Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

I have a new, unwanted alarm clock.  I’ve named him Sir Yap-a-lot, II.  If I didn’t know for sure, I’d think the other dog had followed us here from Whitestone!  This time, though, I’m pretty sure that this dog is locked up alone inside an RV, because I cannot imagine anyone letting a dog bark for an hour without stopping and he’s definitely not outside.  He’s just nearby.  A lot of people are leaving this campground today, so I hope he’s gone, too!

Eric is still sleeping, so I figured I’d start my blog for the day.  This is something I have really come to enjoy.  It’s nice to be documenting our trip in such detail, but it’s also “quiet time” for me every morning or night.  I like typing and I like being on the computer, so it’s pleasant for me.  He’s stirring, so I’ll stop for now.  MORE LATER!

It’s now 9:15pm (Chicago time) and we had a great day back in the city.  Jerry had a lovely brunch and set a gorgeous table.  He has Fiesta Ware dishes, which I love, and had an old Hall pitcher that belonged to his grandmother.  I told him it was very collectible and pretty valuable and he was thrilled!

I had previously met Jerry’s Mom, because they came to my shop when they were visiting in New York, but I got to meet his Dad, (who was celebrating his birthday) and one of his sisters, his brother-in-law, and his 13-year-old nephew.  We had a delicious meal, a fantastic chocolate birthday cake, and a lot of fun.  They were very interested in our trip, and we told them about where we had been, and where we are going.  They have all traveled a lot and gave us some good advice about places we must visit on our way west.  Here's a picture of Jerry and his nephew, Regev:

After brunch, Eric and I went to a local bookstore called UNABRIDGED BOOKSTORE and bought a 2008 Road Atlas of the United States.  Eric wanted a topographical map of each state, so he could see where the mountains are.  That’s where we’re headed!

Then, we stopped at a STARBUCKS (there seem to be as many in Chicago as there are in NY) and I was happy on the trip home, even though there was lots of traffic.  We got back to the campground and immediately took a nap.  Now, I’m blogging and Eric is happily reading his maps and planning our trip south to Florida.

Tomorrow’s going to be a big driving day for both of us, because we want to go almost all the way to Kentucky, so we’re going to get a good night’s sleep, bring the PT Cruiser back to ENTERPRISE and get on our way.  There’s just one thing stopping us from leaving very early:  We ordered a new DC charging cord for my computer from DELL and it is being delivered here by DHL tomorrow morning before noon.  We hope it’s WAY before noon, but you never know and we really want to get it before we go.  Otherwise, we’ll have to have it shipped from here to my parents’ in Florida.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

We left GRAND LAKE RV AND GOLF RESORT and headed to the IRON SKILLET for their buffet breakfast.  More carbs! 

Then we got on the road to Delray Beach.  We really didn’t do much today, except drive, drive, drive.  We drove down I-75, stopping only for STARBUCKS (whee!).  The only excitement of the day was that it started to rain and we’ve never driven the RV through rain before.  In fact, the only time it rained in the last month was when we were visiting in New Paltz.  We’ve never driven in it, and never been at a campground when it rained.  I feel pretty lucky about that, because at most campgrounds you’re walking in woods on dirt roads and if it was muddy it would really be a BIG pain!  The rain was very off-and-on and by the time we reached Delray Beach, the sun was shining and it was HOT.

We had a happy reunion with my parents.  They were so glad to see us, safe and sound, and so excited that we would be staying with them for a few days.  We're so glad to be with family again.  We showed them the RV and caught up a little.

We had two packages waiting for us at my parents' (very exciting!).  One was the small replacement door that fell off the RV.  Eric had ordered it from CAMPING WORLD and had it shipped to Florida.  The other package was all the mail our friends, Larry and Geri, had collected for us.  We have had our mail forwarded to them since we left NY.  That was something we were really worried about, since we knew we would be on the road for a long time and didn't yet have a real forwarding address.  They were kind enough to let us have our mail forwarded and we even changed our address to their address in a few instances.  They have been such fantastic friends, because they’ve been doing all kinds of things for us, letting me know about bills I need to pay, and just keeping us informed of everything that’s been coming our way.  We REALLY appreciate it and know we are lucky to have such wonderful friends. 

My parents had made plans for ten of us to go out to dinner tonight: our cousin, Edith, and her boyfriend, Sam, our cousin, Barnett, and his girlfriend, Gloria, my parents, and their friends, Marion and Mike.  We went out to a great restaurant in Delray Beach called FRATELLI’S ITALIAN GRILL.  The food was so good and the company a lot of fun.  We laughed a lot and ate a LOT of garlic knots!

We are looking forward to relaxing with my folks tomorrow and then we have to bring the RV into the service center first thing Monday morning.  We are hoping to get it back quickly, but you never know.  The RV Drama continues!

Today I didn’t want to watch much TV, because it was all about 9/11 and it’s something that, even six years later, I just can’t talk about or hear about.  I’ll never forget (nor should I), but I just don’t like to think about it.  I do want to say that I pray for all the people who lost someone on that horrible day.

We decided to get out for a while and accompanied my Mom while she ran some errands.  First we had lunch and then we headed to – of all places – Wal-Mart.  I say that, because I don’t like Wal-Mart very much, but I understand why people go there.  Everything is VERY inexpensive and, if you’re on a fixed income, it is certainly the place to shop.  I got some t-shirts, sundries, and a case of bottled water ($3.88).  Eric bought car wax for the RV (Mr. Maintenance!).

We heard from our niece, Michelle, today.  We are going to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow afternoon to see Eric’s sister, Ellen, her husband, Rich, and their children, Michelle and Scott, and Scott’s wife Jaime, their son, Kyle, and daughter, Rian.  We’re really looking forward to it.  We will come back to my parents’ to sleep and then – if we get the RV back tomorrow (as promised) – we will head out Thursday morning for our next destination.  We’re not sure yet where that will be, but we’re trying to see our nephew, Brandon, in Tampa, and our friends, Frank and Gloria, in Orlando.

We went to THE OLIVE GARDEN for dinner tonight.  I only go to THE OLIVE GARDEN when I’m in Florida with my parents.  I really enjoy it, but they don’t have them in Queens, so it’s not a place we frequented when we lived in NYC.

So, here’s the latest saga:  On Sunday night at around 9:00pm I put in a prescription for an allergy medicine at Walgreen’s.  The young man behind the counter told me that I could pick it up at 10:00am on Monday morning.

We didn’t get a chance to go back to the drugstore until Monday night, and the prescription wasn’t ready.  They told me to come back on Tuesday afternoon (today) at 2:00pm.  We went back tonight after THE OLIVE GARDEN, at 9:00pm, and the prescription STILL wasn’t ready.  They told me that they had ordered it, but it hadn’t come in.  I told them I understood that these things happen, but why didn’t someone call me, so I didn’t make TWO unnecessary trips to the drugstore?  I told them to give me back my prescription, because I was going to go elsewhere.

I went to a CVS a few blocks away and – within 10 minutes – I walked out of there with my prescription.  Go figure!  So, now I love CVS and I’m mad at Walgreen’s.  So, please join with me and boycott Walgreen’s.  Thank you!  (This reminds me of an episode of WILL & GRACE where Grace has a fight with the owner of HAPPY NOODLE (her favorite noodle place in Manhattan) and calls all her friends to tell them to go to LUCKY NOODLE and to boycott HAPPY NOODLE.)

Anyway, we just got home and are going to have vanilla fudge ice cream on Fruit Bobka, so I really must go!  (I really prefer a Chocolate Bobka, or at least a Cinnamon Bobka, but not if there’s a hair on it!  (That’s a SEINFELD reference, for those of you who are wondering!)).

L'Shana Tova!!  SHALOM!!  A happy and healthy New Year to all our friends and family!

Eric finally got the RV back from the mechanic and we are SO happy to be back in business!  There are still things to be fixed in the RV, but nothing that’s more than an inconvenience.  Eric really felt the brakes were in bad shape and, of course, he was right.  They were in TERRIBLE shape.  If we had been going fast on the thruway and had to brake, the RV probably would have flipped, because one of the brakes was in such bad shape that it was “frozen” and would have made the car pull dramatically to one side.  Anyway, once again, Eric’s knowledge of automobiles has saved us from a disaster.  I’m so lucky to have such a smart and handy guy!

Our friend, Jerry, gave us these t-shirts when we were in Chicago.  Dreams DO come true!

We drove down to Ft. Lauderdale late this afternoon to see Eric’s sister and the whole family.  We got a fast tour of Ellen and Rich’s house, because I’m allergic to their adorable dog – Zoe.  Ellen and Rich have done a lot of work to their house, and it all looks great, but their kitchen is fantastic.  It looks like something out of Architectural Digest!  I was so impressed.  It must be such a luxury to cook in a kitchen like that.  Maybe if I had a kitchen like that, I’d enjoy cooking!

We were treated to a fantastic dinner at a great Italian restaurant called CARRABBA’S, in Plantation.  Our party consisted of Eric’s sister, Ellen, and her husband, Rich, our niece, Michelle, our nephew, Scott, his wife, Jaime, their two gorgeous children – Kyle (who will turn 5 in 9 days), and Rian, who is six months old, and Scott and Jaime’s friend, Adam. 

I had fun with Kyle, who showed me all his karate moves, but I fell madly, deeply and hopelessly in love with Rian.  She is so beautiful and is at that age where getting a smile from her just melts your heart.  She is so chubby and sweet and Jaime was kind enough to put her high chair right next to me, so I could play with her and amuse her (I hope as much as she amused me) during dinner.  She is the kind of baby who will let anyone hold her, so I got to give her lots of hugs and kisses!

After they treated for dinner, we insisted on going next door to DAIRY QUEEN and treating everyone to dessert, but most declined (such discipline!), so only a few of us indulged.  We sat and talked for a while and then went back to Ellen and Rich’s house to say our goodbyes.

It is so sad to say goodbye to family, but when you’re going to a place as fabulous as San Diego, you know that they will definitely come to visit, and that makes the goodbyes that much easier.

We are planning to leave very early tomorrow morning.  That goodbye will be the hardest of all, as my parents have told us they probably will not make a visit to San Diego, so it will be up to us to come back to Florida to visit them.  I have always come down, once a year, but if I get a job in San Diego I’m quite sure I won’t have vacation for at least six months, and we will be so busy settling in, so it may be hard for me to visit for a while.  My mom and I talk on the phone very often, and we email back and forth, but it’s still hard for both of us, as we are very close.

Tomorrow we are going to try to see our friends in Orlando and our nephew, Brandon, in Tampa, before heading to New Orleans.  More goodbyes!

We got up really early, because my parents were going to synagogue this morning for Rosh Hashanah.  Don’t they look beautiful?

After a stop at the local STARBUCKS, we drove a little over three hours to Orlando and had some lunch at a great Latina restaurant – CABANA RESTAURANT in Ocoee.  I have NO idea how you pronounce Ocoee, so can someone who knows please email me and let me know!

We were going to visit our friends, the Sicolis, but we had a few hours to kill before Gloria got home with their boys, so we decided to do a load of laundry (our favorite pastime).   We finished just in time to head over to Windermere to our friends’ house.  We got there, but they weren’t home yet, so we waited in front of their house.  They live in a beautiful community and we were admiring all the beautiful houses on their cul-de-sac. 

Gloria called, to see what we were up to, and we told her we were waiting outside her house.  They hurried home from school and we had a happy reunion.  I have known Gloria and Frank for about 25 years.   They are a sweet, beautiful couple who have two wonderful boys – Frankie (12) and JJ (5).

Frankie and JJ loved the RV.  They thought it was the coolest thing ever.  They couldn’t believe that we slept in here, ate in here, cooked in here, went to the bathroom in here – everything!  We were so happy to show them around.  Then we went inside and got to see their gorgeous home.  Every room is decorated so beautifully.  Gloria and Frank have great taste and it is a pleasure to be in their home.  It's elegant, yet cozy and comfortable.  They have a gorgeous backyard with a big pool, which is completely screened in, so you can hang out outside and in the pool without one bug bothering you!

After Frank got home from work, we decided to go out to eat.  They generously invited us to sleep over (and Frankie so sweetly offered his room to us), but because they have a new dog (an adorable Yorkshire Terrier named Chippy), I was nervous about staying too long, because of my asthma.  So, we planned to spend the night at a local campground, but hadn’t yet made a reservation.

Here's Frank, Eric and Frankie; and Gloria and JJ!

We went out to eat first at a great seafood place called JOE’S CRAB SHACK in Lake Buena Vista.  The food was SO good and, as you can see, Eric had a delicious meal of Snow, Dungeness and Alaskan King Crab legs – Joe’s Special Crab Combo.  I had the crab cakes (after all, it IS Joe’s CRAB Shack).  Frank had the Mahi Mahi, Gloria had the crispy shrimp, and the boys had popcorn shrimp.  Everything was delicious!  We finished off the meal with big pieces of chocolate cake and a slice of Key Lime pie.  WOW!  We were stuffed!

We sat in the RV for a while, because we were on the computer, trying to figure out which campground to go to.  Frank and Gloria are SO great, because they didn’t want to leave until we had definite plans.  It’s harder to get into a campground after the office closes, but there’s usually no problem.  You just go to a site and pay in the morning.  There’s a lot of trust in campgrounds.  They trust that you’ll do the right thing by paying the next morning – and I think people usually do.  Anyway, we decided to go to ORLANDO WINTER GARDEN CAMPGROUND and we said our goodbyes to Frank, Gloria, Frankie and JJ.  We felt so bad, because it was after 10:00pm – very late for the boys to be out on a school night – and we knew they would all pay in the morning.

At dinner, we talked about friendship.  Eric and I don’t see Frank and Gloria that often, because we’ve never been to visit them in Florida, and they always visit in NYC, but don’t come up that often.  But it doesn’t matter.  We have the kind of friendship that transcends time.  We can let months go by without talking, maybe even a year, but when we DO see them, it’s as if no time has passed.  We love them and we know they love us and that’s the kind of friendship that is a real blessing.

Eric and I feel lucky, because we have lots of friends like that.  Friends that we may not see or talk to, but you know they don’t get mad, and we don’t either.  You just want your friends to be happy and healthy and when you talk to them or see them – it’s a gift.

Anyway, we’re traveling to Tampa tomorrow and will have yet ANOTHER happy reunion with our nephew, Brandon.  This has been a GREAT week, because we are getting to see SO many people we love!

ORLANDO WINTER GARDEN CAMPGROUND was nice, but Eric and I cannot understand why anything in Florida would be called “Winter Garden,” since they don’t have a real winter here!  Nevertheless, our short stay at Orlando Winter Garden Campground was a pleasant one.

I forgot to mention that last night, in the parking lot of JOE’S CRAB SHACK, we had some electrical problems, while we were in the RV with Frank, Gloria, Frankie and JJ trying to find a campground for the night.  The generator just stopped running, putting us in total darkness and turning off my computer (in a very bad way).  We were able to get everything going again, but now Eric’s worried about the batteries or the alternator.    This morning everything was fine and we ran around in the RV all day with no problems, but something’s up.  We just don’t know what it is.  I have a feeling we’ll find out.  Stay tuned!

Anyway, after a delicious breakfast at VOLCANO'S COFFEE BAR AND ROASTERY, we decided to go to CAMPING WORLD in Tampa, since we were going there anyway to see our nephew, Brandon.  CAMPING WORLD is a chain of RV stores/service centers around the country.  They come VERY highly recommended by GOOD SAM CLUB, which is the RV version of AAA.  We were hoping they could take a look at the toilet and fridge, since we’re having problems with both.

The complex where CAMPING WORLD is located in Tampa also has a HUGE RV sales/service store called LAZY DAYS.  We went there first, to see if they could fix the RV.  This place was fancier than most of the hotels I’ve been in.  They gave free coffee (which was delicious), had a play area for children, a sitting area for people with pets, a huge flat-screen TV, and the lobby was filled with the most comfortable chairs and couches.  Unfortunately, they told us they couldn’t even look at the RV until the 23rd (and today’s the 14th!). 

So, we went over to CAMPING WORLD, but they told us pretty much the same thing.  Since the fridge works – on and off – and the toilet works, but just leaks (and we’re really not using it at all), we decided to just keep going until we can find another place who can take us quickly.

We got to Tampa around 3:00pm and decided to go to the FLORIDA AQUARIUM.  What a great place!  It was much nicer than the NIAGARA AQUARIUM, which was nice, but not nearly as large.  The only thing that was better in Niagara was the sea lion show and the seals and penguins.  Florida Aquarium had lots of fish (in HUGE tanks), but they also had birds, turtles, alligators, and invertebrates, all in their natural habitat.  They also had a big tank of stingrays, which were really fabulous.  Eric and I had a sting ray in our fish tank once, but he died in just a few months.  His name was Sting Ray Charles!

After the aquarium, we went to Brandon’s apartment, which is really fabulous.  If I could take his neighborhood and transplant it to San Diego, that’s where I’d like to live.  His building is only 7 years old and is surrounded by fabulous stores such as a designer consignment shop, a spa, several restaurants, and a STARBUCKS!!!!  Who could ask for anything more?  The whole neighborhood is beautiful, clean and safe.

Brandon took us in his sporty blue Mustang to a GREAT sushi place called ZEN BISTRO GRILL + SUSHI BAR.  We were SO excited, because we have not had sushi (which is a passion of ours) since we left New York five weeks ago!  It was all SO delicious, we enjoyed it completely, and we were so happy!  Brandon seemed to know everyone there and told us he eats there regularly.   After dinner, we walked around and did some window shopping.  Then we went to STARBUCKS.  Everyone in STARBUCKS knew Brandon, too!

I'm so mad at myself, because I forgot to bring my camera with me to his apartment and to dinner, and then he came back to the RV with us, and I forgot to get it and take his picture.  I wish you could see him, because he's SO handsome and he looked so great.  I can't believe he's 32.  So grown up and such a great guy!

We talked for a while and then we told Brandon where we were going next – to BAY BAYOU RV RESORT on Memorial Highway in Tampa.  I told Brandon how we program Betty (the GPS system) and she takes us wherever we need to go.  I showed him the route she was taking us and he said it was wrong and we’d never get there.  I had SUCH faith in Betty that I made a bet with him.

He was absolutely right!  Betty took us to a dead end and told us to make a right where there wasn’t even a road!  It was by a railroad track, and the railroad track was there, but the road parallel to it wasn't!

Brandon then gave us directions and we went HIS way, but that didn’t work either, because it turns out that Memorial Highway is segmented and we needed to be going in the opposite direction.  We started following Betty’s directions again, but Memorial Highway was closed for construction.  We realized there was so way Betty could know this, but didn’t know what to do!  Then, we saw a DETOUR sign and followed that and finally made it here.  The GPS systems are fantastic (and we couldn’t have gotten very far without it), but they are NOT infallible.  Brandon outwitted Betty, because he KNEW she was sending us the wrong way – and he was RIGHT!  It was a little tense for a few minutes, when we thought we’d end up sleeping in a parking lot somewhere, but we finally made it here and it’s a really nice campground.

Eric’s been sitting for the past hour, looking at the Atlas (something he loves to do), trying to plan our itinerary for the next few weeks.  We know we want to go to New Orleans next, via Tallahassee and Pensacola, but we’re not real sure about after that.  We really wanted to go up to Memphis and see GRACELAND, so that may be in the future, too!

We slept in a little today (9:00am), took showers, did a load of laundry, and then picked up Brandon for lunch. 

We were so happy that we could see him one more time before we left, and I even remembered my camera this time!  He took us to a great place called Lenoces Neighborhood Restaurant.  I had the best grilled cheese in the WORLD!  It was a grilled four-cheese sandwich on rye with onions, tomatoes and mustard.  WOW!  That’s all I can say.  I LOVE grilled cheese and this was SO good!  Eric had a little more discipline and had a salad with grilled chicken, and Brandon had their Eggs Florentine, which looked really good.

After lunch we went to the STARBUCKS, which is right downstairs from Brandon’s apartment (such a lucky guy!) and then we hit the road.  It was sad to say goodbye, but we know Brandon will come to visit in San Diego, so it won't be long before we see him again!

We pretty much drove straight to Tallahassee (Eric did most of the driving, while I had the most delicious nap in the back, and then I drove for an hour while Eric “relaxed” (as much as Eric can relax)).

We arrived at the BIG OAK RV PARK at 7:30pm.  There really IS a big oak – it’s gigantic!  While hooking up the electric and water, Eric quickly made a friend (Ken) who recently bought the biggest, nicest RV I’ve seen so far.  We’d love to ask for a tour, but we’re too shy!!

Eric also saw two guys on mountain bikes riding around, and he stopped them to ask about mountain biking in the area.  They told him there’s a race tomorrow at 9:30am at Tom Brown Park at the Magnolia Mountain Bike Trail.  Eric doesn’t feel fit enough to race (I think he could), but we’ll definitely watch and then he can get in a good ride with plenty of other riders around, which is always more fun!  I’m so excited and happy for him, because he hasn’t had a good ride since Fort Duffield in Kentucky on September 5th.  That’s a LONG time between rides – especially for Eric, who used to ride 7 days a week.

We will be eating a dinner of leftovers tonight (since the fridge has been working fine for 2 days now) and will get an early start tomorrow for the mountain bike race.  Then, we’re off to Alabama where we’re staying at the most interesting campground.  So, be prepared for tales of our next big adventure!

We have heard from several people that New Orleans is crime-ridden and not a safe place to visit.  I’m heartbroken, because it’s a place I have ALWAYS wanted to go – someplace I would have flown to on a vacation.  We really want to go and see the French Quarter, eat some fabulous Creole and Cajun food, listen to some great music, and see the sights.

We also really want to meet our friends, Sergio and Lourdes, and their daughter, Angela, whom I know through the “Betty Boop Network.”  Sergio and Lourdes have a huge collection and are extremely knowledgeable in all things Boop.  We have been friends for almost 15 years (pen pals, phone friends, and email buddies), but have never met.  I spoke to Sergio today and he said that it is true that there is a lot of crime and there are many places that are not safe to walk – especially at night.  We are going to stay at the FRENCH QUARTER RV RESORT, which he recommends as the safest.  It is only 8-10 blocks from the French Quarter, but Sergio recommends that we take taxis back and forth.

We left the WALES WEST RV Resort in Robertsdale, Alabama in time for lunch and found another fabulous place to eat with authentic, down-home cooking – OLIVIA’S.  I asked for a business card, or anything with their name on it, and the waitress/manager told me that she could give me their phone number, but that’s about it.  Now, THAT’S a small-town restaurant!

We ate the $7.75 lunch buffet and feasted on (amongst other things) corn muffins, collard greens, sautéed cabbage in butter, fried chicken, gumbo, mashed potatoes, beans, macaroni salad and the best potato salad I ever ate in my entire life. 

After all that, we hit the dessert buffet and had coconut custard pie and banana pudding with bananas and vanilla wafers mixed in and whipped cream on top.  I tell you, it was fantastic and we were stuffed.  Then, I went to get my camera and started taking pictures of all the great stuff all over the walls and, of course, the locals started a conversation with us and one group of seniors told us they once visited New York and got lost in the Bronx.  I admitted that was not the best place to get lost!

After lunch, we went to an antique mall and spent about a half-hour looking at all the great stuff.  I found a beautiful hinged rhinestone bangle bracelet which I believe is from the 1940s.  Very unusual.  I’ve never seen anything like it!  It is the first thing I’ve bought (and the first time I’ve really gone antique shopping) in 5 weeks.  What a thrill!

Next, we went to the MUSCLE CAR MANIA CLASSIC AUTO MUSEUM in Summerdale, Alabama.  They had three showrooms of muscle cars and Eric just about went crazy.  He couldn’t decide which one he liked best and spent a lot of time looking (but not touching – as we were reminded by signs all over the place).   Alabama has tons of classic cars.  Eric was so impressed by all the cars we saw in lots, showrooms and on the road.  He loves Alabama!

We finally left Alabama (much to our chagrin, because we found it to be beautiful, interesting, and filled with lovely people).  We drove on to New Orleans with much excitement and trepidation, passing through Mississippi on the way.  We got to the FRENCH QUARTER RV RESORT at about 5:00pm and it could not have been nicer.  Although the neighborhood around the resort is not your typical campground neighborhood (we’re used to being surrounded by woods and are surrounded, instead, by factories, an elevated highway and a generally industrial neighborhood), the camp itself is lovely. 

The place was built after Katrina and has a definite “French Quarter flavor.”  The streets are all paving stones with a square of grass for each campsite.  Some have a screened-in gazebo and there is a cute street lamp at every site.  There is a beautiful pool in the middle of a courtyard, surrounded by an exercise room, a laundry room, and four bathroom/shower rooms.  It is all really beautiful and clean and luxurious.  Try to imagine a fancy campground on 11th Avenue in Manhattan and you’ll get the picture.  Because there’s a lot of crime in the area, they have 24-hour hour a day security, high brick walls and razor ribbon on top.  It kind of feels like you’re in prison, because the only way in and out is through the main gate.

Sergio and Lourdes picked us up at 7:00pm and parked in the French Quarter.  We walked around a lot and looked at all the great stores.  I bought some post cards and then we went to eat at THE COURT OF TWO SISTERS on Royal Street.  This restaurant is one of the finest in all of New Orleans.  There is a great history behind it, which you can read if you click on the link! 

For appetizers we shared oysters Italian style, shrimp remoulade, and fried green tomatoes with crab meat on top.  I had the blackened puppy drum with crab meat on top.  I learned that puppy drum is a type of fish called a red drum which, when young and small, is called “puppy drum.”   Eric had duck, and Sergio and Lourdes both had trout. 

We each had a fabulous dessert and some coffee to finish off this fabulous meal.  I had dreamed for many years of coming to New Orleans to eat great, authentic Cajun/Creole food and, tonight, my dream came true!

Of course I forgot my camera (again), but luckily Sergio brought his, so I will have some pictures (in a future blog) to share from this magical evening.  We ate outside in a beautiful courtyard covered by the leaves and branches from huge trees, which were strung with tiny white lights.  There are statues and a wishing well.  It was all so romantic.  I will never forget this night.

