for a little dog that goes with the dolls.
Here's Elise with Coconut!
When we got back to the group we went over to another vendor who made fabulous crepes. We got nutella crepes and banana and Hershey’s chocolate crepes and sat down and enjoyed it all.
Then, we went to a place called STICKER PLANET. Every wall was filled floor to ceiling with every sticker you can imagine – except they had no Betty Boop. Can you imagine? How could that possibly be? I DID see lots of Betty Boop stuff in one shop, which I photographed, so you could see how fabulous it was!
We finally drove back to Ilene’s house, but Karen and her family went home. AFRICAN QUEEN was on TURNER MOVIE CLASSICS and we watched the last half hour. I was sitting there wishing it was THE RAINMAKER, because I LOVE that movie, and when AFRICAN QUEEN was over, they announced that THE RAINMAKER would be coming on next! I was so happy! I told everyone that I had done the play at Queen’s College when I was a teenager and I played Lizzie, the part Katherine Hepburn played in the movie. My friend, Joe, who we are seeing for breakfast tomorrow, played my father. What a coincidence!
Eric and I settled in to watch the movie, but Ilene was busy on the computer, her daughter was fast asleep, and her husband was watching TV in his bedroom. The boys were interested in the movie and watched it with us. They were so great, because they really got into it and Evan was asking lots of great questions, which really made sense. I could see he was really thinking about the story. He’s so smart, and he understood what was happening, even though it’s a pretty deep movie.
I was kind of obnoxious, because I was remembering lines and would say it before they said it, which could drive someone crazy, but they were pretty patient with me! It’s really amazing how true to the play they kept the movie, and how much I remembered -- considering I did the play over 30 years ago! There are scenes that are line-for-line exactly like the play. The adaptation was beautifully done.
After the movie was over, everyone went to sleep. We were on a super-comfy sofa bed in the living room and I slept like a baby. It was such a great day with family and we really enjoyed every minute! Ilene and Kyle are great hosts and made us feel completely at home. It was a pleasure to spend time with all the cousins and we really had fun.