After dinner, we walked around a lot more and they took us to Bourbon Street to hear some of the music.  We got a little taste of the most famous street in New Orleans, but Sergio and Lourdes told us that even for a Monday night it was extremely empty.  That is a sign that things are not back to normal in New Orleans, even after 2 years.  I can only imagine what it used to be like, before the storm that changed everything.

Next, Sergio drove us all around St. Charles Avenue where we saw mansion after mansion, one more beautiful than the next and all very different.  TULANE UNIVERSITY and LOYALA UNIVERSITY are also on that street.  It’s just wonderful.  They told us that part of the Mardi Gras parade is down St. Charles and it is a much calmer, less crowded way to see the parade.

Finally, they dropped us off at the campground and we gave them the 3-minute tour of the RV.  They seemed to like it – especially the adorable throw and pillow we have on the couch with Betty Boop as a mermaid!  We made plans to get together again tomorrow night – for Sushi – and we will get to meet Angela!

Woke up early this morning and got a cab from the campground to the AUDUBON AQUARIUM OF THE AMERICAS.  We were so impressed with this aquarium.  It was huge and there were so many different exhibits, including a sea otter, penguins (which swam right up to the glass to visit with you), the sting ray bay (where you could pet and feed the sting-rays), the baby shark (whom you could also pet -- he felt like sandpaper!), the teeny tiny sea horses (SO teeny), the frogs, the rain forest and, of course, all the great fish!

While we were buying our tickets, we saw a group of ladies from the RED HAT SOCIETY  I've never seen such a big group before.  They were beautiful!

As you can see, I made a friend.  This penguin was up against the glass trying to see me as much as I wanted to see him!

At noon, we went to see the HURRICANE ON THE BAYOU documentary at the Entergy IMAX theater right next door to the aquarium.  It was so sad and touching and Eric and I both cried.  It is not just depressing to see the devastation that Katrina brought to this beautiful city, but it is also frightening to think that it could happen again, because the wetlands are disappearing.

After the movie, we went back to the aquarium to finish viewing all the exhibits. 

Notice the little green frog on the bigger brown frog's back?  How cute is that? 

Then we walked along the Mississippi River to the French Quarter, where we shopped and had lunch at PETUNIAS RESTAURANT on St. Louis.  Our friends, Sergio and Lourdes, had recommended it highly and said we had to get the crepes.  We happily complied!  It was as good as they said it would be.

We continued our walk of the French Quarter, ending up at CAFÉ DU MONDE
Where I got a café au lait and Eric and I shared 3 beignets.   They were covered in heaps of powdered sugar and were so delicious. 

After that treat, we went to JACKSON SQUARE, home of the Cabildo and Presbytere Museums. 
This park was so beautiful, so pristine, clean and perfectly manicured.  Eric and I were so impressed.

We flagged a cab and went back to the campground to shower and change before Sergio, Lourdes and Angela picked us up for dinner.  They took us back to their house, which is on the other side of the Mississippi River, in a beautiful suburb of New Orleans.  I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that they are big Betty Boop collectors and Eric and I could not believe our eyes.  Their collections are fantastic, but are not limited to Betty Boop.  They also collect a lot of DISNEY figurines, WARNER BROTHERS, advertising memorabilia, and ALICE IN WONDERLAND figurines.  Their daughter, Angela, loves THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (from the Disney cartoon). 

They have everything displayed so beautifully and were truly lucky, because they didn’t lose anything in the hurricane, even though their home had extensive damage.  I took a LOT of pictures of their collections, but are only showing you one, because I'd rather show you Sergio's art.  He is an amazing artist who loves to draw Betty Boop.  He only does it for his own pleasure, but he could do it professionally!

After getting a tour of their beautiful home and lovely backyard garden (including tall plantain trees, which they use to cook their traditional Cuban dishes), they took us to a local sushi restaurant called EASTERN (Chinese and Japanese Cuisine).  We had another great meal and really enjoyed their company.  They are such a lovely family and getting to spend time with them has really been the highlight of our trip to New Orleans!

Tomorrow Eric and I will take a bus or boat tour of the city.  No more walking for me until the next city we visit.  My feet were killing me today after all the walking we did!

We really slept in today.  We didn’t even get out of bed until after noon.  We took showers, ate in, and then I did three loads of laundry in the campground Laundromat, which was right next to their fabulous store.  I got a Mocha Granita (which is a sugary slushie drink) and made some phone calls while I waited for the laundry to finish.

New York, New York:

I spoke to our friend, Artie,  He said we have to stop thinking of Las Vegas as a place to gamble, and think of it as a giant theme park.  He said to visit NEW YORK, NEW YORK and PARIS, the LUXOR PYRAMID and some of the fancy hotels, just to see the sights.  He also recommended the car museum, which Eric will love.

I spoke to our friend, Jimmy.  He said we have to go to see some of the shows and also recommended the LIBERACE MUSEUM, which he said was fabulous.  I really want to see that, but Eric’s not very enthusiastic.  I’ll see how Geri and Larry feel about it!

After the laundry was done, Eric took me over to the strip where I had seen a sign for the LAS VEGAS NAIL SALON AND SPA.  I didn’t know if they would be able to accommodate me, but I really needed a pedicure!  The place was super fancy (like most Las Vegas establishments!) with lots of mirrors, gold-framed pictures and massage pedicure chairs in a circle in the middle.  They were able to take me right away and I got a pedicure by Nancy, which was the absolute best I’ve had since I left New York.  She gave me a reflexology massage on my feet that had me in heaven.  After that, she tweezed and shaped my eyebrows, and I would have gotten a manicure, too, but I didn’t have time before we had to go meet our cousin, Audrey, for dinner.

We met Audrey a few miles from the strip at SAMMY’S WOODFIRED PIZZA.  It’s one of her favorite places and it sounded right up our alley.  We shared an appetizer of hummus (garbanzo beans, lemon, tahini, and garlic with grilled herb flat bread), a Margherita pizza (a classic with roma tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil), and the grilled shrimp salad (mixed greens, bell peppers, roma tomatoes, feta cheese, roasted sunflower seeds, scallions, cilantro, grilled garlic shrimp and balsamic basil dressing).  It was all so good and the salad was fantastic.  I love a chopped salad with lots of great stuff.

We decided to go for a ride in the RV to DAIRY QUEEN for dessert (but Audrey passed – I hate her for her discipline!).  I got a small peanut butter shake and Eric got a “Butterscotch Dilly” which was an ice cream popsicle with a butterscotch shell.

It was so great to see Audrey again.  It had been a couple of years since we had seen her (when she was in New York) but it’s as if we saw each other yesterday.  We know each other so well, and it’s always comfortable and easy.  Audrey is so funny, so she’s a lot of fun to be around.  She had us laughing and was telling us stories about Vegas, but also gave us lots of good advice about places to go and things to do.

We were so lucky to have her here, because she works at THE STRATOSPHERE and was able to get Geri and Larry a great deal on a room.  She told us that CIRCUS CIRCUS KOA CAMPGROUND was a great place for us to stay, and has given us a lot of info on what to do and what to avoid.  She’s a great resource, and great company, too!

Since she had been on vacation in North Carolina and just got back to town yesterday, she was pretty exhausted, so we dropped her back at her car and then decided to drive around the strip to see more than we saw last night.  We went all the way down and came all the way back, so we got to see everything on the strip. 

It’s really fabulous to see all the lights, all the people (the streets were REALLY crowded tonight, because the weather was much better and there was no wind), and all the advertisements.  Most of the billboards are really electronic, so the pictures change and some of them are more like TVs or movie screens!  It’s very exciting to walk or drive down the strip.  We passed NEW YORK, NEW YORK, and PARIS, which I definitely want to see close-up.  It will be like being back in New York!  Well, maybe not exactly, but it will be close!

We returned to the campground and did some research on mountain biking in Las Vegas.  There’s a place called RED ROCK, which is just 20 miles away and we’re heading there tomorrow morning to see if Eric can get in a ride before we meet Geri and Larry tomorrow afternoon.

We got a very early start this morning (at least for us).  We drove the 20 miles to BIKE OUTPOST and arrived at around 9:45am.  Turns out, the bicycle store was closed, but there were a few guys meeting there to go out for a ride with a tour guide and Eric joined them!  Our timing was perfect!  If we had gotten there 5 minutes later, they would have been gone and Eric would not have known where to ride.

For some reason I was able to get minimal TV reception and watched OPRAH and THE PRICE IS RIGHT.  I have never been a fan of THE PRICE IS RIGHT, but I wanted to see how Drew Carey is doing.  He seems a little out of his element, but he’s a sweet guy, and I think he’ll get better.  I polished my nails (since I knew I wouldn’t have time for a manicure today and I really needed one).   I don’t do a very good job, but at least it’s fresh and there are no chips!  I also answered some emails and made some phone calls.

The bright and colorful decor at CIRCUS CIRCUS:

When Eric got back, we went back to the campground and took showers.  Geri and Larry arrived in the early afternoon. They are staying at THE STRATOSPHERE, which is right near our campground.  They picked us up at 4:00pm and we went over to CIRCUS CIRCUS to grab a fast bite.  We were meeting Audrey at her apartment tonight at 6:30pm to go out for sushi, so we didn’t want to eat much. 

Larry, Eric and our "Massage Guy," Chad:

We went to a Mexican/Italian place called MEXITALIA X-PRESS (how creative!) and Geri, Larry and I got Southwest Salads that came in a tortilla bowl.   Eric got a Caesar salad with grilled chicken.  Then, we walked around the hotel and saw the VITALITY AQUA MASSAGE (It’s time to feel good!), which I had seen the night before.  I wanted to wait for Geri and Larry to try it out. 

If you haven’t seen these at the mall, or in hotels, they look like tanning beds, but you lay, fully clothed, face down on a massage table and they close a lid on you.  There is high-pressure water jets that run up from your feet all the way to your neck and then back again – over and over.  There is a thin piece of plastic that covers your body, so you don’t get wet, but you feel the pressure of the jets.  It is SO relaxing.  It’s definitely not as good as a real massage, but – hey – it’s the next best thing.  It costs $15 for 7 minutes; $25 for 15 minutes.

Eric had a headache, so the guy working there put something on his neck called a “massage mouse.”  There are two wires that stick to your neck and then there’s a “mouse” that you turn on and it makes the muscles move through electronic impulses.  Eric really liked it, so he decided to buy one.  The guy said Eric could have a free 15 minute aqua massage with the purchase, so we decided we would all get a 15 minute aqua massage and he said he would just charge the three of us for the 7 minute aqua massage!

Eric and Larry went first and they both loved it.  Geri and I went next.  I was in heaven, but when I emerged 15 minutes later I saw that Geri had not had a massage after all.  She said as soon as she got in there she felt like she couldn’t breathe, it was hot, and she felt very uncomfortable, so Eric took her place and had ANOTHER 15 minute massage!  Unfortunately, all that (and 3 Advils from Audrey) did little to relieve Eric’s headache, which just continued to get worse and worse.

We went to pick up Audrey at her apartment and she gave us a tour.  It is such a cute condo and is exactly what Eric and I would love to have in San Diego.  It is in a lovely complex, her apartment is right on street level (no stairs), she has a parking spot, she’s got two nice-sized bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living room/dining room/kitchen area, and a fireplace!  Who could ask for anything more?

Audrey and Coco:

We left Audrey’s and went nearby to a place called NAKED-FISH’S SUSHI AND GRILL for dinner. We had a bunch of different rolls, and some other appetizers like Vegetable Tempura, Miso Soup and Seaweed Salad (which they call Chuka Salad).  One thing I love about sushi is that at every restaurant you go to the names are different.  It’s something that each individual sushi restaurant comes up with.  We tried all different rolls with great names like Déjà vu, Lisa Lisa, Roppongi, Skip Da Beat, and Naked Crab.  Audrey doesn’t go for the spicy stuff, like we do, but she enjoyed the less spicy fare!

Eric wasn’t able to enjoy it all as much as we did, because his headache was so bad.  We think it’s a combination of his ride this morning, because it’s so dry riding in the desert and you can get dehydrated so easily, and also the dryness affects his sinuses, which can cause a headache, too.  I know my allergies got bad again as soon as I hit Vegas and Larry said his sinuses were bothering him, too.  Anyway, we’re all hoping Eric’s better tomorrow , because we’ve got a LOT planned!

Geri and Larry:

It’s so great to have Audrey as a resource, because she’s been here for 18 years and knows all the best places to go and the best things to do.  Geri was so excited she was making a list!  We’re really going to be on the go for the next few days, and we’ll try to fit as much in as we can!

We had so much fun tonight.  It’s so great to see familiar faces again, because we haven’t seen friends or family in over a month.  Geri and Larry are two of our best friends, and we’re so happy to see them, and Audrey.  It makes our trip to Vegas so much more enjoyable!

We checked out of CIRCUS CIRCUS at 11:30am and headed towards my cousin’s house.  Audrey was having a medical test done this morning, and had taken the day off from work.  We told her we’d go visit her this afternoon and maybe even stay overnight in a parking space right outside her condo.

Eric actually was able to find a place to align the front wheels of the RV (he’s been searching for over a month through at least 8 states).  We made an appointment for 7:00am tomorrow and went to lunch at FRIDAY’S. 

We each had a salad.  I had a grilled shrimp Caesar salad and Eric had the pecan-crusted chicken salad.  No appetizers; no dessert.  We’re trying to be good (at least for lunch!).

After we ate we got in touch with Audrey.  She told us she was in a car accident on her way to her medical appointment.  The car was pretty smashed up in the front, but she was fine and even got to go to have her test done.

She had already spoken to her insurance company and they had arranged a rental for her at HERTZ.  We met her at a GOODYEAR TIRE place, where she had the car towed after the accident, and we brought her to get her rental, which was a nice, silver Mazda Six.

We went back to her apartment and she did some stuff around her apartment and took care of her dog, Coco, while Eric and I took a nap for an hour.  Then, she got in the RV with us and we went over to KONA GRILL for dinner.

The restaurant is in a gorgeous shopping center with high-end stores, restaurants and salons.  The restaurant was beautifully decorated.  Their menu was very interesting.  Eric and I shared an appetizer of Avocado Egg Roll with sun-dried tomatoes and red onions, with a honey-cilantro dipping sauce.  Audrey had a Miso soup.

Audrey had the Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna served with sautéed bok choy, steamed white rice and a sweet-chili sauce.  I had the Basil Pesto Linguine with grilled shrimp, tomato in a chipotle-cream sauce.  Eric had the Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles, linguine with marinated chicken and mixed vegetables in a spicy Thai peanut sauce.

We all enjoyed our meals and the service was great, too.  We checked out their dessert menu, but nothing thrilled us and we decided to go a few doors down to THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY to get something fabulous!

The place was packed, so we got two pieces of cheesecake to go and went back to Audrey’s apartment.  I can’t stay there long, because I am allergic to Coco (and my allergies today were already really bad), but it didn’t take us long to enjoy the pieces of pie.  Audrey only had a taste, but the Fresh Banana Cream and Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple really hit the spot.

In 1993, Eric and I went to Los Angeles and went to THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY with our friend, Joe.  I remember also getting a slice peanut butter and chocolate pie and it has stayed in my mind all these years!!!!  That is my favorite combination in the world, followed by chocolate and raspberry.  I am a chocoholic and always pick the most chocolate thing on a dessert menu.  If it has peanut butter or raspberry, so much the better!

Because Audrey had such a crazy day and wasn't sure she was going to work tomorrow, we decided to go back to CIRCUS CIRCUS KOA to stay one more night.  We left Audrey, saying our goodbyes, as we will be heading out of town as soon as the work is done on the car tomorrow morning.  It has been so great to see her and we were so sorry that the week ended on such a bad note, but we kept reminding her how lucky she was that she wasn’t hurt, the other car in the accident had absolutely no damage at all, she didn't have to cancel her medical appointment, and she already has a great rental!  Things were definitely looking up!

We are hoping to head to Bakersfield, California tomorrow, which is about 5 hours away.  If we are not in the auto repair shop all day, we’ll make it there by dinner!

Las Vegas has been a lot of fun and we had a fantastic week with our friends and our cousin, but we are happy to be heading on the road again.  We have missed it!

As William Saroyan said, “"No city invites the heart to come to life as San Francisco does. Arrival in San Francisco is an experience in living."

We certainly feel that way!  We were here last in June of 1984, on our honeymoon.  After a few days we drove all the way down the coast on Pacific Coast Highway.  That’s when we first fell in love with California.  I felt like I must have lived here before, in a previous life, because California just felt “right.”  I've dreamt of coming back here ever since.

Anyway, we left A COUNTRY RV PARK in Bakersfield, after doing a couple of loads of laundry and calling some friends and family.  We ate a fast breakfast at DENNY’S.  Eric had the MOONS OVER MY HAMMY®, which is a ham and scrambled egg sandwich with Swiss and American cheese on grilled sourdough, served with grits.  He was embarrassed to ask for it, because the name’s so silly, and the waitress gave him a hard time, which really made us laugh.  I got a Mushroom Swiss Boca Burger and fries, which tasted great, but wasn’t nearly as funny!

We got on the road and headed towards San Francisco.  Jimmy had given us good directions, which were more scenic than those that Betty (our GPS system) came up with, so we followed his and just used Betty to get us to the CANDLESTICK RV PARK, which is “30 steps from MONSTER (Candlestick) PARK.”

Jimmy was waiting for us in the campground office when we arrived.  It was SO great to see him, after all these years.  Jim was always such a good friend – to me and to Eric.  He is a great guy, a lot of fun, and tall, dark and handsome to boot.  Who could ask for anything more?

I went into the office to register.  There is a HUGE crystal chandelier in there, which really blew my mind.  I have been in fancy campgrounds before, but NONE of them have had a crystal chandelier of ANY size.  They gave us keys to the bathrooms, and we went to check them out.  They’re really nice and big, with beautifully tiled walls and floors.  Also very fancy!  We’ll have to see how well the showers work.  Eric and I have become experts in campground bathrooms and showers and always compare notes and rate each one.  Some have terrible water pressure, or the showers don’t work well, or there are no paper towels (which really annoys me). 

We parked the RV at our site and gave Jim the 3-minute tour of the RV.  Then, we got into his car and drove to his apartment in THE CASTRO section of San Francisco, which is like the Village in Manhattan.  There are lots of great stores, restaurants, bars and clubs.  We saw Jimmy’s apartment, which is adorable.  He has a great eye and knows how to arrange and display all the wonderful pieces of art, toys, and collectibles he has accumulated over the years.  He also has a huge collection of DVDs and CDs.

Jimmy’s building survived the 1906 earthquake, so it’s over 100 years old and has so much character – inside and out.  His walk-in closet is big enough to be a tiny bedroom, and has built-in cabinets and drawers.  There is the remnant of an antique phone on the wall in the hallway – just the little horn-shaped piece you would speak into, but the other part you would hold up to your ear is gone.

There is a garage in his building and indoor parking, but you have to drive through a very narrow driveway that – I swear – was just about 3 inches wider than Jimmy’s car.  I don’t know HOW he does it, but he’s a pro!  It’s great to have that parking, because it’s just as hard to find a space in THE CASTRO as it is in Manhattan!

Jimmy's tiny garage door:

The entrance to Jimmy's building:

Jim is a real theater buff, and this is part of his extensive collection of theater memorabilia:

We went up the block to THAI CORNER for dinner and got several appetizers, a noodle dish with chicken, a rice dish with shrimp and an eggplant dish to share.  It was all delicious.

We noticed a bunch of guys in drag wearing HUGE pink wigs walk by and we realized it was the Saturday before Halloween – in San Francisco!  After dinner, we walked around the neighborhood and there were people in costume EVERYWHERE.  It was so fantastic.  I was taking pictures left and right.  It was so much fun.  What a great neighborhood!

These divas were absolutely fabulous!

After walking around for about an hour, we went back towards Jimmy’s apartment and stopped into a place called SWEET INSPIRATION for dessert.  I had mocha cheesecake, Eric had warm chocolate cake, and Jim had some kind of pumpkin cheesecake or mousse cake.  The servings are huge and they were all so fantastic.

The Marilyns!

Here's AUDREY II from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS!

The Mary Kay girls:

We ran into the divas again, and they wanted to take a picture with ME!

They wanted to take a picture with me, too!  I made some new friends in San Francisco!

We walked back to Jim’s apartment and he got his car and drove us back to the campground.  We are going to rent a car tomorrow morning and pick him up for brunch.

It was so great to see Jimmy again.  He reminded us that the last time we saw him was when he visited NY and stayed with us right before September 11th in 2001.  So, it’s been six years since we’ve seen him!  We’re going to make the most of the next five days here and see as much of Jim as we can!

We slept really late this morning.  It was wonderful!  We finally got in the rental car around noon and went to a local Laundromat to do MORE laundry.  I know, that’s all we do!  This time, we were washing all the blankets.

After that was done, I got my Starbucks and then we headed back to the campground to relax until we got the call from our friend, Nancy, that she was on her way home from work.

At a little after 5:00pm we left for THE CASTRO to pick up Jimmy, and then went over to see Nancy, Donna and Joshua.  Nancy was one of my best friends in college.  She was a talented actress and singer and we did a lot of shows together at Queens College.  She has lived in San Francisco with Donna for about 20 years, and I have seen their son, Joshua, who is 11, twice before – both times when they visited New York.  The first time he was about 2; the second time around 5.

He is the sweetest, smartest, handsomest boy.  He greeted me with such a big hug and kiss, even though he admitted he didn’t remember me!  You know love at first sight?  That’s what meeting Joshua is like.  He is just so warm and friendly, you can’t help hugging him – and he hugs you right back (and kisses you, too).  I was LOVING it!

Joshua in his backyard:

Their beautiful house:

Nancy and Donna have been in their beautiful home since 1991.  It is 100 years old.  It looks tiny from the outside, but there is room after room after room inside.  They have a great fireplace in their living room, a big bathroom with a claw-foot tub, and lots of other great features you would expect to find in an old house in San Francisco.  They have done a lot of work on the house, including an extension in the back of the house, which made their dining room and Joshua's room much bigger.  They also built a separate garage.  There is a full apartment in the basement, which they use for visiting friends and relatives.  It is so cozy and warm, and full of great art, fun collectibles (including tins – something I collect, too!), and is obviously filled with love.

Some of the fun collectibles on display:

They collect PEZ and their collection was fantastic!

Eric, me, Donna, Nancy and Joshua.  My camera was not working (as usual), so Jimmy was my ace photographer tonight.  Unfortunately, he's not in any of the pictures (boo hoo!):

We would have stayed longer, but they have a cat, so I could only stay for a few minutes.  We walked a few blocks to THE FRONT PORCH, a restaurant with interesting combinations of Cajun, soul food and American favorites.  We decided to eat family style so we shared appetizers and entrees, including Tuna Carpaccio (ahi tuna with persimmon and parsley caper salad), Cornmeal Crusted Oysters, with poached egg, braised frisee, and horseradish mustard dressing, Roasted Root Veggies with house-marinated goat cheese, a big bucket of fried chicken, crab and grits (spicy Dungeness crab and sweet corn grit porridge with chickerling peas, lemon and scallion) (which was fabulous), macaroni pie, cole slaw, and fries: sweet and french.

The Front Porch:

We enjoyed everything, especially the company.  We told them all about our travels, and the places we have seen in the last 11 weeks.  It’s amazing when you start listing all the cities and states we’ve visited – even to us!

Here we are outside The Front Porch:

After dinner, we walked over to MITCHELL’S ICE CREAM – award winning ice cream since 1953. 
I had a small cup of Peanut Butter Indulgence – and what an indulgence it was!  Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups mixed in.  YUM!  Eric had French Vanilla Custard, Jimmy had Pumpkin (he’s been on a pumpkin kick since we got here!).  Nancy had coffee.  I can’t remember what flavors Donna and Joshua had, but I’m sure they were as delicious as ours!

We walked back to their house and said our goodbyes.  As we left, Joshua was playing “ONE SINGULAR SENSATION” from A CHORUS LINE on the piano.  Is that a great kid, or what?

Then, we dropped Jimmy back home.  We were so sad to say goodbye.  We have had the best time with Jimmy over the past 5 days.  He showed us a great time and knew all the best places.  He is so much fun and Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed being with him.

We noticed that there wasn't much going on in THE CASTRO, even though it was Halloween Night and the town is famous for their big parties.  There was tons of news all day and night about the fact that they didn’t allow any Halloween parties in THE CASTRO tonight, because last year there were a lot of problems, including shootings and stabbings.  When we were out and about last Saturday, there were tons of people out – all in fabulous costumes.  Tonight there were more police than anyone else, and most of the bars and restaurants were closed (at the city’s request).  It wasn’t much fun, so I’m glad we went elsewhere for dinner.

Tomorrow we will head to Monterey, which we also visited on our honeymoon.  We are excited to see it again and to visit the aquarium, which we have heard is wonderful.  We have enjoyed our time in San Francisco so much and know we will be back in this marvelous city again.  We certainly won’t let another 23 years pass before we return!

What a difference the light of day makes!  The campground we stayed at last night, which seemed like the creepy setting for a murder mystery, was a tranquil wonderland this morning, complete with views of the mountains, gardens and wild peacocks.  Lots of them!

I had seen in their brochure “Campground Rules and Info” that it said, “Peacocks: Do not chase them.”  I wasn’t sure what that meant until I went up the 30 cement steps to the bathrooms this morning to take my shower.

Imagine my surprise when I saw two female peacocks walking along.  I made a point of NOT chasing them and when I got back and told Eric, he said he had seen them, too.  Then, we saw a male and I went to take pictures.

By the time we left at noon, there were about 20 males and females all around our RV.  They were sitting on picnic tables, on fences, and walking around.  The males were extending their beautiful feathered tails and shaking them at the females, trying to find a mate.  It was so interesting to watch!  I’m a real bird lover, so I was thrilled.

We decided not to go back to Santa Barbara, even though Eric was feeling much better.  His headache was pretty much gone, but he still had a stiff neck.  He wanted to take it easy, so we decided to head south to Los Angeles.  We wanted to see my cousins and we knew Friday night wasn’t good for them, so we figured if we headed down today, we would be able to see them tonight.  My cousin, Ilene, lives with her family in Los Angeles.  Her sister, Karen, lives with her family in Malibu.  I found out that we wouldn’t be able to get together with Karen, but Ilene said they would be able to see us tonight.

It was only about an hour’s drive from Santa Paula to L.A. and we got to the campground, BIRMINGHAM RV PARK on Balboa Boulevard, at about 1:30pm.  I registered and then we left to grab a bite and run some errands.  We ate at BRAMI’S KOSHER PIZZA on Sherman Way.  It was a vegetarian/Kosher restaurant with a great menu of Italian, Mexican and American dishes.  We each had a bowl of vegetable soup and I had a veggie quesadilla and Eric had a tostado salad, which was a lot of great veggies and beans in a tostado bowl.  I love when you can eat the dishes!  The food was really good.

I also wanted to get a manicure/pedicure and had seen a place about a mile or two down on Balboa, so we went by there and they were able to take me without an appointment.  I was lucky, because after I started my pedicure, about 4 women came in and they were too busy to take them, so I had good timing!

We got back to the campground at around 4:15pm.  Eric and I freshened up and changed our clothes and headed out at about 4:45pm.  We told Ilene we’d be at their house by 5:30pm, and we only had to go about 20 miles, so we figured 45 minutes was more than enough time, even with traffic (which Ilene had warned us about).

As it turned out, the traffic was really bad (and Betty didn’t take us on the best route), so it took us over an hour.  We finally got to their house, which is on a beautiful block in a lovely, residential neighborhood that is just a hop, skip and a jump from all the Los Angeles “hot spots” like Melrose Avenue, Sunset Boulevard, and Hollywood Boulevard.  They’re far enough away from it all to lead a “suburban life” but really are in the heart of L.A.

We were so happy to see Ilene, Kyle, Tyler (14), Evan (11) and Elise (4).  We got a tour of their great house, which is almost 100 years old.  You know how I love old things, and this house has so much character.  They’ve recently renovated, adding a master suite (with a fabulous bathroom and a to-die-for walk-in closet) and an additional half bath in another bedroom.

Evan, the soccer player, in his room:

Elise, the adorable cutie-pie, in her room: 

Tyler, the surfer, in his room:

The place is decorated beautifully, with a combination of vintage and new pieces, some in the mission style, which is perfect for the architecture of the house.  They are still working on the landscaping, which will finish off the front and back of the house.

The family, standing in front of the Mercedes that Ilene won in a radio contest!

After the tour, we piled into their minivan and headed to dinner at MAGGIANO’S Little Italy in THE GROVE, which is a gorgeous new outdoor mall not too far from their house.  This is also the location of the original Farmer’s Market, but they built all around it and added tons of stores, a movie theater and outdoor kiosks selling all sorts of items.

The restaurant is beautiful and they have a great menu.  We decided to eat “family style” and got to choose two appetizers (calamari and stuffed mushrooms), two salads (Caesar and chopped with bleu cheese), two pastas (Fettuccini Alfredo and Eggplant Parmigiana (don’t ask, I didn’t understand how eggplant was a pasta choice either)), and two entrees (Chicken Piccata: Chicken breasts sautéed with capers, lemon, white wine and parsley, and Salmon Lemon & Herbs: Filet of salmon sautéed with fresh herbs and spinach; served with a light lemon sauce).  There was so much food and each dish was better than the one before it.  I enjoyed every bite.  We had Tiramisu and Maggiano’s Signature Spumoni (made especially for them – a blend of pistachio, chocolate and cherry ice cream).  Wow!  It was SO delicious.

We left and decided to walk around the outdoor mall a little.  Evan hurt his leg playing soccer, so he stayed behind with Kyle while the rest of us walked around for a few minutes.  They have a lot of great stores in this mall.  I’m not a mall person at ALL (I much prefer flea markets, antique shops and garage sales), but even I was impressed with how beautiful this place was.

Some whimsical art in a gallery at THE GROVE:

Elise goes for a ride, while big brother Tyler stands by:

Me and Eric with our new haircuts (Eric did his himself!):

Tyler, Elise and Ilene in front of the fountain:

After a short tour of the mall, we walked back to the restaurant and got back in the minivan to head back to their house.  When we got inside, Ilene had gifts for us!  Ilene has worked for the Beverly Hills Police Department for the past 13 years and presented us with two white sweatshirts with the Beverly Hills Police emblem in black.  They are so cool!

She also gave us a gift bag with all sorts of goodies.  From reading our blog every day, she knows how much we love chocolate, so there were gourmet chocolates.  She read how we’re always using flashlights at night, so she gave us key chains with a small flashlight at the end.  We got a Beverly Hills Police Department litter bag for the RV, a special key chain that separates, so you can have one part with your car keys and the other part with your house keys (very cool), and “Junior Police Officer, Beverly Hills Police” stickers shaped like badges, which Ilene said they really give to kids when they get a tour of the police department!

Best of all, she gave us fresh brownies she had baked the night before, which of course we tasted as soon as we got back to the campground.  They were delicious – moist and chewy!

It was so much fun to get all those cool souvenirs of our night with our wonderful cousins.  Tyler and Evan have grown into fine young men and it was a pleasure to spend an evening with them.  Elise is a little doll and reminds me SO much of Ilene when she was the same age.  They have the same face and both have such endearing personalities.

After we got all our gifties, we gave them the tour of the RV (which we always refer to as the 3-minute tour).  They enjoyed seeing where we’ve been living for the last 12 weeks.  Kids always love the RV.  It just makes so much sense to them to drive around with your whole house with you, and it’s very cozy.  Evan even said he wants to live in an RV!

This night is one we will always remember.  We’re so happy to be on the West Coast now and know that we will now be closer to the cousins we didn’t get to see for so long, because we were so many miles away.  We are going to see Karen and her family tomorrow, so we’re looking forward to that!

Ilene and Kyle told us a better way to go home – the scenic route, passing through Hollywood to get to 101 North, so we didn’t even need to use Betty!

We stayed in bed until 10:00am this morning.  We took showers and left the campground to find a drug store, because I still hadn’t gotten my prescription refilled.  We found a RITE-AID on Saticoy Street, just a few blocks from BIRMINGHAM RV PARK.  It was in a big shopping center.  When we pulled in, I said to Eric, “If they have a Starbucks here, I’ll be the happiest girl in the whole U.S.A.!”  Eric turned his head to the left and said, “There’s a Starbucks right there!”  I couldn’t believe it!

My cousins, Audrey and Minna, in Las Vegas will remember the song Donna Fargo wrote and sang in 1972, part of which went:

Skip-a-dee-doo-dah
Thank you, Lord, for making him for me
And thank you for letting life turn out
The way that I always thought it could be
There once was a time
When I could not imagine
How it would feel, to say
I'm the happiest girl
In the whole U.S.A.

Minna used to play that record so much that we all knew every word.  I still think it’s a great song.  Recently the song was sung by actress Daveigh Chase, in a 2007 episode of the HBO television series Big Love.

I put in my prescription and they told me it would be ready in an hour, so we decided to go to a restaurant right in the shopping center called ROUND TABLE PIZZA.  We had never seen or heard of it before, so we didn’t realize it was kind of a “fast food” place, but they had a salad bar and a nice turkey club, so we decided to stay.  I had the personal pizza (which is smaller than a 45 record -- 6.5" -- 4 slices) and the “one trip” salad bar.  (Do they arrest you if you go back for seconds, or just humiliate you in front of all the other customers?)  Eric had the turkey club, which came with a bag of Lays potato chips.  Okay, so it wasn’t the best meal we’ve had in 13 weeks, but it was just fine.

After we finished eating, I still hadn’t gotten a call from Rite-Aid that my prescription was ready, so we went into the RV and both read our books for a while.

I spoke to my cousin, Karen, and we made definite plans to meet for dinner tonight.  Then, I spoke to my friend, Joe, and we made plans to meet for lunch tomorrow.  So, our schedule was all set!

Eric said his eyes were closing, so he decided to lie down on the couch for a nap and I continued to read, then walked to Rite-Aid to get my prescription, and then walked over to Starbucks.  I saw that it was a drive-through, and walked all around the building, looking for the entrance.  I saw a door marked “Employees Only”, a window, where you could order while standing outside, and the drive through window, but I didn’t see the main door.

I walked over to the drive-through window and knocked.  A young man came to the window, saw I was standing there, and looked at me strangely.  “Where’s the entrance?” I asked.  He pointed to the other side of the building, so I walked around to the window on the opposite side.  He opened the window and I said, “How do you get inside?”  He said, “You don’t get inside – you just stand here and order, or drive through.”  Well, color me stupid, because in 11,000 miles, and many, many Starbucks (including all the ones in Manhattan, Queens, and Long Island), I had NEVER seen one that was just a walk up or drive through!  They didn’t have cake or cookies or sandwiches or yogurt or anything but COFFEE!  It was mind-boggling to me!  I ordered my latte and walked back to the RV.

Eric and I headed back to the campground.  He took a shower while I relaxed and answered some emails.  I’ve been really bad lately about getting back to people (and if you wrote me and haven’t heard back, I apologize!).  It’s just that by the time we get back into the RV in the evening, I spend an hour or two on the blog and then go to bed!

Anyway, my cousin Karen had kindly offered to pick us up and drive us to dinner since the restaurant we were going to was in Beverly Hills and apparently it’s hard to park around there – especially with an RV!  She picked us up around 7:00pm and drove us to CRUSTACEAN, a fabulous Vietnamese seafood restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard.  Her husband, Mark and their son, Max, were going to meet us there, along with Ilene and Kyle.  So, we were really looking forward to it.

From the moment you walk in, you are entertained.  You can “Walk on Water, because they have a “stream” running through the restaurant, under a glass floor, with big koi swimming around.  It was so cool!

We hung out in the cocktail lounge for a while, listening to a jazz quartet, and then were shown upstairs to our table.  The owners, the An family, consists of three generations of women.  One daughter designed the interior, a recreation of her grandparents’ French Colonial estate in Hanoi.  The restaurant has been the focus of articles in USA Today, InStyle, E, Style Channel, and CNN.  I love Asian décor, so it really appealed to me.

Eric, Karen and Mark started with Yellow Corn Soup with Crab Meat.  Then, we ordered three entrees to share: Roasted Crab – Cracked whole Dungeness crab, AN’s garlic sauce and secret spices; Colossal Royal Tiger Prawns – charbroiled with AN’s Famous Garlic Noodles; and Whole Maine Lobster – charbroiled with AN’s Famous Garlic Noodles.  Karen and Ilene had both spoken about how fantastic the garlic noodles were, so we decided to get two dishes with the noodles, and even got a big bowl of just garlic noodles.  They were THAT good!

Kyle and Eric at Crustacean:

For dessert, we shared a serving of “Special Trio” which was Pink Ginger Ice Cream, Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet (I kept saying it tasted like wine!) and Apple Sorbet; a Tiramisu, and a Chocolate Lava Cake.  Tasty!

As a Pescetarian (someone who doesn’t eat meat or chicken, but eats fish), I was thrilled with the menu and knew – just by the name of the restaurant – that this place would be right up my alley. I was right!  Karen made a great choice and we all enjoyed it.

The Jazz Quartet:

Karen, Max and Mark:

The whole crew:

After dinner, we all parted ways and Karen drove us back to the campground.  We have been so lucky to see so much family lately – Audrey and Minna in Vegas, and now Ilene, Kyle, Tyler, Evan, Elise, and Karen, Mark and Max.  We missed seeing Jason, Karen and Mark’s younger son, as he wasn’t able to come to dinner tonight.  We know we will be seeing more of them all, now that we are all on the same coast (or close to it)!

This is how our day ended.  Read on to find out how this happened. 

We decided to stay over one more day in Los Angeles, so we could see our cousins again tonight.  We woke up at Birmingham RV Resort and just relaxed until it was time to meet our friends, Joe and Miguel, at THE SPORTSMEN’S LODGE on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.

Miguel and Joe at The Sportsmen's Lodge:

We were a little late (due to traffic – what else?) and Joe and Miguel were already waiting for us on the Patio.  We had a lovely table outside, but there was actually a heater above my head, which kept me toasty warm even though we were in the shade.  I had a salad with grilled salmon.  Eric had a Cajun chicken sandwich.  Joe had an omelet and Miguel had a Baja salad.  The portions were so huge, I kept digging into my salad and felt like I was making headway, but it never seemed to get smaller!

We hung around talking and reminiscing.  Joe and I went to college together and did shows together.  He’s a great actor and has been living in LA for a long time.  He’s done tons of work on TV and some movies, too.  He’s also a playwright and director and Eric and I saw his play, when it was produced in Brooklyn last year.  I always tell Joe I'm his biggest fan.

We could have stayed there all day, talking and laughing.  Eric and Miguel are both mountain bikers, so they talked a lot about trails they’ve ridden and their favorite places to ride.

The area where we sat had pictures of famous cowboys of TV and the silver screen:

After lunch, we decided to go to JERRY’S RESTAURANT & DELI, just a couple of blocks down Ventura Boulevard.  Joe and Miguel piled into the RV with us and we gave them the 3-minute tour and then took them for a little ride a couple of blocks to Jerry’s for dessert.  I had a red velvet cupcake, which was almost as delicious as the piece of red velvet cake I had in Memphis, when we went to Graceland.  Remember – it was Elvis’s favorite dessert!

We then piled back into the RV and took them back to their car at The Sportsmen’s Lodge.  We thought we had parted ways, and Eric and I got on 101 South to go to my cousin, Ilene’s house, when my phone rang.  It was Joe.  He and Miguel were in their truck, right behind us!  I ran to the back window and waved at them, and they waved back.  It was so funny!

We went to Ilene and Kyle’s and they drove us (in the silver Mercedes that Ilene won in a radio contest) to THE STINKING ROSE.  We had been to the one in San Francisco with our friend, Jimmy, and I told Eric I wanted to try to go to the one in Beverly Hills, because it was so delicious.  This place was a little fancier, but we sat in “Dracula’s Grotto” which was a lot of fun.

We didn’t think we’d be hungry, since we were just finishing dessert with Miguel and Joe at 4:00pm, but the food is SO good at THE STINKING ROSE that you just HAVE to eat!  We started with the Bagna Calda, (Garlic soaking in a hot tub): “Garlic cloves, oven-roasted extra virgin olive oil and butter with a hint of anchovy.  A wonderful treat for spreading on our house-baked focaccia bread.  Served at your table in an iron skillet.”   It was just as good as we remembered!

A scary chair in the Ladies' Room.  In case you can't read the sign, it says, "If This Chair is Comfortable -- You're Pregnant!"  I wanted to go back with Ilene, so we could both try it, but we never did!

Then, we ordered a small tureen of garlic-steamed clams and lightly breaded asparagus.  Yum!
For the entrée, I ordered Smoked Salmon-filled Ravioli with lemon butter caper sauce.  I was surprised when it arrived to see that the ravioli was black, but it tasted exactly the same as regular ravioli – FANTASTIC!

This picture hung above our table.  It's a Chagall with a "garlic twist."  They have many famous paintings, like the Mona Lisa, and Botticellis' Birth of Venus, but with garlic added to the portraits.  Very clever!

Eric had a half rack of the Garlic Encrusted Baby Back Ribs.  Ilene had the Garlic Braised Boneless Short Rib.  Kyle had the Forty Clove Garlic Chicken roasted on the bone.  Everyone agreed that the food at this place is just first rate.

We decided to go someplace else for dessert, but first we wanted to visit the Beverly Hills Police Department, where Ilene works.  The building is SO fancy, it looks more like a palace than a place of business!  It’s really gorgeous with blue tile work and other interesting architectural details.

Eric stands by the posters from BEVERLY HILLS COP I, II, and III:

We saw the office where she works, met a lot of her co-workers, and went on a tour of the different floors and different departments. 

Ilene with a life-size photo of a police officer:

Ilene stands beside part of a huge collection of police patches from all over the world.  There are many, many more on display in the station.  

We went to central booking and we got to see where people who are arrested are fingerprinted, get to make their phone call, and the cells where they are detained.

It was all interesting, and a little scary!

Eric sees it's not much fun in a holding cell!

That’s how Eric ended up in a cell and having his mug shot taken (and what a mug!). 

Ilene and her co-worker, Cora: 

After that, we went to IL CONO GELATERIA for some gelato (what else?).  We decided to bring home a bunch of flavors, because Karen and Mark were going to meet us back at Ilene and Kyle’s house.

We got back to their house and Karen and Mark arrived soon after.  We ate the gelato, and Ilene made Oatmeal Cookies (what a girl!).  We hung out for about an hour, and then we parted ways and came back to the campground.  It was so great to see them all over the past 3 days.  I'm so happy to know we will be seeing a lot more of each other.

We are finally leaving L.A. tomorrow, and heading to Murietta, which is not far from San Diego, to meet Robyn and Sal.  They were friends of my niece, Melissa, and her husband, David, back in New York.  They made the same move from New York to California in April, and recommended MAYFLOWER movers, which we used for our move.  We’ve been talking on the phone and emailing for months and will finally meet tomorrow.  I can’t wait!  I just feel sorry for them both, because Eric and I are going to STINK of garlic!!!!

Eric and I left our home in Whitestone on August 11th, so I always counted that as the starting date of our adventure.  Since today is November 11th, that means we’ve been on the road for exactly three months, which turns out to be thirteen weeks, or 94 days.  I know – it’s confusing.  Don’t you always think of three months as 90 days or 12 weeks?  Sometimes it may be -- but sometimes it's not!

We checked out of our campground and ate breakfast at a small diner called HEART’S COFFEE SHOP, on the corner of Saticoy and Balboa in Van Nuys.  It was owned and operated by an Asian family and the food was fantastic.  Eric had eggs with hash browns and pancakes.  I had a grilled tuna melt on rye and asked for tomato on the sandwich.  The tomato doesn’t come with it, I just like it on my grilled cheese or tuna melts.  When we ordered, the waitress asked me if I wanted a side of mashed potatoes, potato salad or a green salad.  I said I’d like potato salad.

When the bill came, there were so many items on it and we couldn’t figure out what was what, so we called the waitress over to the table.  It turns out $1.50 was for the 2 slices of tomato on my grilled tuna melt.  $1.65 was for the potato salad.  I told her I thought it came with it and she said, “No.  Don’t you remember?  I asked you if you wanted a SIDE of mashed potatoes, potato salad or a green salad?”

Now, I’m asking you, if someone took your order for a sandwich, and then asked you if you wanted a “side” of several different items, wouldn’t you think it was included?  Why did she offer it to me?  If I wanted it, wouldn't I just have ordered it?  I really felt like arguing with her, because it seemed SO ridiculous and I felt like I was “tricked” into ordering it, because it’s not like I NEEDED it.  I just thought it came with it (although it WAS really good potato salad!).  Anyone who knows me knows I’m not cheap, and it was just $1.65, but I still resented paying it (although I did), because it was under-handed.

After breakfast, we walked across the street and went into the AMIN THRIFT SHOP.  Eric had a great time going through all the albums, and I bought a beautiful black and silver rhinestone pin for $10!

After that, I got my Starbucks, we filled up on gas, and we finally left L.A.  We had such a good time with our friends and family, and we really like L.A., but we knew we had to leave and go to San Diego eventually!  Luckily, we had a fun diversion this afternoon.  We stopped in Murietta (about 45 minutes north of San Diego) to meet Robyn and Sal, who moved here from New York in April.  They are friends of our niece, Melissa, and her husband, David.

We arrived at their beautiful 4-bedroom house at around 4:00pm.  They live on a cul-de-sac in a lovely neighborhood.  It's so nice, because there's no through traffic and there were a lot of children playing in the street.  It reminded me of our house on Leggett Place, because although it wasn't a cul-de-sac, the way the streets ran, there was also no through traffic.

Their house is only 2 years old.  They have a 2-car garage, a lovely backyard, a big, roomy kitchen, a living room, dining room, master bedroom suite, with a beautiful bathroom, and closets – tons and tons of closets!  They have walk-in closets, double closets, pantries, and regular closets.  I told them I’m really jealous, because I know I’ll be lacking closet space when we get a small apartment and, even with a condo, you don’t get the same closets you get in a house.

Robyn and Sal at The Fish House, Vera Cruz:

We went to a nearby restaurant called THE FISH HOUSE – VERA CRUZ.  It was so much fun.  They have giant fish tanks everywhere with beautiful, colorful fish.  The décor is very nautical and even the handles on the bathroom doors were shaped like fish!  The mirror in the ladies’ room was surrounded with seashells, very much like the one I made, which I sold in my shop (it’s on my website – in case you’re interested -- http://www.peppysdream.com/baseashells.html)

To start, we ordered clams and oysters on the half shell, steamed mussels and fried calamari strips.  I ordered the scallops on a skewer, cooked with bacon (so they tasted delicious!); Robyn had the lobster/king crab combo; Eric had the rainbow trout; and Sal had Thresher shark.  Everything was so delicious.  This is really my kind of place, especially since I only eat seafood!

We didn’t have time for dessert, because tonight we are staying at PECHANGA RV RESORT (which is on an Indian Reservation, with a casino and hotel), and the office closes at 8:00pm.  They said if we came late, it would be no problem staying here, but we wouldn’t be able to get the card keys necessary to open the doors to the bathrooms and showers.  Since we only like to use the bathrooms at the campground and not the one in the RV, that was a big problem.

We left Robyn and Sal at 7:34pm and RACED to the campground, which was only 20 minutes away.  We got here at 8:55pm and the office was still open.  I registered and we drove to our site, which is right near the restrooms.  These are some of the nicest bathrooms I have seen in any campground across the country.  Luxurious!  First of all, we stayed at another campground, in Williams, Arizona, where they had card keys, but they were the kind you had to insert into a slot and they didn’t work very well.  You had to try at least 20 times before they’d open.  Eric HATED the card keys, so I was nervous about that happening again.

Fortunately, these are the kind that you just hold up to a red light and it flashes green and the door unlocks instantly.  I opened the door, the lights automatically came on, and I saw before me a fabulous huge room with cream tiled floors with a turquoise and terra cotta design.  The bathroom and shower stalls were terra cotta colored – clean and looking brand new.  The faucets come on automatically, when you stick your hand under the faucet.  They have paper towels (love that!), the toilet paper was 2 ply, and very soft.  There was soap in the soap dispenser, and the showers were big and pristine.

The other thing we love about this place is that everything is paved with either cement or asphalt.  We hate places that have gravel, dirt or sand, because you track it into the RV every time you come and go.  We’re a little neurotic about dirt, so this is really great!  If this place wasn’t so far from San Diego, I told Eric we’d definitely stay here until we found an apartment.

Eric happily watched THE SIMPSONS, KING OF THE HILL, FAMILY GUY and AMERICAN DAD, while I worked on the computer.  He’ll be asleep soon, and I’ll finish up today’s blog entry (my 94th) and then go to sleep, dreaming about finding the perfect apartment in San Diego.  We have a wonderful realtor, Bonnie, helping us, so I’m sure it won’t be too hard.  I can’t wait to start looking.  It’s all very exciting.  We are finally on to the next phase of our life!

Eric and I were up early, because we were picking Jimmy up at the airport at 9:35am.  His flight was on time (how unusual!) and we are only 10 minutes from the airport, but we had never been there before, so we left plenty of time, in case we got lost.

We got there by 9:15am and pulled over by Terminal 1 to wait for Jimmy’s call, letting us know he had arrived.   He called and we told him which way to walk to find us, and there he was, with his little suitcase on wheels!  We got on I-5 and went to IHOP in Pacific Beach.

All photos in today's blog were taken by the fabulous Jimmy Donahue!

I had New York Cheesecake pancakes (not as cheesecake-y as I would have liked, but still good).  Jimmy had pumpkin pancakes (he loves pumpkin flavoring) with sausage, egg and hash browns; Eric got nut and grain pancakes with bacon, egg and hash browns.

Except for this one!

After breakfast, we got back in the car, but just drove down the block, because Jimmy wanted to go to the beach.  We found a spot, and walked along the boardwalk.  We saw a cute, little Christmas tree (it was about 2 feet tall) and Jimmy took a picture of us standing next to it.

A great mural in Pacific Beach:

When we walked away, a man and woman approached us and asked us if we liked their tree.  Turns out they put one there every year and decorate it.  Then, they leave food and gifts for homeless people.  It was kind of sad, but sweet.  Eric was wearing a DOORS t-shirt (as usual) and they commented that they liked it.  The man ran over, grabbed a guitar and started playing LOVE ME TWO TIMES (a classic DOORS song).  He sang and played for a few minutes – and he sounded great!  They told us they play music and I asked where (thinking we could go see them play at a bar or something).  He said, “Right here!”  Which was also sad, but sweet.

Mosaic octopus:

We walked along the water, passing fancy hotels and beautiful apartment buildings, both with views we can only dream of.  I’m not a beach person, but I’d sure like to live somewhere where you could look out the window every day and watch the waves rolling on the beach.  The problem with the San Diego beach is that there aren’t any seashells – but there’s lot of seaweed washed up on the shore, so the water’s edge is not very pretty.  The water is really blue and clean looking.

Eric and I have only been here a month, and we never go to the beach, so we hadn’t been here before.  We were amazed at how many people were surfing.  At least 100!  We walked along the pier and watched them for a while.  The water must be REALLY cold and, even though they’re wearing wet suits, their feet and hands must FREEZE!  Not for me!  I hate the water, and being cold.  Eric doesn’t mind the water, or being cold, but he’s really afraid of sharks.

After walking along the water for a while, we walked down some of the blocks and went in and out of the stores.  Then, we passed by BELGIAN FRIE – one of those fabulous place to buy French fries with dipping sauces.  Even though we had just had breakfast an hour ago, I HAD to have some (there goes my diet!).  We went inside and ordered three small orders.  I had mine with horseradish mayonnaise; Eric had creole mayonnaise and Jimmy had chipotle ketchup.  They were SO good and the order was SO big, I can’t believe it was called SMALL!  While we were there, the owner came in.  Her name is Marcelle Hawkins.  She started talking to Jimmy, telling him she thought it was so clever that we were using a stool as a table!  We ARE so clever!

After stuffing ourselves with delicious pommes frites (French for French fries!), we walked some more and then got back in the car and continued the tour of Pacific Beach.  We took Jimmy down GARNET AVENUE and went into THE HIGH ROAD (the store where our friend, Tony, works.  Unfortunately, Tony was off today, but we talked to the manager and looked at all the great stuff they sell.

Then, we went into the CEREBRAL PALSY THRIFT SHOP and the GOODWILL THRIFT SHOP, both of which were a disappointment.  We’re just into vintage – not thrift!

Cute little bungalos you can rent -- right on the pier!

We finally got back in the car and came to the apartment.  We gave Jimmy the 5 minute tour (which is two minutes longer than the tour of the RV!).  He loved the apartment and said he couldn’t believe we’ve just been here for 3 weeks.  He said we’ve done more in 3 weeks than he’s done in a year-and-a-half.

We relaxed for a while, looking on the computer to find a place to eat tonight.  Jimmy was also helping me “clean up” the computer by deleting files and he taught me how to “defrag” (don’t ask) the computer.  I’m hoping it will run better now!  Sometimes, it’s VERY slow!

We left the house at 5:15pm, because we had an early reservation at AZUL LA JOLLA a fabulous restaurant on a block FILLED with fabulous restaurants!

The Spanish-style building was sparking with tiny white lights.  The tiled steps leading to a courtyard were blue, white and terra cotta.  We went inside the restaurant and were taken to a table right by a big window, looking over a canyon.  It was so elegant.  There were three people sitting at the next table – an old woman (whose birthday they were celebrating), her daughter (who was probably in her 50s, and her husband).  The younger woman was wearing a white mink jacket.  Eric asked how you could eat while wearing fur.  The “birthday girl” was wearing a ring with a stone that was the size of a doorknob.  It was pretty dark, but it looked like it was either amber or topaz.  It was a biggie!

We started with four appetizers:
1. Maryland Soft-Shell Crab Fritter with pea tendril & far far, kiwi and papaya salad. 
2. Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Tartare – sashimi-grade tuna, napa cabbage and soy-ginger vinaigrette;
3. Oak Roasted Oysters Trump with pernod creamed spinach & tarragon glacage topped with black truffle caviar; and
4. Togarashi blackened scallops with tangerine salad and avocado coulis.

Can you tell this was a fancy place?  We have NO idea what pea tendril, far far, glacage and coulis are, but it was ALL very delicious!  (Jimmy says “far far” is a long, long way to run!)

For the entrée, I had Live Maine Lobster Risotto (Maine lobster chunks cooked in creamy Arborio rice with parmesan.  I think it was one of the most delicious meals I ever had.  I LOVE risotto, and this was fantastic, but with the chunks of lobster (and there weren’t just a few), this was so good that, as my mother always says, “My mouth was having a party!”

Eric had Five Spice Orange Glazed Muscovy Duckling Breast with Indian harvest rice, buttered spinach and sunchoke emulsion.  He loved it!

Jimmy had the fire-grilled, free-range Airline Chicken Breast with rosemary garlic roasted potatoes, buttered aspiration, and marsala cream sauce.

We were stuffed and running a little late, so we didn’t have any dessert.  We drove a few minutes to LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE in the MANDELL WEISS THEATRE, (which is on the campus of the University of California at San Diego.  The theater is really beautiful.

I couldn’t wait for the show to start.  I was SO excited to see CRY BABY.  I haven’t seen a show in months and getting to see a big new musical – before it heads to Broadway – was really amazing.
We all enjoyed every minute.  The show is colorful (great costumes and scenery), fast-paced, funny, and the music gets your feet tapping.  We agreed it will be a big hit on Broadway.  The cast was excellent and the choreography was top-notch.

Since Eric is riding early tomorrow morning, we headed right home, so he could get everything ready for his ride.  We relaxed, drank some Peach Fresca (refreshing!) and watched TV.  Jimmy will be trying out the sofa sleeper tonight.  We will get his review tomorrow morning!
This is my last day in my 40s.  Tomorrow, I will be 50 years old!

Eric was up at the crack of dawn (5:00am), because he had made plans to go mountain biking this morning.  He met up with a few guys and rode for a few hours.  He had a really good time.  It was all downhill riding.  They had to drive up a dirt road seven miles (which Eric said the RV or PT could not handle) and then it’s a total downhill ride that takes about 40 minutes. 

Eric did it twice, but he was lucky there was someone to take him up there the second time.  He had taken the RV, so Jimmy and I could have the car to go shopping, and the RV wouldn't make it up the mountain.  In order to do the ride, you need someone to drive to the top, leave the car there, and then you ride down, but then you have to have someone else with a car to take the first person up to get his car!  It's not the kind of road you'd like to ride the bicycle up (even though 7 miles is not far at all), because it's a dirt road and it's all uphill.  Eric said you'd be so exhausted by the time you got to the top that you wouldn't want to ride down!

Jimmy took this picture of our apartment from the other side of the complex.  We're the corner apartment on the second floor.

Photo by Jimmy Donahue!

Jimmy and I went to breakfast at a place called KONO’S SURF CLUB CAFE, which is right off the beach in Pacific Beach.  We had passed it yesterday and saw a long line waiting outside and figured we’d go see what all the fuss was about!  It turns out that there are two reasons there’s a long line:

1. The place is very small, with only about a dozen or so tables; and
2. You wait on line, give your order, then go sit down and a waitress brings you your food.  It’s very down-to-earth – not fancy at all.  Breakfast burritos, bagels, etc.

Jimmy had a breakfast burrito and I had a toasted bagel with egg salad.  It came with a bag of chips!  He had coffee and I had fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Jimmy took this picture of a dog he and I fell in love with.  This sweet girl was sitting right near where we were parked.  She had NO interest in us whatsoever, and hardly changed her expression (or her position) from the time we left to go to breakfast, and the time we returned!

After breakfast, I took Jimmy to the swap meet in the parking lot of the Sports Arena where I had been a few weeks ago, trying to find a piece of furniture for the TV in the master bedroom.  Jimmy loves vintage clothes (as do I!), and I had seen a vendor there who had men’s clothing.  We finally found her, but she didn’t have anything Jimmy liked or needed.  We walked around the swap meet for a while.

Jimmy loves music (as does Eric) so he looked at the DVDs.  I was looking for a vanity seat, because I have been using a chair from my grandparents’ bedroom set, but it doesn’t go very well and is a little too big for the vanity.  I’d rather put it in the corner of the room, where it will look beautiful and I can throw my purse or lay out my clothes for the next day.

I couldn’t find anything, and Jimmy didn’t see anything he wanted either, so we left the swap meet and headed to HILLCREST, where there are a bunch of great vintage clothing stores.   There are a lot of parking lots in San Diego that I was afraid to try, because I didn’t know how they worked.  I'd just drive around until I found an open spot with a parking meter.  Jimmy told me he’d help me figure it out, so I parked in a lot and we went over to where it said, “PAY HERE.”  Turns out each spot has a number (we were in 119).  You punch that in, put in your credit card and tell them how long you are going to stay.  It was $2 for 2 hours; $4 for 4 hours; $6 for 6 hours, etc.  We paid $4, thinking it would be more than enough time, and went on our merry way.

I brought all the clothing which had been rejected from BUFFALO EXCHANGE, because there are other stores in the neighborhood who buy used clothing and I was hoping to have better luck.

Our first stop was WEAR IT AGAIN SAM, because I wanted him to see my favorite store!  Barbara, the woman I’ve befriended there, wasn’t in, but a gorgeous girl in a bright red wig was working.  She was dressed so beautifully in a vintage outfit and had great make-up.  She was totally put together.  Fishnet stockings, spiked heels, cute pencil skirt and lovely vintage top.  Adorable! 

I recognized her, because I had checked out the eBay auctions that WEAR IT AGAIN SAM was running and she's the model for all the clothes they're auctioning off!

I showed Jimmy the two pairs of shoes I had sold Barbara, which were on display with a bunch of other great vintage shoes.

The girl (I forget her name) said, “Are you the woman who brought in those fabulous shoes?”  I told her I was.  She said she bought the third pair (called “Springolaters”, because they had a piece of elastic that ran under your foot, which caused them to make a slapping sound as you walked.  I don’t know if this elastic design was supposed to make them easier to walk in, or more comfortable, but they looked exactly like Barbie’s black mules.)  They had really high heels in black fabric with a bow over your toes.  I used to wear them at Price Waterhouse – which really caused stares, but who cared?  I loved high heels!

These classic Barbie Doll shoes look just like the Springolaters!

Anyway, I forgot that they had vintage men’s clothes, too.  (Actually, I was always in such a trance, looking at all the fabulous jewelry, purses and dresses they had, that I don’t know if I EVER noticed they sold men’s clothes, too!)  Jimmy looked around, but they didn’t have anything in his size.

Did I ever mention that Jimmy is tall, dark and handsome?  He’s 6’-4”, which actually makes Eric look short when he stands next to him, and you know how tall, dark and handsome Eric is!  It’s hard for Jimmy to find vintage clothes, because it seems EVERYONE was small in the “old days.”  That’s why I don’t fit into any of the clothes – the average waist size is 24”.  Who has a 24” waist these days?

After WEAR IT AGAIN SAM, we went to BLUESTOCKING BOOKS.  Jimmy loved it as much as I do.  He loves books, too, and they have a great selection.

After that, we went to a place called FLASHBACKS (Fashion Reinvented).  They buy, sell and trade vintage clothing.  They have the same deal as BUFFALO EXCHANGE – they’ll give you 35% in cash or 50% in credit.  A young girl and guy went through all my clothes and picked out a bunch of stuff.  I said I’d take the 50% credit and ended up with $57!!!  I was so happy, because it was all the same stuff rejected by the other store, and they loved my stuff!  Also, they had SUCH great things that I knew I could spend the $57 in no time, which I did!

I bought a vintage Lucite purse with a white pearlized finish in excellent condition (for only $38) and a small gold mesh Whiting & Davis eyeglass case (for $12).  I had $7 left over, so I bought a pair of black tights.  I was so happy.  I loved my purchases!

After I skipped happily out of FLASHBACKS, with Jimmy walking behind me, we walked around some more, going in and out of bookstores, card stores, and boutiques, until we were ready to go home.

Eric called and said he had a great ride and was on his way home.  By the time we got back to the apartment, he was walking his bicycle to the apartment!  What timing!  We relaxed and hung around for a while, and they dozed a little while I was working on the computer and watching TV. 

Then, I said I needed a nap, so I went into the bedroom and slept until 6:30pm while they hung out and watched TV.  Then I jumped in the shower, we all got dressed and we went to “our” sushi place – HAIKU on Garnet in Pacific Beach.

Jimmy LOVED it.  We got our usual – edamame and shumai, and then got our favorite roll – Spicy Crunchy Shrimp Roll, along with a Dragon roll (which had lots of great stuff in it, including eel – which Jimmy had never tried before), and a Scallop Roll.  Everything was delicious and we all enjoyed it tremendously.

We decided to drive to Mission Hills (near Hillcrest) to go to Gelato Vero Caffe, which is on the corner of Washington and India Streets.  It was after 9:00pm and we weren’t sure how late they were open.  I got us lost on the way (it’s the second time I got lost on the way to Hillcrest at night), but luckily it was still open when we got there.  We found out they’re open until at least midnight every night.  That was good news that could be VERY bad for us!

We got four flavors to bring home – pumpkin spice (Jimmy’s favorite), pistachio, some kind of creamy flavor with chunks of brownie in it (how descriptive, Peppy!), and the fourth was the one I picked, but I couldn’t pronounce it, and now I can’t even remember how to spell it.  It was a chocolatey flavor, reminiscent of Nutella, which is DELICIOUS!  Anyway, we got 2 pints with 4 flavors and headed home to have a party!

We broke up the giant fortune cookie my cousin Ilene sent and it was the perfect complement to the smooth, cold gelato.  The cookie was super-thick (much thicker than a fortune cookie), but tasted delicious and the chocolate coating melted in your mouth.  Wonderful!  What a party we had!

Jimmy is very high-tech and he helped us with so much stuff over the weekend.  He taught Eric how to use the DVD and how to play DVDs.  I know that sounds easy, but not to us.  We’re totally spastic about that stuff.  Anyway, after my nap, Eric was playing DVDs like crazy!  He was having the time of his life!

Jimmy bought me a box of FERRERO ROCHER chocolates (my favorites!), a DVD of JOHN PINETTE (a really funny comedian), doing his stand up act (I SAY NAY, NAY).  We all watched it and it was REALLY funny.

He also made me a poster (by enlarging and printing a card I had sent him) of a picture I REALLY love.  It’s by an artist I discovered in Flagstaff, Arizona.  Her art was on display in a restaurant we went to and I bought myself and Jimmy a card of her art, because I knew he’d love it as much as I did (and he did).  It came out SO great and I’d LOVE to hang it up, but I already have SO much artwork packed away, because we don’t have that much space here.  I’m hoping our next place will have lots of wall space (and high ceilings), so I can have it framed and hang it up.

Jimmy helped me with my laptop by showing me how to “defrag” (something I never even HEARD of before), and he cleaned up my hard drive for me.  He also installed itunes and showed me how to download CDs, so I have music on my hard drive.  This is all stuff I never bothered to do before.  I didn’t think I needed it, or wanted it, and didn’t know how to do it, but now that I have it – I love it!  I can play music while I’m typing, and don’t even need to get out of my chair!!!! 

Finally we all went to bed.  We knew we had to get up early on Monday to drive Jimmy to the airport.  His flight was taking off at 10:15am.

We had such a great weekend and it was so much fun having Jimmy around.  He’s the perfect guest – he cleans up after himself (made his own bed two days in a row!) and helped us with the DVD player and the computer!  He’s a lot of fun, and really made my 50th birthday more fun and festive!

My phone rang at 4:00am this morning.  It was the shuttle company we had hired to pick us up on Monday morning at 4:45am.  I explained to the gentleman that our reservation was for MONDAY not SATURDAY.  He apologized and I hung up.  I told Eric that this doesn’t bode well for our pick-up on Monday.  He asked me what “bode well” meant.  I found it hard to explain.  We both eventually fell back to sleep.  That’s how our day started!

We didn’t wake up again until after 10:30am.  Our company was coming at 3:30pm, so we figured we better get out of bed!  The first thing I did was call the shuttle company to make sure they knew we were flying on Monday.  The guy I spoke to had heard all about my 4:00am “wake up call” and apologized.  I said it was fine, but just wanted to be sure they WOULD pick us up on Monday morning!  He said not to worry – they would call Sunday night to confirm the time and be there on Monday morning.  We hope so!

We ate breakfast, took showers, got dressed and then started vacuuming, dusting and tidying up the apartment.  I set our little card table with all the bowls and dishes I would be using for the snacks I had planned.  I used a vintage “California” tablecloth that has a map of California and all the cities marked on it.  We served grapes, Clementines, hummus and chips, potato chips, a tray of 4 different cheeses and the box of chocolates Bonnie had sent for my birthday.  We had saved the chocolates just for today!

Here's a close-up of one section of the mirror made completely of clip-on and screw-on earrings:

I hung up the mirror I made yesterday.  I’m still not sure it’s done, but the only way to tell is to hang it up.  That’s what I used to do in the shop, too.  I’d finish a mirror and hang it up, because you really can’t tell when it’s laying on a table.  I think there are a few little spots I can add to, so I will probably do a little more work on it while it’s hanging up.  To anyone else it might seem done, but I told Eric, “It’s not done until I say it's done!”

Audrey, Bonnie, Michael and Nicole arrived right on time at 3:30pm.  Audrey had an easy 40-minute flight from Las Vegas.  She was happy, because the weather here is milder than it is in Las Vegas.  She said it’s been freezing there!

We gave them all the tour of the apartment and I was so happy that they liked everything and commented on how much we had done in just a month.  Bonnie, Audrey and Nicole loved the decoupaged tray I made for our friends for New Year’s Eve, and they loved the jewelry mosaic mirror, too.  I told Bonnie and Nicole I would definitely teach them how to decoupage, because it’s fun and easy!

We had some snacks, talked and then we asked if anyone wanted to try the massage chair.  Audrey volunteered.  She really loved it.  It IS fantastic!  Nicole was next and she seemed to like it too.  She is so cute.  She kept giggling and saying it tickled!

We left the apartment and drove to Bonnie’s mother’s restaurant – NYPD PIZZA.  Michael and Bonnie treated us all to pizza and calzones.  Their food is really good!

It was only 6:30pm when we left and after a stop at STARBUCKS and the gas station to fill up, we were home by 7:00pm.  I told Eric I thought it was great that it felt so much later, but it was still early, because we should go to bed early tonight (like 9:00pm) and wake up early tomorrow.  Then, we’ll be tired enough to go to bed early tomorrow night, since we have to wake up at 3:30am to be picked up at 4:45am and make our flight at 6:15am.  It’s VERY early!

We could sleep on the plane, but by the time we get settled we’ll be in Houston.  Maybe we’ll have time to sleep on the second flight from Houston to South Carolina.

My friend, Geri, called tonight.  She and Larry just had friends visiting from Australia and showed them a really great time.  Geri and Larry are the kindest, most generous couple.  They will go to the ends of the earth for their friends, and I’m sure they did everything they could to make sure their friends’ vacation was perfection!

Tomorrow is all about packing for our trip.  I am very nervous, because I keep hearing how strict the airport security is with your baggage.  You have to have the right size bottles for your liquids, and they have to be in the right size baggie (1 quart).  I’m going to the airport’s website, so I can read up about all the restrictions.  I REALLY don’t want to deal with all this, so I have to make sure we are following all the rules!

We got up at 3:30am and left the hotel at 4:30am.  We arrived at the airport, returned the car, and got our boarding passes for our flights.  There was actually an earlier connecting flight in Houston, so we ended up getting back at 11:00am, instead of almost noon.  The flights were uneventful; in fact I slept most of the time on both flights!  They didn’t serve breakfast on the first (as they did when we were going to SC) but served breakfast on the second (Eric had my cereal and muffin, as well as his own!).

When the flight landed, we got on the shuttle bus and were home very quickly.  Eric immediately watered our flowers (which, by the way, are looking FABULOUS!).  I dropped my stuff and got the mail (lots of mail – wheeeeeeeeee!), then went food shopping.  I wanted to buy drinks for the party (they asked that you bring what you like to drink for the meal), and some brownies to put on the tray I had made for the party.

I did the food shopping, got everything I needed and headed home.  I bought some more of that IZZE soda, since it was so good – the Pomegranate flavor; I also got two kinds of organic fruit juice.  I found big containers of brownie bites in two varieties, which was so perfect, because it’s easy to “nosh” and you don’t have to commit to an entire brownie!

Once we unpacked all the groceries, we took a nap.  Eric didn’t sleep well, but I definitely had a good nap.  We woke up around 5:00pm, took showers, and got dressed.  We were so happy that the party was casual, because we just weren’t in the mood (especially Eric) for anything fancy.  In fact, in the invitation they said to bring comfy socks, since all shoes would be left at the door.  Since most of my outfits involve high heeled shoes, I decided to wear my comfy leopard pants and a black shirt, and dressed up the outfit with some great vintage jewelry pieces.  I brought a pair of Betty Boop slipper socks that Geri had given me.  I was comfy and dressy at the same time – you can’t beat that!

We had considered taking the RV, so we could sleep in it overnight, but it seemed too complicated to pack it, check the generator, etc., so we decided to drive up in the PT (which saves a lot on gas and time) and just stay over in a motel.  After all, we were already packed!

We left a little before 7:00pm.  The party started at 9:00am.  It was a fondue party, which sounded really delicious.  I had never had a cheese fondue – just chocolate fondue – so I was really looking forward to it.  We arrived just around 9:00pm.

Our hosts, Greg and Julie have a lovely old bungalow, which they have expanded and renovated.  They added a master suite to the back and broke down walls to make a large open kitchen area.  Greg also tiled a big kitchen island with beautiful green and decorative tiles.  He’s very handy! 

They have two young sons, Aiden and Zachary, who were so sweet, fun and well-behaved.  They were a pleasure.  There were some other kids there last night, and a one-year-old that Eric and I really enjoyed.  Her name was Callie and she was such a sweet and happy baby, clapping hands and waving.

Soon after we arrived my phone rang – it was midnight in NY -- and Susan and Andrew called; then Geri and Larry.  It was great to hear from the “New York Contingent.”

As PRIMAS sings: Come with us we’ll sail the Seas of Cheese.

Julie and Greg had quite a spread – cubes of bread, chicken, beef and lamb, with lots of vegetables.  There were two kinds of cheese to dip in and pots of hot oil in which to cook the chicken, beef, lamb and veggies.  The cheese fondue was to die for.  I always tell people I’m the “Cheese Queen,” because I love cheese so much, so I was in heaven.  They also had all kinds of dipping sauces – like horseradish sauce, anchovy, garlic, mustard, etc., for the meats and vegetables.  Everyone was having so much fun standing around the big table, dipping, cooking, and eating.  It was fun, festive, delicious and cozy – all at the same time!

People kept arriving all night long.  We met a lot of great people, who were all very interested to hear that we had just returned from South Carolina that morning, and had recently moved to San Diego from NY.  We explained that we knew Greg from mutual friends in the theater community in NYC.  We had never met Julie until last night.  They are a beautiful, sweet, loving family and it was an honor to spend an evening in their home.

People were still cooking and dipping the meats and cheese when our hosts set up the chocolate fountain.   They had marshmallows and all kinds of fruit to dip in the fountain.  It was delicious and sweet and decadent!  People were dipping the brownie bites in the chocolate, too.  We all were having so much fun.

Before midnight, their son, Zachary, went around giving out plastic leis, paper hats and tiaras, horns, and poppers to bring in the New Year.  At midnight – our first New Year’s Eve Pacific Time – we blew our horns, pulled the poppers and wished each other a Happy New Year!

We left shortly after, since Eric had decided we would drive all the way back to San Diego.  I don’t know how he was still going after being up more than 24 hours and traveling across the country in 2 planes and then driving 2 hours, but he was fine.  Neither of us had anything to drink (except fruit juice and IZZE), so he was good to drive.

We left at 12:45am and were home before 3:00am.  We fell into bed and went right to sleep.  It was a SUPER long day (and night).  Greg and Julie already invited us next year, since they say this is a yearly tradition.  It was a wonderful night and a great welcome to the West Coast!

Eric and I were both working towards getting jobs this morning.  No offers yet, but we’re working on it!

We were packed and ready to leave for Malibu at 2:00pm.  I was SO excited.  It’s always nice to get away, and I was hoping it would pick up Eric’s spirits to see friends and family.

Eric said he wanted to bring his bicycle, to get in a ride tomorrow morning, before we head to Los Angeles, and I was thrilled.  He hasn’t ridden in a week and it has me very worried.  The fact that he is interested in riding tomorrow makes me VERY happy!

We left and started our drive upstate.  It’s weird saying upstate California, because I’m used to going upstate New York, but that’s where we were headed.  We hit a little traffic leaving San Diego, but it wasn’t too bad.  When we got on I-405 we slowed down to a crawl, and thought it was really bad for Friday night rush hour, but found out there was a 3-car accident.  When we passed the cars it got a little better, but we were still an hour behind schedule.  We had told Jerry we would be there by 5:00pm the latest, but we didn’t get to Malibu until 6:00pm!

Jerry is staying in the guest house of his cousin’s condo on the beach.  We get to stay in the actual condo!  It’s unbelievable.  Right on the beach.  The waves were actually crashing up against the pillars on which the house stands.  What a view!  It was dark by the time we got here, so all we could see was the white foam of the waves crashing on the beach.

There are two bedrooms in the condo and we’re staying in the guest room, which is adorable.  There’s an original PETER MAX painting on the wall in the living room.  It’s actually one giant room – the kitchen, then down a few steps to the dining room and then the living room, with an entire wall of windows on the far wall, that opens onto a deck, where you can sit outside and listen to the waves crash and watch the sun set over the horizon.

I’ve never been to a place like this before.  I’ve been to the beach.  I’ve been to a house.  But I’ve never been to a house on the beach.  It’s fabulous.  Beautifully decorated in that seaside casual sort of way.  Lots of wicker, rattan, and glass. 

If only I liked the beach – and the ocean!  Unfortunately, I don’t.  Eric and I both don’t like the beach or the ocean.  I’m afraid of the water, because the ocean is so powerful and I can’t swim very well.  Eric’s afraid of sharks.  I also don't sunbathe, so the beach is pretty much a total waste of time, too.  I don't tan, I burn!  So, even though it’s exciting and the views are fantastic, it’s not the kind of place we’d choose to live.  Nevertheless, it’s exciting to be here for the weekend!

Since we were so late, we only got the quick tour of the condo and Jerry’s guest apartment (which is also fabulous), but then we left for dinner.  Jerry drove us in a Prius.  It is the first hybrid car we’ve ever been in.  Lots of firsts for us tonight!

We went to a place called COOGIE'S, which is named after Xavier Cugat.  It is a great restaurant with a fun menu of burgers, salads, sandwiches and also fancier entrees.  I got an Ahi Tuna Steak Sandwich.  Eric got the Baked White Fish with rice and vegetables and Jerry got the Blackened Chicken Salad with roasted vegetables.  Everything was really good.

I was hoping to see some celebrities, since Malibu is chock full of them, but I didn't spot anybody at COOGIE'S or our next stop -- MALIBU YOGURT AND ICE CREAM.  Maybe tomorrow!

We decided to go to MALIBU YOGURT AND ICE CREAM for dessert, but brought it back to the condo to eat.  They have Carbolite yogurt, which is sugar and fat free.  (It doesn’t taste that great, but it’s guilt free!).  I got half carbolite chocolate and half fat-free peanut butter yogurt, which has sugar.  It tasted better than the carbolite.  Eric got the peanut butter yogurt with some toppings and Jerry got chocolate and peanut butter fat free yogurt.  His chocolate tasted ten times better than my chocolate.  Oh, well.  At least it was cold and creamy!

Once we got back, I hooked up the computer and Jerry and Eric looked at the local mountain biking.  Eric is going to go out tomorrow and hopes to find a challenging ride.

Then we watched a new episode of MONK.  Jerry never watched it before, so we were filling him in on all the characters as we watched.  Howie Mandel was a guest star and it was really great.
Next, we watched LAS VEGAS, which Eric and I had never seen before.  Tom Selleck is now starring in it.  It’s an interesting show.  I enjoyed it.  I don’t know if it will become a regular on my already-busy TV watching schedule, but I did enjoy this episode!

Tomorrow morning Jerry and I will take a walk on the beach and then go out to breakfast while Eric rides.  Then we’ll all drive down to Los Angeles!

Neither of us slept much last night.  I guess part of it is the unfamiliarity of a new place, some of it was the fact that you could hear the waves crashing so loudly right under the house.  It’s a little scary and unsettling, if you’re not used to it.  Also, Eric was in such a bad mood last night that I was upset.  Since I could tell he wasn’t sleeping well, I kind of knew he wasn’t going to go riding this morning.  When the alarm went off at 6:00am, he apologized for waking me and said he wasn’t going to ride, because he hardly slept and he had a pain in his side.

This is a new one.  He’s had lots of aches and pains in the past few months – headaches, neck aches, stomach aches, but now he says he has a pain in his side.  He’s really falling apart and I don’t know if it’s the depression that’s making him sick, or if he’s really sick.  He won’t go to a doctor.  He’s being ridiculous and stubborn.  I really don’t know what to do.  He’s a grown man, but I don’t think he’s thinking clearly.  Can I force him to go to a doctor?

At about 7:30am we started hearing someone hammering.  I kept thinking, “Oh, they don’t know we’re here and the people upstairs are just putting a picture on the wall.  But it kept going on and on.  At 8:00am, when the alarm went off for me, I went outside and there were two guys working on the roof.  They just looked at me, as I stood there in my pajamas.  I looked at them, and then went back inside.  I told Eric that we had to get up anyway, and it looked like they weren’t going to be finished anytime soon anyway.

Eric told me that even though he wasn’t going riding, he still didn’t want to go to breakfast with me and Jerry.   It’s too cold for a walk on the beach, so that’s out.  Besides, the tide is still so high that you couldn’t walk without getting your feet wet and the water’s freezing!

I sat at the computer in the dining room, looking out at the wall of windows and watching the seagulls fishing for breakfast.  The waves were rolling in and all you could see was ocean.  If you look to the left or right you can see some hills with houses and the rest of the coastline, but looking straight out it’s just water.

I checked my emails and then went into the shower.  I figured I’d put on my clothes from yesterday just to go to breakfast and then come back and change for the day later, since I’m wearing a skirt and sweater set and high heels.  No need to get so dressy for breakfast – even if it IS in Malibu!

Eric was complaining about not feeling well, so I told him he didn't have to come to Los Angeles with me.  He could wait and come tonight with Jerry, just for dinner.  That seemed to make him feel a lot better and he agreed to go out to breakfast with us.  I guess he figured he could rest or ride in the afternoon, if he felt up to it.

The kitchen and dining room area of the condo:

They’re shooting a film down the block – don’t know if it’s a movie or TV show.  Jerry said they’ve been there for a week.  I wanted him to stop last night, so I could ask what they’re doing.  He was too shy.  I was going to ask when we drove by this morning, but they were not there.

We went to PARADISE COVE BEACH CAFÉ (A Memory In Every Visit) on Pacific Coast Highway.  It’s a landmark in Malibu and has been there for many years.

I was hoping to spot a celebrity or two, but – again – no such luck.  We did have a fantastic breakfast.  Jerry had the Lox Box, which is a plate of lox, with capers, red onions, lettuce and tomatoes, with a bagel and cream cheese on the side.  There was enough lox for TWO bagels (and Jerry ended up ordering a second bagel, because there was so much lox left over!).

Eric ordered the Carrot Cake Waffles, which tasted like carrot cake which had been formed in the shape of a waffle.  Add butter and syrup and you have the most fattening breakfast on earth!

I had a pretty fattening breakfast myself.  It was Portobello Mushroom and Crab Benedict.  Instead of an English muffin, it was a big Portobello mushroom. Instead of ham there was a scoop of crab, and it was covered with Hollandaise sauce.  There were tiny cubes of roasted potatoes and a fruit salad.  It was fantastic, and I could only eat half.  Eric had my leftovers for lunch, while I was at the theater!

After breakfast we came back to the condo and looked at the dolphins and seals with binoculars.  What a treat!

Then, I got dressed and left for Los Angeles.  Eric and Jerry were going to come down later, for dinner.  I got there a little before 1:00pm.  Ilene came home, changed, grabbed a fast bite, and we went to the PANTAGES THEATER.  It is one of the most beautiful theaters I have ever seen – and I’ve seen every Broadway theater in New York!  It is totally Art Deco and completely magnificent!  I couldn’t stop looking at every inch of the walls, floors, ceilings, chandeliers, art work, tile work, etc.  WOW!

We had nice seats – in the last row of the front mezzanine.  They weren’t the best seats, but I thought they provided a great view of the entire set and you could see everything going on, even though we were pretty far back.

The show was just perfection.  I saw it in New York and this cast was as superb as the original Broadway cast.  The voices of both Elfaba and Glinda were fantastic and I laughed and cried.  The show is so amazing and I recommend it SO highly to anyone who can see it on either coast!

While I was at the show Eric did go for a ride, but he rode locally and just rode up and down Pacific Coast Highway.  Jerry told me that he had a long talk with Eric -- for over an hour -- and pretty much told him "Snap out of it" (but in a much nicer way).  I guess it worked, because Eric DID ride today!

After the show we went back to Ilene and Kyle’s and Ilene quickly whipped up an unbelievable dinner.  Jerry and Eric arrived soon after.

My cousin, Karen, also came over with her husband, Mark and their two sons – Max and Jason.  It was so great to see them again, too.  We had a lot of fun talking about celebrity sightings, different shows we have seen, and genealogy.

Ilene prepared Mahi Mahi with a mango salsa, chicken kabobs, risotto, sautéed vegetables in a balsamic vinaigrette, fried calamari, a wedge of brie with crackers, and a Greek pastry with spinach (I can’t remember how to say it or spell it!).  She either prepared it last night or this morning and only had to cook everything.  I don’t know how she timed it so that everything came out at the same time, but she was great!  She made a buffet and everyone lined up to fill their plates.

Along with Karen and Mark’s sons, Max and Jason, Ilene and Kyle’s kids, Evan and Elise had macaroni and cheese (which Eric was tempted to take, too!).  Everything was so delicious.  She really knows how to entertain!  We missed their oldest son, Tyler, because he was at a soccer game and then at a friend’s house.

After dinner we had dessert – a bundt cake she baked this afternoon, which Kyle tested until it was baked perfectly and then took out of the oven while we were at the show.  She also baked peanut butter and chocolate kiss cookies and brownies last night.  Is she the best or WHAT?  She made the peanut butter and chocolate cookies just for me, because she always reads in my blog how much I love that combination!  How she found the time while working full time and taking care of three kids is beyond me.  I can hardly find the time to make frozen pizza and I’m not even working (and don’t have any kids).  She and her husband Kyle are a great team!

We left after 9:30pm and came back to the condo where Jerry, Eric and I hung out for a while.  I was pretty exhausted, because it had been a LONG day, but what a wonderful day it was!

There are shutters on the windows in the guest bedroom of the condo in Malibu, so it’s very hard to tell if it’s light out.  You have to put a light on, even during the day, to see anything in the room.  I woke up and thought it was still dark outside.  I couldn’t fall back to sleep.  I decided to get up and maybe watch the sun rise, since I had missed the sunset in Malibu the two days we were there.  I went into the living room and the sun was shining.  I looked at my phone and it was 8:40am.  I had set the alarm to go off at 9:00am.  It was a lot later than I thought!

By the time Eric and I showered, got dressed, packed and cleaned up (I wanted to strip the beds and clean the bathroom), it was time to leave.  We spent a few minutes talking to Jerry.  We had such a great weekend with him and it was so great to see him again.  I don't know when we'll get to visit Illinois, so we may not see each other again soon.  I'm so glad we got to hang out while he was visiting this paradise called Malibu!

After we left Jerry we headed to Los Angeles to meet Joe and Miguel for brunch at the SPORTSMANS LODGE.  It’s the same place we saw them last time.  It’s really nice and the Patio Café is great, because you can sit outside and watch people swimming in the pool.

We got there first and went and sat at the same table as last time.  After a few minutes, Joe and Miguel arrived.  We sat down and started catching up on everything that’s been going on with all of us since we saw them last (November 10th).  The waiter came and took drink orders, and then came back to take our food orders, but we hadn’t even looked at the menu.  We just kept talking, and talking, and talking.

We finally ordered.  I got the same thing as last time:  Grilled salmon on top of a delicious salad.  Eric, Joe and Miguel all got breakfast with eggs, sausage, potato and toast, but I had eggs yesterday at PARADISE COVE with Jerry, so I decided to have a salad and some fish!

We hung out talking and laughing for two hours.  Joe and Miguel are such great company and Eric and I really enjoyed seeing them again.  They promised they would come down to San Diego to visit, and Eric wants to go back to Los Angeles, so he can go mountain biking with Miguel.  I told Joe we have to see a show while they ride!  They can do their thing, and we'll do ours!

Jerry had called to let us know that Eric left his bicycling shoes behind, so after brunch we headed back to Malibu to pick them up and then started for home.

Eric drove and I slept the entire way.  I had a really good nap!  We got home at 5:00pm and I immediately unpacked and did two loads of laundry.  I actually met a nice neighbor in the laundry room tonight.  We exchanged a few pleasantries and then she asked if I was from New York.  She said she was from Boston and we talked about the adjustment period.  I told her I loved San Diego and was really happy, but that Eric didn’t like it and wasn’t happy with the mountain biking.  She said the same thing as everyone else – it takes time.

After laundry I made a fast dinner – Uncle Ben’s FOUR CHEESE READY RICE and MORNINGSTAR FARMS vegetarian chicken patties.  I swear they’re delicious.  I put some tomato sauce and asiago cheese on top, so it was like faux chicken cutlet parmigiana.  My NUTRISYSTEM food STILL hasn’t arrived.  Maybe tomorrow!

After dinner Eric watched TV in the living room and I watched two episodes of EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION.  Both made me cry.  Today there was another MONK MARATHON and I recorded all of them, so I had my choice of episodes to watch.

I really had a great weekend, even though Eric wasn't as much fun as I had hoped.  Everyone noticed that he was pretty quiet and, when he did talk, he was very negative about San Diego and the mountain biking.  I was happy to get away for a few days and see good friends and family.  It was wonderful. 

I’m going to bed early tonight, because I have a 9:30am interview at APPLE ONE employment agency.  Wish me luck!

Eric wanted me to set the alarm for 8:00am, because he wanted to get an early start.  He wanted to take the car to the car wash and vacuum the inside.  Unfortunately, he woke up with another headache.  This is three days in a row.  He’s had these headaches for days before, but he’s been taking the Excedrin Migraine, which has a lot of caffeine.  He swears by them and says they really help him, but I have heard about rebound headaches, where the caffeine keeps them coming back.

I told him it wasn’t important at all that he vacuums the car, so we just relaxed and watched TV. 

I made him breakfast – NUTRISYSTEM blueberry muffins, one piece of low-fat cheddar cheese melted on one slice of toast and 12 cherries with a cup of tea.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after he ate that I realized he didn’t have caffeine free tea, so I’m hoping that didn’t make him worse.
I had NUTRISYSTEM CINNAMON APPLE OATMEAL, which wasn’t that great.  I told Eric you’d think instant oatmeal would be an easy one, but the consistency was a little weird.  I also had 4 oz. of fruit juice and one piece of low-fat cheddar cheese.  I have the same requirements for breakfast as Eric, but he’s allowed the carbs and I’m not.

After breakfast, Eric went to lie down again, because he was hoping the headache would go away without taking the Excedrin Migraine.  I cleaned the kitchen and tidied up my desk, but I didn’t want to make a lot of noise, so I made some phone calls.

I spoke to my friend Geri for a while, then my mom, then my friend Susan.  I know I’m going to be busy all weekend, so I wanted to talk to everyone before the girls arrived.  Susan’s mom is doing much better, which is great to hear!

For lunch I had NUTRISYSTEM CHEESE TORTELLINI WITH TOMATO SAUCE and a small salad.  I thought the tortellini was one of the best things I've tried so far!  I made Eric a NUTRISYSTEM brocoli and cheese soup and a turkey/swiss sandwich.

We never left the house today.  We were just cleaning, organizing, making the place look great for the girls.  It's really the most thorough cleaning I've done since we moved here, which was just six weeks ago, so I guess it needed it.  I dust and vacuum often, and I'm always cleaning the kitchen, but I took the whole stove-top apart and cleaned all the pieces.  Everything was sparkling!

I was hoping that the headboard would arrive today and it did – but not until 5:30pm.  I begged Eric to set it up, but since he still had a headache (my poor baby), he didn’t want to bother.  We just took it out of the box to look at it (it is GORGEOUS) and leaned it up against the wall.  I made the bed with all the new bedding and it looks so lovely.  When the headboard is there it’s going to be fantastic!

I spoke to my friend, Katie, who is also my “webmaster.”  She is revamping my entire website, so that it is updated and reflects my current situation.  When it’s done I’ll let you all know and you can check it out!

We left the house at about 7:15pm, even though the girls weren’t going to land until 8:08.  Eric thought we might hit traffic, but we didn’t.  We were there early and kept driving around and around and around.  By 8:30pm I was starting to panic.  Where were my girls?  I went to the Delta counter (outside) and they told me it was delayed and would arrive at 8:38pm.  How frustrating!  I was looking at the Delta arrivals online and when we left at 7:15pm it was ON TIME.  How can it get delayed between 7:15pm and 8:08?

They finally did land at 8:38pm, and we picked them up at 9:00pm.  They told us they were delayed at Kennedy and didn’t take off for almost an hour, so they knew by 5:30pm NY time that the plane would be late.  Why they didn’t have it on the website is beyond me.  Lesson learned: Don’t trust the website!

Since Eric wasn’t feeling well, we dropped him off, he took the girls’ suitcases up and we zipped off to HAIKU to have a sushi dinner.  I felt bad for the girls, because it was after midnight “their time,” but they were hungry, so they wanted to go.

The minute we walked in the door we got the nicest greeting from Jin, our sushi chef friend.  He knows what we like and he made us our Spicy Crunchy Shrimp Roll.  We ordered edamame and shumai right away, so it would come out quickly, and then we ordered hot tea.  It’s so funny, because it’s so much warmer here than in NY, but it’s still chilly at night and the girls were cold in their down jackets!

We had two other rolls with tuna and salmon in them, and enjoyed every bite.  We caught up on the family, jobs, and everything else going on.  Jin asked the girls what they thought about long distance romances.  He was flirting with them and we were laughing.  He’s adorable.

When we finished dinner I drove them around Pacific Beach and showed them all the hot spots where the kids hang out.  They couldn’t believe how crowded all the bars were.  I know they’d definitely have fun socializing here and meeting all the young people!  Jessica is engaged, so she’s not looking to meet anyone, but it’s still fun to go out and meet people.

We drove back to Clairemont (which is 5 minutes) and I showed them our bank (right across the street), our supermarket (down the block) and our drug store.  A thrilling tour, don’t you think?  They were impressed by how close we were to 7-Eleven, and all the stores we needed.  I told them tomorrow I’d take them to the big shopping center and we’d get STARBUCKS.  YUM!

We got home and I got them settled, made up the bed and gave them the tour.  They really liked the apartment!  They were pretty exhausted, so they went to bed (by now it was 11:30pm – 2:30am their time) and I watched a little TV in the bedroom (while Eric slept) and went to bed about midnight.

Tomorrow we’re going to go shopping and I’ll give them the big tour of the areas Eric and I are familiar with.  It’s SO good to see them.  They’re so sweet and beautiful and I miss all my nieces so much.  It’s such a pleasure to have them with us, even if it’s just for two days!

I woke up at 9:00am.  I went to the bathroom and looked in on the girls.  They were both sleeping peacefully, so I decided to go back in the bedroom and lie back down with Eric.  I waited until I heard them moving around out there to go back out.  We had breakfast together while Eric slept.  He still had a headache -- day 4.

We decided to have cereal, rather than wasting calories on a hearty breakfast.  We knew we’d be eating out lunch and dinner, so we didn’t want to be really bad.  The girls are watching their diets, too, so it’s easier to stick with mine.

We left the house a little after 11:00am and went immediately to STARBUCKS.  We all got Skinny Lattes and then walked around the shopping center.  We went into BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY, because Jessica forgot her sunglasses and I told her she had to wear sunglasses, because the sun is so strong in San Diego.  She found a cute pair and they were only $7.99!

We then got in the car and drove to Pacific Beach.  We parked the car on Garnet and walked up and down going into all the boutiques.  We shopped for over 2 hours, trying on clothing and enjoying the beautiful weather.  Then, we got back in the car and drove around Pacific Beach, trying to decide where to go to lunch.

We saw a really cute restaurant, which was in a house on Felspar Street.  The address is 976 Felspar, and the restaurant is called Café 976.  They have a very interesting menu of salads, wraps and soups.  I got veggie chile and a 976 salad, which has mixed greens, pine nuts, mandarin oranges, grapes, feta and balsamic vinaigrette.  I felt like I wasn’t really cheating too much, because I only ate vegetables and dairy.  No bread, rice or pasta!

Jessica and April shared a Spinach Burger burrito (spinach burger, tomato, onion, sprouts, spinach, feta and jalapeno mayo in a spinach tortilla.  Lots of spinach!  They also shared a Summer Salad (mixed greens, kalmata olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, hearts of palms, avocado, onions, walnuts and feta cheese with balsamic vinaigrette.\

After lunch we drove to Hillcrest and did more shopping.  I took them to my favorite shop – WEAR IT AGAIN SAM, where they thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the fabulous vintage clothing and accessories.

Next we went to another vintage store called RAGS.  Then, we walked along Fifth Avenue, looking at the menus outside all the restaurants, trying to decide where to go to dinner.  There are three restaurants in a row that are all owned by the Cohn family.  They actually own about 10 restaurants in San Diego.  That’s a successful restaurant-owning family!

We drove home and relaxed with Eric for a while.  He still wasn't feeling great and told us he didn't feel up to joining us for dinner. So, the three of us got changed and went out to dinner.  Eric apologized to the girls for being such a party pooper and not having dinner with them two nights in a row, but they said they didn’t mind and just felt bad that he wasn’t feeling well.

On our way out to the car, I tripped and fell.  Since they poured the new sidewalks, they left a big open space that runs between the sidewalk and the low brick wall holding the flowerbed.  I was telling the girls to be careful crossing the street and wasn’t looking where I was going and I stepped right into the hole.  I fell right on the SAME knee and also on my left hand.  At first I thought my wrist was broken, but I soon realized my fingers and my wrist were fine, but the back of my hand really hurt.

My knee was also bleeding pretty badly.  The girls helped me put a tissue on it and pull my leggings down over it so it stayed in the same spot.  I wanted to go back inside and put a band-aid and some antibiotic cream on my knee, but I knew Eric would be upset, and it was already after 9:00pm, and I didn’t want to delay our dinner.  Restaurants don’t stay open as late here as they do in New York and I wanted to make sure the girls had a nice dinner out.

We were so lucky to get a spot right in front of the restaurant we decided to go to – KEMO SABE. Their menu was described as “Pacific Rim” and includes a lot of Asian Fusion and Thai dishes.  We started with “Dim Sum and Then Sum,” the chef’s daily selection of sushi, poke and sashimi.  We had crab wontons, tuna sashimi, fried calamari, and spring rolls.  Everything was fresh and delicious.

I had the charbroiled ahi with fried ginger, with chile black beans and carmelized pineapple.   It was like biting into a juicy steak, except it was a delicious piece of fish!  Jessica had the teriyaki glazed Alaskan halibut with miso-sake broth, crab wontons and woked Chinese vegetables.  She loved it!

April had the blackened satay chicken breast stack with layered jerk chicken, chile corn cake, melon salsa and 10 spice grilled plaintain.  She really enjoyed her dish, too.

My hand was really hurting, but I pressed my ice water glass up against it while we ate.  I didn’t want to ruin the good time the girls were having, but I was a little worried about my hand.  I was able to move it around, but it really hurt when I moved it a certain way.  It definitely wasn’t swollen or black and blue, so I figured nothing was broken, but it hurt!

During the meal I accidentally ate a chile pepper that was in my black beans and it REALLY burned my throat.  I told the girls and said, "My knee hurts, my hand hurts, and now my throat’s on fire.  This isn’t fair!"  Thank goodness it only burned for about 5 minutes!

We were so stuffed that we each took home our leftovers, thinking Eric would have a feast tomorrow, since we’ll be eating out!

I told the girls about GELATO VERO and asked them if they wanted to go by there for dessert.  I thought I remembered that they had sugar free or fat free gelato, but I was wrong.  I waited in the car and they called me to tell me what they had to offer.  I ended up not having anything, because I didn’t want to ruin my diet and I figured I could just have something from NUTRISYSTEM when I got home.  We DID get Eric two scoops of Chocolate Hazelnut gelato, but he was asleep when we got home, so we just put it in the freezer for him.

Jessica had a scoop of vanilla and April had a scoop of Chocolate Hazelnut.  They really liked it!  When we got home, we all got into our pajamas.  I washed my leggings, because there was blood on them and then I iced my knee, which was pretty swollen.  It’s funny, because I thought my knee was just scraped – like the other day – but it looked like there was half a golf ball under my skin and it was purplish.  Not very pretty.  The girls immediately said I should ice it and ran to the freezer.  I don’t have ice (because we never ice our drinks), so they gave me frozen blueberries in a dish cloth.

They were so sweet and concerned.  We sat down to watch TV.  I put the bag on my knee and started blogging.  They immediately fell asleep.  They were both curled up in a ball on the bed.  I made them get up and lay down in the right direction – next to each other the long way on the bed – and covered them with all the blankets, tucking them in the way I would when they were little and would sleep over.  They’re such sweet, beautiful girls and we’ve been having such a fun time.  It’s so funny, because I told Eric I wanted the girls to be able to go out tonight, after dinner, but we had such a long day and ate dinner so late that they were all tired out by the time we got home at 11:30pm.

I sat and ate my White Chocolate Chunk cookie with the frozen blueberries sitting on my knee, watching Saturday Night Live (which was the best of Tracy Morgan) and wrote my blog.  Not the best ending to a fabulous Saturday with my girls, but – hey – it happens!  I just hope I’m in better shape – and not worse – tomorrow!

We all woke up around 9:00am today.  I listened to hear the girls up and around before I went out, because I didn’t want to wake them.

I was happy that my knee wasn’t swollen anymore and didn’t hurt to walk.  My hand is a little swollen and discolored, and it hurts when I move it, but it’s not really bad and Eric’s pretty sure I didn’t break anything.  At least I can type comfortably!

My cousin Ilene had given me a page from the November/December LIFESTYLE magazine (which is distributed by AAA), because they had an article about SOUTH PARK, a great area of San Diego located just east of Balboa Park.  It’s a “charming, historic neighborhood noted for its craftsman-style homes (which we LOVED) and unique small businesses.”  Eric and I had never been there and it looked like a great place for me to take the girls.

Eric still had a headache and the football games were on, so we went out without him.  There was a restaurant noted in the article that was mentioned as being “the best breakfast in San Diego,” so we decided to go there.  BIG KITCHEN CAFÉ (Judy the Beauty on Duty) on Grape Street in South Park is a quaint, tiny café with lots of fun memorabilia and photos of celebrities who have visited.

This is a copper sculpture that was on the wall at BIG KITCHEN CAFE, which spoke about borders and value of land.  It was beautiful and insightful!

Their menu is large and varied.  After studying it, Jessica and April decided to share two dishes (such smart girls).  They chose a dish from the “Favorites of our Regulars” and had Damian’s Breakfast Burrito (2 eggs scrambled with salsa, avocado and cheese rolled in a tortilla topped with sour cream and served with potatoes.  They also shared one big buttermilk pancake. It was SO delicious.

I got Nova’s Favorite, which was spinach, eggs (I got just egg whites) and cheese scumptiously scrambled and serve with fruit, tortillas, small fresh squeezed O.J. and lots of salsa.  It was so delicious and I learned that I don’t need the yolks to enjoy my eggs.  The tortillas weren’t that tasty, so I didn’t even eat them.  There was watermelon, cantaloupe and orange slices, too.  I finished everything on my plate (except the tortillas!).

After our hearty breakfast we decided to walk around the neighborhood and see the other shops talked about in the article.

We went into MAGPIE, where they have revolving art exhibits and new and vintage clothing and accessories for sale.  We had a lot of fun there and I asked the girl working there about having my decoupage and jewelry mosaics displayed there.  She said she’d have to see my work and I gave her my card and told her to check out my website.  She promised she would and I will follow up.  I think it would be great to show my work there!

We shopped at THE GROVE, which features clothing, jewelry, home furnishings, writing workshops and craft classes.  It was a huge store with different sections, each of which was eye-catching, colorful and fun.

We went to CLARITY SOAP AND CANDLES, where everything is hand made by them and smells fantastic.  The girls bought a beautiful, delicious smelling candle for their Mom.

We investigated MAEVE RILEY, a cool little boutique featuring the latest fashions and accessories.  The girl working there (Megan) was adorable and showed us jewelry she makes herself using silver solder.  They weren’t my taste, since I like delicate and vintage, but they were pretty fabulous.  I told her about my pin and earring frames and she was very interested.  Since I had them in the car, we brought them back after we were done shopping.  She loved them, but had no cash to buy.  She took my business card and said she was very interested in buying some for herself and her mom.  She thought they were beautiful and useful.  I hope I hear from her!

After a few hours, we were ready for something sweet and delicious, so we stopped into DAILY SCOOP, a cute spot where they make all-natural ice cream and desserts.  The place is decorated SO beautifully with black and white toile curtains, white shabby chic furniture displaying jewelry and children’s clothing, and a fleur-de-lis stencil at chair rail height all around the shop.  I had a single scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter and Jessica got a scoop of Lemon Mousse, and the three of us shared.  It was more than enough, because it’s SO good!

Krista Lunetto, one of the owners, was there and she was telling us about all the great restaurants in the area and how wonderful it was to live in that neighborhood.  I think it must be, because there were so many adorable shops.  I’d LOVE to have a shop there and I think I’d do very well in that neighborhood!  If only!

Krista also told us that CORONADO, where the famous HOTEL DEL CORONADO is located, was very close to where we were.  I have wanted to visit there since the day we set foot in San Diego, because it’s such a fabulous hotel and is famous for many reasons, the best of which is that they filmed SOME LIKE IT HOT there.  I’m a HUGE Marilyn Monroe fan, and I wanted to see the place where one of my favorite MM movies was filmed!

She told us how to go and then we programmed Betty, so she would take us to ORANGE AVENUE, where the hotel (and lots of great shopping) is located.  We were there in ten minutes, after crossing the bridge, and we found the hotel right away.  It’s easy to spot with it’s gorgeous red roof.  It is huge and magnificent.  We found a parking spot right away and walked to the hotel.

Jessica and April in the lobby of the Hotel Del Coronado.  Aren't they beautiful?

We found the lobby, which was as majestic as I had dreamed.  There was a huge chandelier over an enormous arrangement of flowers.  There was wood everywhere – the walls, the ceiling, the banisters, the counters.  Dark, ornate, shiny, beautiful wood.

We walked through a hallway that had the history of the hotel, which was built in 1888.  It was saved from destruction at one point, and they actually filmed SOME LIKE IT HOT there, because it was inexpensive, due to the fact that the hotel was not very popular at the time.

We walked through the hotel, looked at the grand ballroom (which was fantastic with a semi-circle wall of windows that had an unbelievable view of the ocean), and shopped at a lot of the hotel stores.  We really enjoyed our visit and decided we all wanted to come back to actually stay at the hotel!  We didn’t really have a chance to investigate the rest of the town, because it was getting dark and we wanted to head back to Clairemont to get Eric and go out to dinner.

We got back around 6:00pm and relaxed while Eric worked on his bicycle and watched the end of the football game.  Then he jumped in the shower and we went to GRINGO’S COCINA Y CANTINA in Pacific Beach.  Eric and I had not had Mexican food in a while, and we love it, so it was great. 
It was our first time at GRINGO’S.  Jessica had seen it while we were driving around and really wanted to check it out.

It is a big, beautiful restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining, huge wood rough-hewn tables and chairs and giant leather booths.  The four of us sat at a booth and we were all on one side of the table, so I said we looked like we were eating on a sit com, because you may have noticed that they always sit on one side of the table, so everyone can face the camera.

We definitely cheated on our diet, but it was a special night – our last night with the girls!

We started with a lobster margarita (which is NOT a drink, as Eric thought).  It’s a half lobster tail resting over hydroponic baby mache, mango-papaya relish and vanilla bean butter sauce.  We all thought “mache” was some kind of lettuce, but it was like mashed potatoes.  It was a little weird and it’s kind of dark in the restaurant so we really weren’t sure what we were eating, although it was good.

We also had guacamole, salsa, and cheese dip with chips (NOT good for the diet) and Quesadilla Machos, which are Oaxacan cheese, macho squash blossoms, mushrooms, zucchini and fresh epazote in a quesadilla.  We each had a quarter and that was truly scrumptious!

For the main course, I had The Cancun, which is a lobster enchilada and shrimp burrito with rice and beans.  I was only able to eat the lobster enchilada, which was small and brought home my entire shrimp burrito (which was enormous) with most of my rice and beans.

Eric had Pollo Placero, which is half a roasted chicken with orange chipotle glaze, roasted fingerling potatoes and enchilada de calabasa con suizas.  He loved it, but brought home half his dinner, too.  They really give you a lot of food.

Jessica and April shared The Cancun and some kind of salad (I can’t remember what kind).  They also brought home a lot of their dish.

We were too full for dessert, but we dropped Eric off at home and went to KEILS, so we could get the girls some snacks for the flight home tomorrow and went to STARBUCKS for skinny decaf lattes and frappaccinos.

Then we headed home.  We were all really exhausted and were in bed before midnight.  We set the alarm for 5:00am, so it was good that we weren’t out too late.  I am so sorry that the girls have to leave tomorrow.  It has been such a pleasure seeing them and getting to spend some quality time with them, even if it was only 2 days.  We really packed a LOT into those two days and I know they had a wonderful time.

The next time I see them will probably be at Jessica’s wedding, which is the Friday of Thanksgiving Weekend.  The girls showed me the gowns they will be wearing and they are so glamorous and elegant.  They will look truly beautiful.  I can’t wait!

The girls were all up by 5:15am.  We let Eric sleep.  Jessica and April jumped in the shower, got dressed and were ready to roll.  I just washed my face, brushed my teeth and put on the clothes I had laid out the night before, so I would be ready.

We left the house at 5:45am and I dropped them off a few minutes after 6:00am.  I was so sorry to see them go.  We had a GREAT time and I wish all my girls could come and visit – even if it’s just for a few days.  It’s just so nice to show them San Diego!

I was home and back in bed by 6:25am.  Eric’s only comment was, “That was fast!” and we were both back to sleep.  We woke up at 11:00am.  Wow!  We REALLY slept in!  We showered, had a fast NUTRISYSTEM breakfast bar and left the apartment around 12:30pm.  We had some errands to run.  Eric bought tires for one of his bicycles which are better for road riding.  I was SO happy, because that meant he would be riding more.  I know he wouldn't invest in the tires if he didn't plan to use them!  He dropped me at STARBUCKS, which is in the same shopping center as the bicycle store.  We made a few more stops and got back to the apartment a little after 3:00pm.

I made us a delicious lunch of all the leftovers from my dinner with the girls at KEMO SABE on Saturday night.  Eric didn’t go with us, but he sure did get to enjoy it all anyway!  He had Jessica’s leftover halibut with noodles and a fried wonton and April’s chicken with potatoes and fried plaintain.  I had my leftover tuna with the salad it came with.  Delish!

Then, we watched Friday’s new episode of MONK, which was really great.  After that, I did three loads of laundry, including all the towels and sheets that the girls had used.  By the time that was all finished it was after 8:00pm and time for dinner.

I heated up our leftovers from last night’s dinner at GRINGO’S.  Eric had his leftover chicken, potatoes and veggies, and I had Jessica’s leftover shrimp burrito and some salad.

For dessert, we each had a NUTRISYSTEM Chocolate Chip cookie.  It was really moist and chewy.  I loved it!  I also had a DIET LEMON SNAPPLE tonight.  My first in six months!  I had purchased four for the girls, because I know they like that, but they only had two and I figured I might as well use them.  I actually didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.  I used to be addicted to DIET LEMON SNAPPLE, drinking 3 or 4 bottles a DAY.

Eric never liked me drinking so much SNAPPLE, because he said I was using too much artificial sweetener, so when we left NY, I left the DIET SNAPPLE behind.  I drank more water in the 15 weeks we traveled than I probably did the last 10 years.  I would occasionally drink an unsweetened ice tea with a meal, but I used only one splenda or equal, so I cut down considerably.  I also use them in coffee, but I didn’t drink that every day.  I wish I could cut out artificial sweeteners completely, but I like things sweet and don’t want to use real sugar, so that’s my only option!

After dinner, Eric agreed to put up the new headboard.  It was a big pain, but we finally got it done.  Why is every project so much more complicated than you think it will be?  Isn’t that one of Murphy’s Laws?  We got it done and it looks SO beautiful and feels SO great, because now when you lean the pillows against it, you don’t hit the vertical blinds and you don’t feel the wall behind it.  When you put the red Asian-inspired sham up against it, the sham really pops and looks FABULOUS.  I’m so happy!

After that was done, Eric relaxed in the living room and watched basketball and ultimate fighting (ugh) and I watched DEAL OR NO DEAL and MEDIUM.  I’m hoping that I’ll get a call this week about work.

My nieces were SO sweet, because I was getting really down about work and told them I was upset because I didn’t have a job yet.  They asked me how long I was looking and I told them just since January.  They said, “That’s only 3 weeks.  It can take months to find a job.  How can you be depressed after 3 weeks?”  I had to admit, it made sense.  I guess I had such confidence that I thought I’d be hired in 3 days, let alone 3 weeks.  It better not take 3 months!

I was too lazy to blog last night, so I’m typing this on Thursday morning!

I realized in re-reading Tuesday night’s blog that I didn’t tell you something VERY important!  I made Eric chicken cutlets that night and I prepare them in a new way!  I make a mixture of balsamic vinegar, a little olive oil, a little honey mustard, a little minced garlic, and a little light mayo.  I put it all into a bottle and shake, shake, shake and then I pour it over the cutlets (and sliced fresh mushrooms) and top it with some bread crumbs.  He loves it!

I made some soup for myself – just a small batch.  I used one container of organic corn bisque soup, peeled baby carrots, cilantro, red onion, and fresh sliced mushrooms.  It came out good, but not as great as my other extravaganza!

We also watched the girls dance on DWTS, which was very exciting.  We’re really into it and Eric does such a great job of critiquing and guessing what numbers the judges will come up with.  I really enjoy watching shows like AMERICAN IDOL and DWTS with him.  We both have fun!

So, back to yesterday!  When my alarm went off, I hit the button and then I wasn’t sure whether I hit “snooze” like I wanted to, or shut the alarm off!  I was too nervous to go back to bed, so I told Eric I had to turn on the light for a minute and I set the second alarm for 6:12, so if I DID shut the first one off, at least the second would wake me.  Turns out, I DID hit “snooze.”  I’m losing it!

Anyway, here’s my day yesterday in a nutshell:  Boss out sick (thank goodness he stayed home instead of “germinating” the entire office), I read over 100 pages of my book (I’m almost done and it’s SO good), and I DID do a little work, too!

I have an almost 8-1/2 x 11 version of my business card and thought it would be a great idea to make a border on my tablecloth (since it’s too short) with them.  We have a nice color printer in another room, so I chose that printer on my computer and sent 10 copies to print.

When I walked into the other room to pick it up, the guy in charge of the mail room was standing right there, waiting for something to print out, as my gorgeous, colorful “Peppy’s Dream” posters were printing.  I was SO embarrassed.  I just looked at him and said, “Sorry!”  He said, “No problem,” and he smiled.  He’s really nice.  I took them and then, as I was walking away, I turned again and said, “Sorry!”  Again, he said, “No problem.”  I just wanted him to know that I knew I shouldn’t have been doing that and felt bad about it.  Yikes!

When I got home I didn’t come inside.  I got right into the car and drove to MICHAEL’S to see if I could find “feet” for my big Victorian file box.  I found EXACTLY what I was looking for – round wooden balls (about the size of a tennis ball) with a flat top, so the box will sit right on top of the flat part.

When I got home I showed Eric what I bought and asked him if he could stain them for me.  He said he would!

I waited for Robyn to call to say she was ready to go to dinner and worked on the computer, paying some bills (ugh!).  We had a high credit card bill this month, because our airline tickets were on there.

When Robyn called I drove to pick her up.  I didn’t realize how far down Balboa she is.  I went into “uncharted territory” – someplace I had never driven before.  She works in a beautiful building.  It was already 7:20 by the time we were ready to leave, so I suggested that, instead of driving all the way to Pacific Beach and back, we try to find someplace local, so we’d have more time to sit and eat.  I didn’t want to get home too late, because I knew I had things to do when I got home.  I’m not used to going out mid-week.  I’ve really gotten into the habit of coming home every day and hanging with Eric.

We ended up going to APPLEBEE’S, which isn’t a huge thrill, but their food is always good and it didn’t disappoint last night!  I had the Cajun Spiced Tilapia, from the Weight Watcher’s menu, which came with steamed broccoli and a small portion of rice pilaf with some corn and bean salsa.  It was delicious and I ate every drop. 

Robyn got 3 choices from their “trios” menu, which is so much fun.  You get small portions of 3 items, so you get a taste of everything.  One thing she got were mini cheeseburgers and they were SO cute!  I love a smorgasbord or a buffet, where you get a taste of everything, so the trios were right up my alley, but they didn’t have much with fish!

We each had a pomegranate margarita, which was SO delicious, and probably SO fattening, so don’t think I’m so wonderful (if you were) for having the weight watcher’s dinner.

ALSO, we each had what they call “shooter desserts” which are little cups of either chocolate mousse, key lime pie, cheesecake, etc.  I had the chocolate mousse, and it was DELICIOUS.  It wasn’t a huge portion, but it was more than I’ve had in a LONG time!

Robyn and I had a great time talking, catching up with each other, filling each other in on what’s been going on (even though there wasn’t that much for ME to say, because she’s a religious blog reader!).  She’s a smart, sweet, beautiful girl, who is really good friends with my niece Melissa.  That’s how we met!  I haven’t seen her since right before we moved to SD.  We went to visit her and her husband, Sal, in their beautiful house in Murietta, on our way down the coast to San Diego.  She lives about 40 minutes from here and works about 10 minutes from here!

The first thing Robyn said when we got into the restaurant was, “You definitely lost weight!”  She saw me at my very fattest, so it made me really happy that she noticed a difference.  I knew I liked that girl!

I got home a little after 9:00pm, which was great, because I had so much to do.  I got my clothes ready for today, so I wouldn’t be stressed in the morning, and I worked on my Victorian File Box.  Eric had stained the balls AND did a load of laundry while I was gone (he’s SO good), so I wanted to get more done, so he could varnish the box for me.

At a little after 10:00pm we got into bed to watch last night’s AMERICAN IDOL.  It was pretty disappointing with just a few stand-outs.  Jimmy had sent me a review by some blogger and he was pretty spot-on.  My favorite was little David Archuleta who sang, THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD.  He’s going to go very far, that young man!

As soon as the show was finished, I should have gotten out of bed and blogged, but I was exhausted and ready to just close my eyes and go to sleep.  I thought about getting out of bed and going to the computer, and decided to just close my eyes!

I woke up remembering a dream this morning.  It was very interesting – all about consignment!  My old customers were there and they were bringing stuff for me to sell, but I didn’t have a shop!  My parents were there and I asked them if I could sell the stuff out of their house, but my dad said “no,” so then I said I was going to ask Cindy (who owns the salon that now resides where my shop was) if I could have everyone bring the stuff to her shop and I’d split the take with her!

I was trying to analyze the dream.  Maybe I’m thinking about my business and not feeling prepared for everything that’s happening so fast.  I am a little overwhelmed about the two shows next weekend, because I have so much to do yet, and I only have one week!  I know I’m lucky to be accepted at two different shows, but there’s a lot of work to be done, not only crafting, but also preparing my tablecloth, and fancy price tags (with descriptions of each item).  This week is going to be crazy, but it will all be over by next Sunday night, so I have to try to enjoy the process and not get too stressed out!

We left the house at about 9:30am, stopped at Citibank to get some cash (I was still hoping to find my sunglasses) and got on the road.  Unfortunately, we got a little lost, but Ilene and Kyle were running a little late, too, so we all got there at about the same time.  It was really hot today – and of course I forgot to put on sun screen.  Thank goodness Ilene is ever-prepared, with sunscreen, drinks, and snacks.  I had a string cheese while we waited on line for the JOURNEY INTO AFRICA tour!  She thinks of everything!

Ilene saved the parking spot right next to them, so we were together right from the parking lot.  Their son, Tyler, wasn’t there (and we missed him), but Evan and Elise were very excited.  We walked to the main gate, got our tickets, and went inside.  Ilene had won the tickets (she wins EVERYTHING!), so it was fantastic for them, because a family of four would be over $100!  Add in lunch and souvenirs and it would really have been a very expensive day.  I don’t know how families afford this kind of thing. 

Evan had the map, and we were ready to go!

The JOURNEY INTO AFRICA tour (which I kept calling "Out of Africa") is way on the other side of the park, so we got to see a lot on our way there.  Kyle and I were the photographers for the day.  He has a really fabulous camera, but I did pretty good with my new Canon PowerShot SD750 Digital Elph!  I’m really enjoying the zoom, because the zoom on my Olympus was minimal.  This one is MUCH better!

We saw birds, beautiful birds, including pink flamingoes, cranes, geese, swans, and lots of ducks.

Tyler checked out a giant-sized bird's nest!

Ilene checked out some new ears!

Sweet geese -- posing in profile -- just for me!

The view from a high balcony!

Our beautiful cousins -- Ilene, Kyle, Evan and Elise!

We waited on line for about 20 minutes to board the tour vehicle – the African Express, inspired by the legendary safari trains of Africa (actually it just looked like a connected train of golf carts, but the seats faced each other, so you could interact with your friends and family as you experienced seeing the giraffes, Cape buffalo, massive rhinos, graceful gazelles, goliath herons, ostriches, and horned antelope.  The driver, who is also the tour guide, told us all about the habitat they created here, the breeding and other programs they have in place to help conservation efforts in Africa.

Two females slept on the top of the car, while their babies slept inside.  The father was sleeping on the ground with three more babies.  We were so lucky to get to see them all!

Elise and her three new best friends!

After the tour, we walked around a bit more, and then stopped for something to eat.  I had a cheese quesadilla with beans and rice and a large iced tea.  The kids got their chicken nuggets in a cute souvenir bucket with raisins, chips, and animal cookies! 

After lunch we went to a little playground where the kids rode safari vehicles and Evan and I got foot massages from the rejuvenating foot massager!

Then, refreshed and renewed, we headed out again.  We saw gorillas, and a beautiful orchid display (I thought of our friends, Geri and Larry, who would really have enjoyed that!).  Next, we hit the carousel!  It was really pretty and so much fun to ride with the kids.  They really enjoyed it.  Elise was so proud that she got to ride it three times!

By the time we were finished at the carousel, it was about 3:00pm and I had just about had it.  We really walked a LOT and my foot was starting to really hurt.  Also, it was incredibly hot there – much hotter than it was by us or in LA, I’m sure.  It was 89 degrees there in the hot sun.  No wonder all the animals were sleeping in the shade!

I think everyone had a great time, especially Evan and Elise.  They really enjoyed all the animals, the playground, and the carousel.  It was a wonderful day!

This guy was my favorite today.  He seemed to be just sitting there posing for everybody.  Precious!

Such a regal profile this Meerkat has!

Evan and his new friend.  These animals were so sweet and calm.

Elise on a majestic giraffe!

There's evan (in the middle) on an eagle!

We walked back to the cars and said our goodbyes.  We were home by 4:00pm and we relaxed a little.  I had a slice of pizza from last night, and Eric had the other two slices and the leftover Caesar salad.  I’m not surprised he ate so much – it was the first thing he ate all day!  He didn’t eat breakfast, and then only had a bottle of water with lunch.  Not hungry?  Dieting?  Only he knows for sure!

Then, Eric put the feet on my Victorian File Box and it is now complete!  Check out my CRAFT BLOG if you’d like to see the latest pictures!

At about 6:00pm we took a nap and I woke up at 7:30pm, downloaded all the pictures and started organizing them.  I had about 70 pictures of our day at the WILD ANIMAL PARK! 

Eric got up at 8:30pm and we had a snack of edamame and each had a NUTRISYSTEM entrée.  I feel guilty because I have eaten MUCH too much two days in a row, and the scale is showing it.  Today I weighted 126.8.  That’s almost 2 pounds more than last weekend.  Boo hoo!  I better get my act together!  It’s SO much easier to put it on than it is to take it off!  Of course my rationale today was that I walked for hours, but that didn’t seem to make a difference!

I spent the rest of the evening working on the pictures, blogging, and watching TV.

Tomorrow I will prepare for the craft shows and head to KEILS for food shopping in the afternoon.  Ilene gave me two beautiful re-usable canvas totes with a flat bottom especially for your groceries.  I can’t wait to use them!  She’s so sweet and generous and is always thinking of others.  I just adore that girl!

I got an email this afternoon that I WISH was an April Fool’s joke.  Unfortunately, it was all too real.  Our darling friend, Andrew had suffered a heart attack while he and his wife, Susan, were driving back from a visit with her sister in South Carolina.  Andrew was driving, and Susan was in the car with her sister, who was driving back to NY with them to visit her daughter, who is expecting a baby soon.

Susan had tried to call me, but I always keep my phone turned off while I'm at work.  When I got her email, I quickly called her and she told me what happened.

They left her sister's house very early in the morning.  Andrew thought he had really bad heartburn, but then it got so bad that Susan took over driving and he went to sit in the back seat.  After a while he felt even worse, so they took him to a hospital, which turned out to be a small division of a larger cardiac hospital, so he was transferred to another hospital nearby and got excellent care.  That was really lucky.  Not only was the hospital very close by, but it was a cardiac care hospital!

Andrew's condition was very serious and it could have been really bad, but everything seemed to work out well and he is recovering in the hospital.  We were so upset to hear that this happened, but are also so relieved to know he will make a full recovery, although he is going to have to make some changes to his diet, exercise routine, and lifestyle, in general.

I like to think that things like this are a “wake up call” and we’re lucky to have the chance to make those changes.  Andrew is such a wonderful man – so funny, so smart, so sweet, such a good friend, husband, father, son.  Everyone who knows him, loves him.  He’s just that kind of guy.  I am so grateful that he’s okay and we all know that things could have turned out very differently.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, as he works towards his recovery, and returns to good health.

Other than that shocker, things at work were pretty good today.  My boss was back from NY, but didn’t really keep me very busy, so I got to work on my “special project” and I’m hoping to complete it by Friday, before I leave for vacation.

The girls in the office were curious to see my crafts, so I was going to bring my work for the girls to see on Friday. Now, my boss has to go to Milwaukee tomorrow, so I’m driving to work (and will pick up my co-worker for a change, instead of her always driving).  I will set up my stuff in the back of the car and the girls will come down at lunchtime to see my work.  They’re all very curious.  I doubt if anyone will buy anything, but that’s not really the point.  I’m just glad they want to see the other side of Peppy, what I am passionate about, what makes me happy!

When I got home tonight I just changed and then got in the car to drive to my last acupuncture appointment.  I feel bad, because I think it’s helping (although not dramatically) and I really like Carl, because he is so gentle and positive, but I’m sure my new coverage will not include acupuncture, so I won’t be coming back for more.

After my appointment I ran across the street for gelato.  Eric really enjoys it, and he looks forward to my appointments, because he knows I’m coming home with a treat!  I got his usual – Chocolate Hazelnut – but instead of getting the Espresso Bean I usually get, I got Tiramisu.  It’s yummy! 

Seth, the adorable young man who works there actually came by the craft show on Sunday.  We were each surprised to see the other.  When he came to my booth, he looked at me and I looked at him and said, “You’re…” and he finished “the gelato guy!”  It was so cute!  I saw him again tonight and we both agreed that the craft show was a huge success with really fun merchandise and lots of great entertainment.

When I got home, we each had a NUTRISYSTEM entrée and then watched AMERICAN IDOL, then HELL’S KITCHEN (which premiered tonight – we LOVE that show), and then I watched the DANCING WITH THE STARS elimination show, which Eric isn’t interested in watching.  He doesn’t watch the AMERICAN IDOL or DWTS elimination shows – I just tell him who got kicked off.  He says they drag it out too long, which is true, but they usually have some great entertainment, too, so it’s worth it!

I’m really looking forward to work tomorrow, because I will get to “show off” a little, which should be really fun!

Eric is so funny.  I woke up before the alarm went off this morning, but I purposely didn’t look at the clock.  I didn’t know if it was an hour before I had to get up or 10 minutes, but I wanted to enjoy my rest and hoped to fall back to sleep until I heard the alarm.  All of a sudden Eric said, “We have four minutes,” meaning it was 3:26am, because the alarm was going off at 3:30am.  So, he ruined my last four minutes in bed, because now all I could do was lay there and wait for the alarm!  When it did (four minutes later), I got out of bed and started getting ready.

As soon as I got out of the shower, Eric was right behind me.  We were all packed, so we just did little stuff like take out the garbage and pack my laptop, and the shuttle called us at 4:20am to say they were outside.

We got to the airport in 10 minutes and got our e-tickets in 5 minutes.  There was no line at security and we were settled at the gate by 5:00am.  I went to STARBUCKS.  We also stopped at a store and Eric bought a paperback and I bought GLAMOUR magazine.  We boarded and took off on time and I slept the entire flight.  Eric read his book.  There were three seats in our row and Eric was stuck by the window and I was in the middle.  I think he was very uncomfortable, because there isn’t much legroom, and the flight was over 4 hours.

We arrived in Atlanta at 1:30pm and had a long walk to the terminal for our fight to West Palm Beach at 2:38pm.  I had my pink suitcase on wheels, so I was fine, but Eric has a big duffle bag filled with all his clothes and his bicycle stuff and it’s pretty heavy and he insists on carrying my laptop, too, so he was really struggling.  We got to the gate and had some time to spare, so Eric sat with all our stuff and I got us both lunch.  He just wanted some French fries (but they were REALLY good French fries)  and I got a tuna sandwich.

We boarded and took off on time again – very lucky for us!  Again, I slept almost the entire flight and Eric read his book.  This time we were in the airplane's center three-seat section and I was in the middle and Eric was on an aisle, so he had more room.

We landed in West Palm, called my parents, stopped at STARBUCKS again and waited outside on a bench for my parents to arrive.  When they picked us up at 5:00pm, I was so happy to see them both.  They look great!  We told them how exhausting it was running from terminal to terminal all day in both airports and we wanted to try to find a luggage caddy, so that his big duffel bag could be on wheels, too.  My parents took us to WAL-MART, which I HATE (I think WAL-MART is going to cause the demise of America as we know it, but that’s a whole other blog).  Anyway, we went inside and – sure enough – they had one.  So, we got it!

Then, we headed to FISHERMAN’S CATCH for a delicious seafood dinner.  My Mom, Dad and I all had the tilapia; Eric had the rainbow trout.  It was all really fresh and beautifully prepared.  My parents go there once a week usually Friday nights, before synagogue), so they’re treated like royalty, which is really nice.  This restaurant gives you fresh-baked bread (I didn't have any), soup or salad (I had salad with house vinaigrette), and you get coffee and dessert.  Mom, Eric and I all had chocolate cake (a little square, which wasn't that great, but -- hey -- I ate it anyway!) and my Dad had vanilla ice cream.

Our waiter had a very strong New York accent.  He looked like an Brooklyn born Italian guy from the Mob.  I asked him “Where are you from?”  He said, “Da same place as you!”  We all laughed.  It’s true – everywhere I go people either ask me if I’m from New York or tell me I must be from New York.  I never realized how strong my New York accent was, but I can’t fool anybody out here!

After dinner we came home.  We unpacked a little, made up the beds, relaxed with my parents and watched DANCING WITH THE STARS.  It’s funny, because to us it’s really three hours earlier, but I’m so exhausted from this long day that I feel like it’s three hours LATER!  I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight!

Tomorrow my Mom is going to take me for a manicure/pedicure (wheeee!) and then we may go to the movies tomorrow night while my Dad is bowling.  It’s so great to be here with them and wonderful to see them both looking so well and feeling so good.  I’m going to enjoy every minute!

Last night we all went into our own beds at 11:30pm.  Eric wanted to watch LENO and I love Monday nights, because he has HEADLINES, which are so funny.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep my eyes open!  I slept like a log and we all slept late.  Eric and I didn’t get out of bed until 10:00am!  My parents were already up and eating breakfast.  We brought out our NUTRISYSTEM granola and they gave us some fruit and chocolate soy milk to have with our cereal.

Here's Papa!  He'll be 80 in June and I think he looks fantastic!  He still bowls once a week and plays tennis three times a week.  I wanted to take a picture of my mother, too, but she begged me not to, and since I hate to have my picture taken, I respected her wishes!

After breakfast we all sat around and talked, then we watched THE VIEW.  It was an entire show of HOT TOPICS, which they usually just have in the first 10 minutes.  That’s my favorite part of the show, so it was really great.  They talked about everything from politics to Dancing With The Stars.

At noon I jumped in the shower and got dressed so my Mom could take me for a manicure/pedicure, which I really needed.  While I was getting pampered, Eric was doing a tune-up on my Dad's bicycle.  Eric said the best thing to do with that bike is put a chain on it and use it as an anchor, but my Dad insists it's good enough for him, so Eric tried to fix it up as best he could with limited resources.  My Dad was thrilled!

My Mom took me to a nail salon right near the house and she sat and kept me company.  I tried to convince her to do it, too, but she says her hands are in water all day long, so her manicures never last. 

Here are some beautiful yellow roses that grow right outside the door of my parents' apartment.  My Dad loves his garden and cultivates lots of beautiful flowers.  He always had a green thumb!

When we were done, we went to PUBLIX – the local supermarket – for a few salad fixings and then went home to make lunch.  My parents often go to a great Italian restaurant called FRATELLI’S and my Dad always takes home a pizza and puts it in the freezer, so he has a slice whenever he feels like it. 

My Mom made us a delicious salad and we each had a slice of pizza.  After that, my Dad read his newspaper (something he does every single day – from cover to cover), I watched DR. PHIL and Eric read his book.  My mom took a nap and we all soon followed!   My Dad woke up at 5:00pm to go bowling, and Eric and Mom woke up soon after and talked in the living room.  I didn’t wake up until 6:00pm.

I showed my Mom some pictures of our house on Leggett Place.  Cynthia had sent me so many pictures of all the renovations they did and I showed some to my Dad last night.  He told my Mom she had to see, so I showed them to her.  They were really impressed with all the changes and improvements they made.  The house really looks perfect now!

For dinner my Mom made a delicious vegetable soup with all fresh veggies, more salad and eggplant parmigiana, which they buy frozen at BJ's.  Eric and I used to occasionally buy that in NY and it's really delicious!

Here's the view out the livingroom window of my parents' place.  The pink flowers seem to be peeking in the window!

After dinner we just relaxed and watch AMERICAN IDOL, HELL’S KITCHEN and BOSTON LEGAL.  Eric was reading his book in-between, even during commercials.  He’s hooked on this book called HEART-SHAPED BOX.  It’s some kind of ghost story.

My parents would run around with us, taking us to shows, movies, or wherever we wanted to go, but I always prefer to just relax and hang around when I’m here.  I hate making them run around.   Also, my Dad was going bowling tonight, so in order for us to use the car he'd have to arrange a ride with someone, so I didn't want to bother him to do that. 

I know they’re more comfortable just entertaining us at home and we don’t mind at all.  It’s not like we’re big social butterflies at home, or always running and doing.  I really enjoy just being at home, talking, making meals together, watching TV, and taking naps!  I’m sure we’ll do a lot more running around when we get to NC, so I’m taking full advantage right now!

We both slept late again today.  My Dad was off playing tennis by 8:00am and my Mom was up, had breakfast and was reading when I emerged from the bedroom at 10:30am.  Eric was still sleeping.  I know he didn’t sleep well last night, because I heard him tossing and turning and I know his back is really bothering him.

When he got up he and I had breakfast – we ate some of my Dad’s high-fiber cereal with some pear and chocolate soy milk.  Then, he went out to work on my Dad’s bicycle again.  He told my Dad that he could make it ride MUCH better if he could go to a bicycle shop and buy a part, so my Dad took him for a ride.  Eric just wants my Dad to have as easy a ride as possible.

While they went to get the parts, my Mom took a nap.  I think she was up early and she wasn’t feeling well today, so I just watched TV in the bedroom and worked on the computer, answering emails.

Mom was very shy this trip, choosing not to be in any pictures, but she sure can take a great shot!

When they got back, Eric fixed the bike for Dad and then we had a lunch of salad and gefilte fish!  Yum!  Then Eric read his book and I took a nap for about 45 minutes.  We left the house at 4:30pm, got to Sunrise about 5:15pm, stopped at STARBUCKS and then went to Ellen’s.  We hung out with Rich and Ellen for a while and then drove them to THE OUTBACK to meet up with everybody else.  My nephew, Scott, was there with his wife, Jaime, their children, Kyle (5) and Rian (1), and their friend, Adam.  Michelle came with her boyfriend, Justin, whom we met for the first time.  He was SO handsome, sweet and such a gentleman.  He and Eric really hit it off, because he rides a motorcycle and is in construction (he’s a project manager), so of course they had a lot to talk about.

My gorgeous niece, Michelle, and her handsome boyfriend, Justin.  Aren't they the cutest couple?

We ordered lots of appetizers – mushrooms, a bloomin’ onion, and wings, and I had tilapia with asparagus for dinner.  Everyone enjoyed their food, but I ate much too much.  Then, after we were all stuffed, they brought out a delicious cake, which Jaime had brought.  It was our brother-in-law, Rich’s birthday, and Justin’s, and Adam’s – all in the last week!  The cake was decadently delicious – chocolate and white cake with chocolate icing.  Yummy!  I brought home a big piece for my parents, which they will enjoy tomorrow after we leave!

Scott, Jaime and Kyle.  He's full of personality that little guy!

Eric's sister, Ellen and her husband, Rich -- one of the three birthday boys!

We dropped of Ellen and Rich and stood outside their house talking for a long while.  They are so sweet and were all so appreciative that we drove down to see them.  They were all going to drive up to see us, but when my parents said they didn’t feel well enough to go out to dinner with us we decided to drive down to them, which made it MUCH easier for all of them, since they have to go to work tomorrow!  We get along so great with Ellen and Rich and always have a lot of fun with them.  It’s too bad we’re always so far away.  If we are lucky enough to fall in love with North Carolina it will be great to be only a hop, skip and a jump from Florida!

Here's Rian, elegantly drinking through a straw.  Delicious!

How big is Rian?  SO big!  (This is the one-armed version!)

It's too bad the eyes all came out red on these blue-eyed beauties.  Kyle looks SO handsome!

Here are the three birthday boys (plus Kyle!) with their delicious cake!

We were home by 10:30pm, filled up the tank for my Dad, and came home.  Eric jumped in the shower and I showed my Mom all the pictures I took and then started blogging.  Tomorrow we will get up at 7:30am, my Dad will drive us to the airport at 8:30am and our flight takes off at 10:40am.  I hope we have as smooth a trip as we did getting here!

I wish I could take credit for that clever title, but it’s something Audrey and I read today at the winery.  So cute!

I was so happy that we were going to be able to make our trip to the winery after all.  Eric got up at 8:00am and washed the car, because you know the car has to be sparkling clean if anyone is going to see it!  I got up at 9:00am, had a NUTRISYSTEM oatmeal for breakfast, showered and got dressed.  I stopped at STARBUCKS, because I really felt like I needed it and then I programmed Betty and got on the road to San Marcos, where Audrey’s friend, Bonnie, lives.

The ride was about a half hour and it was a little over 30 miles.  There was no traffic, so I just flew.  Bonnie lives in a beautiful neighborhood in a great Spanish-style house.  I only came into the front door, but I could see her living room, dining room and the patio beyond with a built-in pool.  It looked beautiful!

We got on the road and Audrey was the navigator (holding Betty) while I drove.  We had another 30 miles to go, and were in Temecula very quickly.  We enjoyed the ride and had a chance to catch up a little.

It took us a few trips up and down the road to find the winery we were going to, but we finally made it to MAURICE CARRIE WINERY, nestled amidst the rolling hills of beautiful Temecula Valley.  The winery was founded in 1986 and designed after a Victorian-style farmhouse.  It was right up my alley!  The 46 acres of vineyards were the first vineyards established in the region in 1968.

For $12 we got to taste five wines at Maurice Carrie and then another 5 at their sister winery up the road – La Cereza.  We also got to keep the tasting glass at each winery!

We looked around at all the giftware for sale, including beautiful glasses, stoppers, ceramics and any contraption you can think of related to keeping wine or drinking wine!  I really enjoyed the colorful displays.

After looking around, we went to the tasting bar with our “Wine Tasting Passport” and began our five tastes.  I started with a Pineapple Champagne, but Audrey didn’t want to try that, because she said she’s not big on Champagne, which I actually much prefer over wine.  It was delicious – fruity and sweet!

Next, I tried the 2007 White Zinfandel, which Audrey had tried first.  It was great!  They give you about 3-4 sips, but neither of us had a lot in our stomachs and we knew we had 5 tastings to go here, so I was taking it slow.  I gave Audrey a few of my glasses to finish off, but they also had a ceramic urn on the counter that you could pour your wine into, if you didn’t like it.  They also had a bottle of water that you could rinse your glass with, but Audrey and I didn’t really bother, since we’re not real wine tasting purists!

My third taste was a 2007 Sara Bella, which was also quite good.  Fourth was called Cody’s Crush, which was a red wine.  We didn’t like it that much and commented that we both like white or pink wines better than red.

Our last choice was a 2005 Sangiovese, which we both hated.  Too bad.  Audrey ended up trying the Pineapple Champagne, after taking a sip of mine, and that was both of our favorites!  She went and bought a tiny bottle of the Pineapple Champagne that would probably be a full glass for one or a half-glass for two.  I bought her a cute spoon rest that she said would go perfectly in her kitchen, since she has a Tuscan theme with bottles, grapes and other wine-related décor.

We were both feeling the wine – me, because I don’t drink very often at all and Audrey, because she had a LOT of wine!  She knew she wasn’t driving, so she wasn’t worried about getting a little tipsy.

Outside the first winery there were a few booths with people selling jewelry, purses, hand-knit sweaters, and glazed nuts.  Of course I bought three kinds of nuts for Eric!  He loves nuts.  I got him a sweet and spicy almond, a sweet cashew and a sweet pecan.  They were really yummy and the woman was so sweet.  She gave me samples of each, so I could see which I thought he’d like best.

We got back in the car with the two glasses we had used for tasting, the nuts, the spoon rest and Audrey’s little bottle of Champagne, and went off to the second winery, which was just about 100 yards away.

It was really hot out today – 90 degrees – but the minute you stepped into the wineries it was cool and dark and beautiful!  LA CEREZA was the second stop.  The outside of the brick building was decorated with many beautiful sun faces, which I loved.  I photographed a bunch of them while Audrey went to the ladies’ room.

We walked around again, admiring all the displays.  They had big paintings, which were so beautiful, and as we got closer we saw that they were the paintings used as the labels on the bottles!  They were all so colorful, some serious and dramatic, others whimsical – all delightful. 

La Cereza, the sister winery, is decorated as if you’ve stepped into exotic Southern Spain.  We were in their main wine tasting area, but they also have a cigar and wine bar – Hemingways!  Thank Goodness I didn’t smell any cigars today, because that would have driven me right out of the place!

Audrey and I sidled up to the tasting bar and began our second tasting.  Since Audrey had enjoyed the Pineapple Champagne so much, and Champagne is my favorite, we started with their Raspberry Champagne, which was absolutely delicious!  I love anything with Raspberries and this was no different.

Next we tried something called Peach Girls Champagne, which was even better.  Audrey was so surprised that she liked the Champagnes so much, but I explained to her that a lot of Champagnes are usually dry, which she said is why she doesn’t like it, but these are real sweet and fruity.  I love Champagne, but these were – by far – the best I had ever tasted!

Our third taste was called MIRACLES HAPPEN and was a blush wine.  Some of the proceeds from the sale of this wine go to fight breast cancer, hence the name.  Next we tried another blush, which was nice, too.

By this time, I was REALLY feeling the wine and was wondering how I was going to drive to the restaurant.  Fortunately, it was just down the block, so I figured I’d make it.  I let Audrey have my last tasting (I don’t even remember what it was).  We didn’t have any red wines at this tasting, since neither of us liked the reds at the Maurice Carrie.

I might have been feeling it, but Audrey was drunk!  She was so cute – she got the giggles and she was really enjoying herself.  I enjoyed watching her!  I guess I was drunker than I thought, because the whole time we were there I thought the second winery was LA CEZERA and I just realized – looking at the brochure – that it’s LA CEREZA.  Is not being able to read a symptom of drunkenness?

We both managed to walk to the car without falling down (whoo hoo!) and I drove very carefully to another winery – BAILY’S – that had a restaurant – CAROL’S.  They had an outdoor seating area that overlooked the vineyards, but it was just too hot.  Instead we ate inside, where we could see the vineyards through the window, but got to eat in a cool, beautiful room decorated with medieval suits of armor, faux leopard skins, and family crests.

We ordered bread, because they don’t put it on the table and we both felt we needed something to absorb all the wine!  They brought us four small crusty fresh-baked rolls – they were SO delicious!  We ordered an appetizer to share of Mushroom Drops -- Crimini mushrooms stuffed with basil and sundried tomato cream cheese, wrapped in a won ton, deep fried and served with a roasted red pepper aioli.  It was SO different and really delicious.

We decided to share the Cashew Crusted Salmon salad – Fresh Atlantic salmon crusted with cashew, oven roasted and served on mesclun with dried cranberries, almonds, feta cheese tossed with citrus rosé vinaigrette.  It’s a good thing we shared, because it was a HUGE serving.  We enjoyed every bite and had no room for dessert.  I guess the wine WAS dessert!

We got back in the car and had a nice drive back to Bonnie’s.  I dropped Audrey off a little before 4:00pm and was home before 4:30pm.  I was exhausted and really wanted a nap.  It felt like it was 100 degrees in the apartment.  Eric was watching TV in the bedroom and I took a nap while he watched basketball.

When I woke up I downloaded all the pictures.  They came out great and I really enjoyed our day out.  It was something new for me, since I had never been to a winery before, and I really recommend it as a fun way to spend an afternoon.  If you like wine – so much the better, but you don’t need to be a real connoisseur to enjoy yourself.

At 8:00pm I made us a dinner of fresh scallops and asparagus.  I cooked the asparagus first in a sauce I made of SMART BALANCE LIGHT faux butter, light mayo and wasabi mayo, which I melted together and poured over the asparagus.  After the asparagus was cooked I just added the scallops to the pan and spooned the sauce over them.  It came out great!

I spent the next few hours resizing all the photos, and blogging.  I wanted to be sure I described everything and captured the day in photos.  Today was a really fun day, which I REALLY needed.  I was glad I got to see my cousin Audrey again (third time in seven months!) and we got to go on a fun adventure in Temecula!

I didn’t hear Little Drummer Boy this morning.  Instead, we woke up at 9:00am to Jim Morrison singing “Riders On The Storm,” because that’s Eric’s cell phone ringtone.  He keeps getting calls asking about some buffet.  “What time does the buffet open?”  “What street is the buffet on?”  We don’t even know where the buffet is, but considering Eric has a “718” area code, it’s probably in Queens and they’re calling San Diego!

I couldn’t fall back to sleep, because all I could think of was that I had a million errands to run before picking Scott up at the airport and I should probably get up.  I did, and got right into the shower, which is VERY unusual for me.  I left the house by 10:30am and went first to the dry cleaners and then to KEILS to do our food shopping.  Eric was going mountain biking with the RV and by the time I got back at 11:00am with all the packages, he was already gone.

I put everything away and then left the house again.  I wanted to go to the card store, because I have a lot of occasions coming up this month, including my Dad’s 80th Birthday (6/11), my parents’ 57th anniversary (6/17), our 24th anniversary (6/16), Father’s Day, Eric’s birthday, 6/26, and my nephew, Steven’s birthday (6/28).

After I bought all the cards at the card store, I headed to Starbucks and then straight to the airport.  I got there at about 12:20pm.  Scott’s flight was arriving at 12:30pm.  I drove around “the circle” a few times and then picked a spot to park (which I knew was illegal).  After around 10 minutes a woman chased me away, so I went to the other end and did the same thing.  I was expecting Scott’s cell phone call any second, but now it was almost 1:00pm and he hadn’t called yet.

The second time I got chased away I told the guy I was waiting for a friend and his flight must be delayed.  He said there was a “breach in security” and they had shut the terminal down.  No planes were coming or going.  Great!

I decided to leave, because I had forgotten Betty (our GPS system) and was planning to go back to the apartment with Scott after I picked him up, but I figured I’d save time.  The airport is really just 10 minutes away, and since I knew there was going to be a delay, I figured I had the time.

Scott called just as I was going up the stairs to the apartment.  I didn’t tell him where I was because I didn’t want him to feel bad that I had already been there and had gone home.  He told me he was at the gate, but they wouldn’t let them off for at least 45 minutes.  I was happy I had decided to come home!  I got Betty, looked up the address of Hotel Del Coronado on the computer (that’s where we were heading after I picked him up) and then had a little snack (I had breakfast at 9:30am and it was now after 1:00pm, so I was starving!)

I got back to the airport around 1:30pm and Scott still hadn’t called.  I went to a “cell phone parking lot” where you can wait for a call and then drive just 2 minutes to the terminals.  I brought my DICK FRANCIS novel with me (good thing) and waited.  I finally picked him up at around 2:30pm!

We went straight to Coronado Island.  First, we parked the car and had calzones at a little pizza place with a back yard café.  We were both starving and wanted something fast, so we could go to the hotel.  Scott wanted to treat me to lunch and offered to go to a restaurant in the hotel, but I know they’re just tourist traps and we’d pay 3x what the food was worth.  This was fast, delicious, and satisfying and didn’t break the bank!

We then drove to the hotel, parked the car, and walked on the beach.  It was a gorgeous day and the beach was busy with surfers, sunbathers, families having picnics, couples canoodling, and tourists (like us) taking photographs.

We went into the Hotel Del Coronado and I showed Scott around.  It’s really such a fabulous hotel – 120 years old – and he was very impressed with the architecture, character and history of the hotel.

After that we headed back to the mainland.  Scott was exhausted, because he was on NY time and he had been up for a long time.  I dropped him off at his hotel and I came back to the apartment.  Eric was already napping and I happily joined him.  We woke up at 7:00pm, took showers and went to pick Scott up at the hotel at a little after 8:00pm.

We took him to Pacific Beach to our favorite sushi restaurant – HAIKU.  They gave us their usual warm greeting and we had a delicious meal of edamame, shumai, and four different rolls.
We were absolutely stuffed, so we skipped dessert.  We told Scott we were taking him to Gelato Vero in Hillcrest, but first wanted to give him a chance to digest, so we drove down University Avenue and showed him some of the hot spots in Hillcrest.

Then we went to Gelato Vero and sat down to enjoy our gelato.  Eric and I usually take it to go, so it was the first time we had been upstairs to their seating area. 

By 11:00am Scott was exhausted – it was 2:00am his time – so we dropped him back off at the hotel and came home.  I am going to the zoo tomorrow, so I don’t want to get to bed too late.  I have some pictures from our day today, but I’m too tired to download them all, so please forgive me.  I’ll try to put them on the blog ASAP!

We woke up at 9:00am.  It was a gorgeous day.  We quickly got showered and dressed, packed up all the pasta and veggies and left the house at a little after 10:00am.  We had an uneventful trip (I napped part of the way) and only hit a little traffic on the outskirts of L.A.  We arrived at the our cousin’s house at 12:30pm.  Everyone was already there except Karen’s husband, Mark.

Here's Kyle on Grill Duty, as Eric and Tyler look on.

The kids were all playing, Elise, Evan and Tyler – Ilene and Kyle’s three, and Max and Jason – Karen and Mark’s boys.  It wasn’t too hot out – nice and sunny and breezy.  I immediately started cutting all my veggies and Ilene gave me a big black pot to mix it all up in.  I think it came out great, but I made much too much!  There was enough for 40 people!

Anyway, Ilene had also prepared tons of stuff – marinated mahi mahi, chicken and vegetables for the grill, fresh corn for the grill.  Karen brought tomatoes and fresh basil and Ilene put it together with fresh mozzarella on a platter.  She also had fresh cut watermelon and grapes, and I brought cherries, too!  She also served pita chips with humus and brie, crudités with dip and shrimp cocktail.

It was quite a spread and as soon as it was all ready Kyle started grilling and we dug in!  Everything was delicious and I really enjoyed the grilled fish and veggies, too.  We enjoyed all the delicious food and also the backyard, which Ilene and Kyle recently had landscaped.  She gave up her vegetable garden in order to put in a swing set for the kids (which they use a lot) and, instead, planted her eggplant, tomatoes, and other veggies in between the other landscaped plants.  It looked so pretty and fresh and inviting.  It was a pleasure to hang out in her backyard!

As you can see, they have a door that leads directly from the master bedroom into the backyard, and an outdoor seating area for relaxing in the afternoon, or watching the stars come out at night.

After lunch we brought all the food into the kitchen and cleaned up.  Eric washed some dishes (he’s so helpful that way).  Ilene had baked a Strawberry Rhubarb pie and it was sitting on top of the stove, tempting us all.  It looked SO appetizing.  She told us she’s been on a pie-baking craze lately and decided to enter a contest at the L.A. Farmer’s Market tomorrow!

Mark arrived at last.  We were all anticipating trying her delicious-looking pie, but first we watched an episode of a TV show on HGTV called DESPERATE SPACES where they have 3 people show the rooms they say need help “desperately” and then they pick one and re-do it.  Ilene was in the episode showing Elise’s room, which has primary colors and does not suit her Pink Fairy Princess persona!  Unfortunately, they chose someone else’s room, but it was fabulous to see Ilene on TV and she did a great job!

After the show I wandered into the master bedroom and there were all the guys watching the Belmont Stakes.  I got there just in time to see Big Brown race.  It was very sad.  I guess we’ll hear that he was still having problems with one leg, but it was an exciting race nonetheless.  Eric and I were very nostalgic, because last year we were invited to a big Belmont Stakes party at the race track hosted by our friends, Liz and her dad, Stan.  If we were back in NY we would most definitely have been there again, as it was a very exciting day.

Jason and Elise

After the race we had pie and it was as delicious as it looked.  I haven’t had rhubarb in the longest time and it was all so delicious.  We told Ilene that if she didn’t win tomorrow, at least she was a winner in our eyes (and mouths)!  The pie was truly fabulous!

Now, it was time to put the boys to work.  Ilene and Kyle had purchased a porch swing that needed to be assembled, so the guys got to work on the porch, while the girls relaxed and talked inside.

Kyle, Eric, Mark and Tyler made a great team putting together the swing in record time!

Karen is about to turn 50 (join the club!) and is having a huge weekend extravaganza in Las Vegas in a few weeks.  Many of our family members will be there, and we’re really sorry we won’t be able to attend.  At first, we told her we couldn’t go, because we thought we’d be in NY celebrating my Dad’s 80th birthday.  Well, it turns out they ARE going to NY, but we’re not.  Since we were just there in April (when we went to N.C.), we felt we just couldn’t swing another trip.
Since we’re not going to NY, we feel we can’t spend the money on a trip to Vegas either.  Too bad, because it’s going to be an unbelievable family reunion!  Anyway, we wish Karen a VERY happy 50th birthday and know everyone will have a great time!

These instructions made no sense to me, but they did it!

In no time at all the guys had the swing together and we were all taking turns relaxing on it.  I LOVE swings like that and told them I could sit there for hours and just look at the beautiful purple bougainvilleas in front of the house across the street.  I think that must be my new favorite flower!

Here's view from the swing -- the bougainvillea -- and Mark's Porsche (of which he is very proud!)

We just relaxed, talked and laughed for the rest of the afternoon and Eric and I left at 6:40pm.  We were meeting Joe and Miguel at CALLENDER’S GRILL at 7:00pm and wanted to see some interesting sights on Wilshire that Ilene had told us about.

Tyler, Karen (the birthday girl) and Ilene enjoy the swing.

First we drove by the La Brea Tar Pits and saw the giant statues of the mammoths getting trapped.

Then, we drove a few blocks further to see an exhibit of gas lamps Ilene had told us about.  These street lights, all identical in silver paint, were lined up in between two buildings.  When we drove up, a female security guard immediately came over to the car and told us “it” was closed today for a private party (whatever “it” was, there were a lot of guards and behind the streetlight exhibit we saw a big structure with curtains and a lot of activity behind, so I guess that’s where the party was!).  I told her we just wanted to take pictures of the street lamps and I did so, without getting out of the car.  I think the pictures came out pretty good, considering!

Here's another picture of Ilene's oldest, Tyler.  I realize I don't have any pictures of Evan!  I took two of him, but one got the back of his head and the other he had his eyes closed.  Sorry Evan!

At 7:00pm we found a spot right in front of the restaurant and went inside to meet the guys.  We had been to a Marie Callender’s in San Diego, but it was more like a cute diner.  This was a very fancy grill with lots of dark wood and huge murals.  We sat at a table near the piano player, which was very nice as he was playing lots of Gershwin, Porter, and Berlin – all composers Joe and I are very familiar with.  It brought back memories of our college days, when there were lots of musical revues.

They had a lovely menu, and we each loved our dishes.  Joe got the Smoked Tri-Tip Salad with gorgonzola, mandarin oranges, red onions, tomatoes, crispy onions with raspberry-chipotle vinaigrette.

Miguel got the Sake Ginger-Teriyaki Chicken with jasmine rice, and char-grilled vegetables.
Eric got the Tuscan Mac & Cheese, which had char-broiled chicken, shiitake mushrooms, applewood smoked bacon, cheddar, gruyére, gorgonzola, romano & gouda, crusted with parmesan cheese.  He really loved it and I have to tell you it was, by far, the best macaroni and cheese I ever tasted!

I had the Blackened Fish Tacos, with spicy ranch, cabbage, pico de gallo, rice, black beans, salsa, and guacamole.  There were three little tacos, and they were delicious!  They also gave us a board with a small loaf of fresh-baked corn bread.  OMG!  It was so amazing!

We were definitely too full for dessert, so we just talked, and talked, and talked.  We are happy that we have seen Joe and Miguel three times since we’ve been to California (we see them every time we see our cousins in L.A.).  They’re really good friends.

We got back on the road a little before 10:00pm and were home a little before midnight.  As on the way there, I napped on the way home and woke up just as Eric was exiting on Clairemont Drive.

We were both pretty exhausted, so we watched a few minutes of SNL and then went to sleep.  It was a long day and I know Eric must really have been exhausted, because he did all the driving.
It was a lot of fun and we were really glad to see everyone.  If we lived closer, I know we’d see our cousins and our friends a lot more often.  We always enjoy our time with them.  We really appreciate all the efforts of Ilene and Kyle on our behalf and love them all very much!

Today is my parents’ 57th wedding anniversary.  It’s amazing to me that people can be married for so long.  I think 24 years is a long time!  They’re so cute together, too.  They laugh a lot and take good care of each other.  What a blessing it is to celebrate this anniversary.  I wish we were there with them upstate at my sister’s house.  We missed a lot of celebrations this past week – my Dad’s 80th birthday, Father’s Day and now their 57th wedding anniversary.

So – new subject.  I haven’t talked about my weight in a while.  I can assure you, if there was good news I would have written it – in big bold letters!  The truth is, I have been in a rut for the last few weeks.  I tend to gain a pound or two every weekend (apparently, eating too much on Saturday and Sunday!).  During the week I lose a couple of pounds, then gain it back over the weekend.  My lowest weight, to date, has been around 124, and today I weighed in at 127.8.  I might get down to 125 by Friday, but then I go up again.

The only way to stop this cycle of madness is to start exercising.  I’m pretty good all day, but tend to snack when I get home.  I admit my snacks are pretty healthy and non-fattening, but I guess I’m still eating more than I’m burning.  If I could just get into a real exercise routine, but I always have an excuse – my arm hurts (still does), my foot hurts, I’m tired, I’m busy, I’m working.  I’ve got a million of ‘em!  Since I want to get down to 116, I have my work cut out for me.  They say the last 10 pounds is the hardest – and they’re absolutely right!

Meanwhile, they had told me at work that they were putting me in a new department as of July 1 (when this job ends) and the hours there were much earlier – 6:30am – 2:30pm.  That’s because they are involved in trading and since the stock exchange in NY is 3 hours ahead, they start much earlier than normal.  I wasn’t happy about the new hours at first, because I wouldn’t be getting my ride to and from work every day – and that’s a big deal for me.  I’d have to drive on my own.

Other than that, I thought it might be great for me, because I’d really only have to get up an hour earlier than now, but I’d get home 2 hours earlier!  I figured I’d have absolutely no excuse not to exercise if I had the whole afternoon ahead of me.

Unfortunately (or fortunately – it depends on how you look at it), they informed me today that I would NOT be starting at that job on July 1.  They are putting another girl in there and moving me to HR!  I’m so happy, because HR is a great place to work.

Also, I’ll be working with the girl I commute with, who is a doll.  She’s the one I went to the movies with this past Sunday, so I’m really happy about that.  She’ll be my boss!  She also told me that she’s going to see if she can get me a raise.  It will probably just be a few dollars an hour, but – hey – every little bit helps!

I had talked to her about asking the agency for more money, but told her I felt bad making the firm pay more money for me, because they have been so nice to me.  She said I shouldn’t feel bad, because she thinks I deserve it.  So, even if I don’t get the raise, at least I know she appreciates all my efforts!

So, this morning I read my book until my trainee arrived at 10:00am.  The rest of my day was pretty busy.  I did manage to finish my book before lunchtime (it was great!) and started reading my DICK FRANCIS short stories in the late afternoon.

When my trainee arrived we worked on expense reports and a few other projects.  Then, I went down to HR to help them out there and start training for the new job.  It all seems pretty easy to me.  I’ll be a lot busier, but it’s all very simple, non-stressful stuff, like arranging interviews for job applicants, printing and filing resumes, and maintaining their extensive file system of staff – past, present, and future!

I came back upstairs to eat lunch and then, after my trainee left at 3:00pm, I went back down to HR to help out.  There are about 8 people in the department – all girls.  They seem to be very nice.  The only bad thing about HR is that they are very shut off from the rest of the floor, because they are dealing with very private and confidential matters.  So, there’s not much socializing going on.  You’re really just interacting the people you work with.

Where I am right now it’s a big open area with people walking by all the time.  You get to see lots of fun people every day and talk to them about movies, TV, fashion, crafts, whatever.  There are a lot of great people in this group that I’m really going to miss.  They make me laugh every day and I enjoy seeing the camaraderie in the department.  I hope it’s as much fun in HR!

When I got home I jumped in the car to go pick up my dress and cardigan after being altered.  The shop is in the big shopping center a few miles away.  While I was there I figured I’d keep looking for my old lady shopping cart.  ACE HARDWARE said they could special order one for me, but they suggested I try CVS, BIG LOTS, or RITE-AID.  Eric and I went to RITE-AID last night and they didn’t have it.  They also didn’t have it at CVS or BIG LOTS.

Eric said he’d try to find me one tomorrow, otherwise I’ll go back to ACE and ask them to special order it for me.  What a pain!

When I got home Eric was busy organizing and cleaning.  He wants everything to look great for Joe and Miguel this weekend.  They’re not staying with us, but we want them to be able to come here to hang out for a while on Saturday afternoon.  I wanted Scott to see the apartment when he was here a few weeks ago, but Eric had his bicycle stuff and tools all over the place and didn’t want to put it all away.

He’s now much more organized.  He’s been getting all his tools together and organizing all his things.  He’s starting to get ready for a trip back to NY.  He says he’s really going to do it.  He’s packing the RV and will drive back in the hopes of getting work.

He says he can’t just stay here, with me working and him not working and not enjoying the riding.  He feels if he can go back, find work, get an apartment and get settled I can join him.  He’s been in a much better mood the last few weeks, since he started talking about it.  I think making a decision and working towards something has improved his outlook and given him hope for the future.  He just feels there is no immediate future for him here in San Diego.  There’s no union work, and there’s no mountain biking.

Obviously, he wants me to go with him, but I told him I can’t just drop everything and go back to NY since I am working.  Packing up everything all over again and going back to NY just seems crazy, if we’re not sure he’s going to be able to find work.  I would be willing to go back to NY, but only if he’s working and happy and I know he’s going to be content.  I told him I am willing to go back, but not willing to start working in the city again and commuting – especially in the winter.  I haven’t done it since 2002, since I had my shop for 5 years, and I don’t think I could go back to that lifestyle in New York.

I would be willing to temp, during the nice weather, and then just hibernate during the winter.  I know it isn’t an ideal situation, but I rather be unhappy for a few months of the year than have Eric unhappy all year round.  Life and love is all about compromise and we’re trying to find some way that we can both be happy.

Eric says he just needs 10 more years of mountain biking and he’ll be ready to give it up.  So, even if we do end up back in NY it will just be for a few more years.  I know this sounds crazy.  It does to me, too, but what are you going to do?  Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans!

Anyway, Eric’s been really happy lately and he’s really looking forward to our friends coming this weekend.  I know he’ll be cleaning and organizing all week, making sure the apartment is perfect for our friends.

I made us a big salad for dinner and we watched HELL’S KITCHEN after his basketball game was over.  The CELTICS won.  Eric used to be a big CELTICS fan, but now he isn’t as enthusiastic as he used to be, although he admits they did great this year!

HELL’S KITCHEN was as entertaining as ever.  You’ve got to love that Gordon Ramsay!  It’s down to the final three, so that means there are only 2 more episodes and another reality show is over!  Fortunately, there’s always another one right behind it!

My boss is still away tomorrow, and we got a lot of work done today, so tomorrow should be a little more relaxing, although I will be going down to HR at 1:00pm and will probably stay the rest of the afternoon.

I am starting a new DICK FRANCIS book tomorrow, so I’ll try to get a lot of reading done in the morning!  I don’t know how much reading I’ll get to do in HR, so my life of leisure may be over on July 1.  Oh, well.  It was nice while it lasted!

This blog is late, because I was too tired to do it last night!

Well, another heat wave has hit San Diego and we’re not happy about it!  It is so darn hot in our apartment that I’m dripping (schvitzing) just sitting here typing!  It’s much cooler in the bedroom, but still hot there, too.

I woke up around 9:00am.  Little Drummer Boy and his friend (along with their two mothers) were swimming in the pool.  He was wearing goggles and bragging that he was “going underwater” which means he was sticking his face in the water – nothing else.  Then, when he was cooled off, he played the drums.  Glad I was up for the whole performance!

I did some cleaning around the apartment – last minute dusting, vacuuming, making up the bed with the red satin Asian-inspired bedspread and shams, and making sure everything is perfect.  The only problem is, we really can’t ask Joe and Miguel to hang here, because it’s too hot!  We figure if the opportunity arises, we’ll just give them the 5-minute tour.  Otherwise, well, at least the apartment’s nice and clean!

At around noon I left the house to run a few errands.  I went to RITE-AID, STARBUCKS, TJ MAXX and a few other fast stops before getting mani/pedi at HAPPY NAILS.  I asked for Tina, the girl who did my pedicure last time ($5 dollah!).  She was so flattered that I asked for her and did a gorgeous job.  Another girl, Eva, did my manicure.

I tell you, there’s nothing like sitting on the massage chair, getting your arms and legs massaged.  The icing on the cake is that when you leave your nails look fabulous!  I got a pale creamy pink on my fingers and bright red (as always) on my toes.

When I got out I saw that Joe had called.  They are staying at a nice hotel a few miles away on Harbor Island Road.  We made plans to meet at the pool at 3:30pm and hang around and relax for a while.  We decided we’d have a late lunch at the hotel and then dinner later on tonight.

When I got back to the apartment poor Eric was sitting in his chair with the fan right on him, watching golf.  It was way too hot for a ride (which he had planned for this morning) and not much else to do.  I worked on the computer and then took another shower (believe me – I needed it!).  I tried to dress as cool and light as humanly possible.

We got to the hotel, which was the SHERATON SAN DIEGO on Harbor Island Drive.  It’s huge, and fancy, and right on the water with views that are to die for.  Joe said they went out by the pool, but it was oppressively hot and there wasn’t any shade, so we decided to eat in one the hotel restaurants – QUINN’S, which was a pub-style place with pool tables and a huge wall of windows showing the pool below and beyond that the bay with hundreds of boats.  It was breathtaking.

We got a booth and had a lovely lunch.  Joe and I both got the cobb salad – his with grilled chicken and mine with shrimp and crab.  He doesn’t like avocado and I don’t eat bacon, so he asked for his avocado on the side, and I asked for the bacon on the side and then traded.  I LOVE avocado!  The cobb salads were HUGE and delicious.  I had mine with a champagne vinaigrette.

Eric got fish and chips and Miguel got a warm spinach salad with pancetta.  Everything was delicious.  We sat there for quite a while.  There’s never a lull in the conversation between the four of us.  We reminisce about the people we’ve known for 30 years (except for Miguel, who has only been in the picture for 7!).

We talked about mountain biking and car maintenance, which Eric and Miguel both enjoy.  We talked about theatre, movies, television, and the roles that Joe has played over the last 30 years.  He’s pretty much made an appearance on most sitcoms and many other shows over the past 25 years.  That was always a huge thrill for me – seeing Joe on TV.  I always tell him I’m his greatest fan.  He’s just so good at what he does.  Now, he also has a great job working at a nursing college and finds it extremely gratifying and fulfilling.

After lunch, we went upstairs to check out their room.  It was really nice with another fabulous view.  I have never in my life seen so many boats in a marina in my entire life.  It looked like there was a thousand!

It was getting cooler now, because it was about 6:00pm.  We hung out talking in the room, going out on their balcony for the breeze and the view, and then left to drive around for a while before going to dinner in OLD TOWN.  It’s funny, because Eric and I have hit OLD TOWN twice in the last month, but that was where Joe wanted to go, and we were definitely up for it!  It’s really a quaint, fun place to visit.

First, Eric took them on a tour of Pacific Beach and we showed them the CRYSTAL PIER HOTEL, which is on a very long pier with many tiny cute bungalows lining each side.  Each has a balcony that looks over the water and they’re SO cute.  Joe and Miguel love the water, so I suggested that they try it next time, because you can’t get any closer than that.  It advertises that you can sleep on the ocean – and it’s true!

We drove around town and ended up in OLD TOWN.  It’s impossible to park, unless you’re very lucky – and indeed we were.  As we drove down SAN DIEGO AVENUE on the street with all the great restaurants, we saw a car pulling out.  Bingo!

We got out and walked around.  Joe remembered a restaurant he had been to many years ago.  Unfortunately, it was no longer there.  We put our name in on a long list at one popular restaurant, but then went across the street to FRED’S, where we had eaten with Scott and his friends.  We told them the food was great and there was only a 10-minute wait, so we went there.

We had a delicious dinner – burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, guacamole, salsa and chips.  I had a mango margarita, which was delicious, but really threw me for a loop.  It just made me SO sleepy.

After dinner we went back to the car and back to the hotel.  We were going to go up to the club on the roof, which you only have access to if you are a “preferred customer.”  Unfortunately, I was quickly crashing, so we parted ways and made plans to meet tomorrow for breakfast.

When I got home, it was just after 11:00pm, but I immediately washed up, got in my pjs and went to sleep.  That almost NEVER happens with me.  I have to unwind and watch some TV.  Eric went out to the living room to watch TV and – I swear – I was asleep in 5 minutes.

It was a GREAT day and we had a LOT of fun.  Since we don’t have any real friends here yet, it is SO special to us when friends or family come to visit.  Eric enjoys driving around and showing people the sights (even though Joe has been here many times).  He’s a great tour guide!

We woke up around 9:00am today.  Little Drummer Boy was going swimming again with his little buddy and he was making quite a fuss.  I should take a picture of him somehow, so you can see what he looks like, but I’ll describe him to you.  He’s about 4, blonde, with a haircut like Dennis the Menace (which is, actually another good nickname for him).  He was wearing red bathing trunks that reached down to his knees, flippers, googles, a colorful tube around his waist (to keep him floating) and held those plastic tubes you put in your mouth when you snorkel.  All this equipment to go in the shallow side of our pool!

He was walking with the flippers, which wasn’t easy since they were almost as long as he was tall.  Each time he had to lift his feet up high and made this very annoying flapping noise.  If he wasn’t so cute, I’d drown him.  Anyway, I was excited to have breakfast with the boys, so I jumped in the shower, so I’d be ready when Joe called.

Eric showered right after me and Joe called.  We made plans to pick them up at the hotel at 11:15am.  It wasn’t as hot out as yesterday, but it was definitely still hot in the apartment.  We drove to the hotel and I went to find Joe and Miguel in STARBUCKS.  There was one in the lobby of the hotel.  I’ve never seen THAT before – definitely MY kind of hotel!

They bought me a mocha frappucino light, got some coffee for themselves and we headed out (Eric isn’t much for STARBUCKS, so he didn’t want anything).  I wanted to take them to the WAFFLE SPOT, because it was a really cute place and their breakfasts were great.  I had gone there with Scott and Rory a few weeks ago, since it was right next to Scott’s hotel.  We had a lot of fun and a great meal, so I was happy to go back.

I decided to have a totally decadent breakfast – a Double Cup Waffle – with white and milk chocolate chips and whipped cream.  The waffles are so good that you don’t even need syrup or butter (but I had some of each anyway!).

The boys all had more basic breakfasts with eggs, bacon, sausage, etc.  Everyone enjoyed it tremendously and we had fun with the menu and a mural on the wall, which features characters like Sir Wafflelot (who has a butter pat for a nose), Sir Up (a syrup dispenser that looks like a knight), Miss Muffin, and our favorite – the Banger Family – which are sausages with arms and legs, some of whom were wearing hats.  We laughed a lot about that.

I have to mention that I'm old and feeble, because I was so mad at myself for forgetting my camera yesterday -- and then I forgot it AGAIN today!  I wish I could have taken pictures of the boys by the mural, so you could see all the characters, but at least I was able to find Sir Wafflelot for you to enjoy!

After breakfast we drove downtown a little further, because Joe (who is a huge METS fan) wanted to see PETCO PARK.  There was actually a Padres/Tigers game going on and we could see the crowd in the stands.  It’s an interesting stadium and Joe was telling us some of the history.  Apparently, some of the buildings were put on wheels and moved from one location to another, including a candy factory, which we saw as we drove past.

Eric wanted to keep driving – showing them the Gaslamp Quarter and other neighborhoods, but the boys wanted to get back on the road to Los Angeles, so we drove them back to the hotel.  I could see that Eric enjoys their company and he was having such a great time with them.  That made me really happy, and I think they could see how much Eric appreciated and enjoyed them.

Eric really wants to go to Los Angeles to mountain bike with Miguel.  I want to visit them and see a show with Joe.  He and I share a passion for theatre and I’d see another musical in Los Angeles.  I had a great time with Ilene when we saw WICKED.  They do have great theatre in Los Angeles and I want to take advantage of it while I’m still on the West Coast!

When Eric and I got home I dropped him off and immediately went to KEILS to do our food shopping.  When I got back from food shopping, Eric went down to the laundry room with me and I did three loads of laundry.

When the laundry was done, I was ready for a nap.  Unfortunately, it was so hot in the bedroom that I could hardly sleep – even with the fan pointed right on me.  I finally fell asleep and Eric woke me at 8:00pm.  He made us a delicious dinner of salmon for me, swordfish for himself, with asparagus and mushrooms.  It was SO good.  He’s a really good cook and I so appreciate when he makes us dinner.

I watched a two-hour special 100th episode of EXTEME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION.  It was really touching and they had families from other episodes there to help and to say what a big difference their new homes have had on their lives.  I love that show and was touched by the gratitude and appreciation they expressed.

Tomorrow should be pretty quiet at work.  My boss is out every day this week except Wednesday morning, and we’ve pretty much got everything under control.  We do have some PowerPoint presentations yet to complete, but I don’t anticipate any problems.

This was such a great weekend.  The concert on Friday night and two wonderful days with our friends.  Every weekend should be this much fun!

This blog’s lateness is all my fault!  I had such a long day yesterday and I was too tired to do it last night.  But let me start at the beginning!

I drove to work yesterday, because I had a doctor’s appointment at 5:15pm just a few exits south of my office.  Most of the work I did was for HR, but I sat at my desk on the other floor, so I was back and forth from the 6th floor to the 3rd floor at least 5 times.  Now, I DID take the elevator, so it wasn’t as much exercise as it could have been, but I did do a lot more walking around than usual!  I have to figure out where the stairs leave me on the 3rd floor and start using them more.  That would definitely help in the exercise department!

Anyway, I kept pretty busy and only read 20-30 pages of my new DICK FRANCIS book, which is already very different from any other I’ve ever read.  First of all, in this one he’s married – which I think is a first.  He’s been widowed, divorced, or just single, but never married.  Okay, he’s UNHAPPILY married, but he’s still married!  He also has FIVE sons – ages 14 down to a baby.  That’s a whole new twist on a Dick Francis character.  Lastly, he’s a builder.  He buys up dilapidated buildings and makes them fabulous!  All very interesting and I’m hooked already!

Eric said I should pick out the restaurant for his Birthday Dinner, and I wanted to make it something different than our usual fare.  Since my trainee is Vietnamese, I decided to ask her to recommend a good Vietnamese restaurant.  Eric and I had a FABULOUS dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Denver and I never forgot it.

She told me of two – one relatively close to our apartment and another in Hillcrest.  The Hillcrest restaurant is one that I’ve noticed many times, because they’re right on the main strip – University – and they have a big neon sign that says SAIGON.  I always loved how it looked.  She told me that was kind of Paris/Vietnamese and was very fancy and more expensive.  I don’t mind the more expensive so much, but I knew that Eric wouldn’t want to have to dress up, so I chose the other.

We looked at the menu together online and they had such fabulous dishes and SO many choices it was dizzying.  Since I only eat seafood I thought I wouldn’t have to much to choose from, but I was wrong!

After work I went to the doctor (it went great) and then got home around 6:30pm.  Eric came out to the car and I programmed Betty to find the restaurant.  Eric was intrigued that this was a “mystery date.”  While we were driving my phone rang and it was my sister, Audrey, calling to wish Eric a happy birthday.  While Eric was driving and talking to Eric, HIS phone rang and it was HIS sister, Robin, calling to wish him a happy birthday.  It was pretty funny.

When we both hung up, Eric told me he talked to all four of his sisters today, which made me really happy.  He doesn’t communicate that often with some of them, but it was very sweet that they all called today.  They’ve also heard rumors of Eric’s return to NY, and the NY contingent all offered him a bed and anything else he needs.  I think that made him very happy, too.

We got a little lost, because the restaurant was in a shopping center and Betty just says, “You have arrived,” but doesn’t tell you you need to turn into a shopping center, so we drove past and had to go back around to find it.

PHUONG TRANG RESTAURANT on Convoy off Balboa is a big place and it was busy with lots of customers – most of them Vietnamese.  My mother always said you can tell if a restaurant is good if the people of that nationality are eating there.  Of course, she’s right!  If you go to an Italian restaurant and see lots of Italians, you can be sure their gravy and pasta is great!

Anyway, we were greeted by a smiling maitre’d and shown to a nice table by the window.  The place is not fancy at all – lots of light wood tables of different shapes and sizes and light wood chairs to match.

They handed us huge menus with at least 10 pages and we started perusing all the dishes again.  My trainee had recommended certain dishes to me and we settled on an appetizer of: Bo Bia // Vegetable Hot Chili Sauce Rolls – 2 rice paper rolls filled with lettuce, Thai basil, jicama, carrots, dried shrimp, Chinese sausage, fried egg, peanuts, and hot chili sauce. Served with peanut sauce.

We were surprised when they were served and we discovered they were cold!  We picked them up.  The rice paper rolls are very different from the usual rolls we’re used to.  They were light green, with a section of yellow.  We dipped them in the peanut sauce (which we both love) and they were delicious!  I have NO idea what was in the Chinese sausage, but I didn’t really taste meat, so I guess it could be seafood!

Eric was less daring in his entrée with Sweet and Sour Chicken.  I got Mi, Hu Tieu, hoac Banh Canh Tom Ca // Shrimp and Fish Noodle Soup, which was a delicious stew with cubes of tofu, ground shrimp and lots of delicious thin noodles.  It comes with cabbage, jalapenos, mint, and bean sprouts on the side and you can add what you like.  I put everything but the jalapenos in.  It was already spicy and I was afraid it would be too hot!

We enjoyed the meal and decided to go to GELATO VERO for dessert.  We drove to Hillcrest and couldn’t find a spot, so Eric went in and got it and we brought it home.  We watched LAST COMIC STANDING and ate our gelato, and that’s when I started to fade.  I said, “I could go out and blog, or I could just go to sleep.”  Eric said, “Just go to sleep!”  It was just 10:30pm, but I was really exhausted.  I got washed up and in my pjs and fell right to sleep.

I think Eric had a great birthday dinner, which is going to be followed-up with a great birthday weekend.  He’s driving to L.A. this afternoon to go mountain biking with our friend, Miguel.  He’ll hang with Miguel tonight, and work on his bike.  Early tomorrow they’ll go mountain biking in L.A. and then Eric will come back to San Diego in time for us to attend BYE BYE BIRDIE!  I can’t wait!

Eric spent the day with his sisters today.  He went with his sister, Robin and his brother-in-law, Brian, to see their daughter, Melissa, who is in the hospital.  She was suffering for 6 weeks and her doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.  Her boss finally convinced her to go to the emergency room.  They admitted her and within 12 hours had a diagnosis.  She is now being treated and we hope will soon be well.  Say a prayer for our Melissa’s speedy recovery!

Eric seemed in better spirits today.  He’s planning to go visit our friend, Kaja, tomorrow in the nursing home where she lives in Melville, on Long Island.  She’s 94 and she just spent a week in the hospital, but she’s hanging in there and I’m so happy Eric will get to see her.  I wish I could be there with her, too, but at least he’ll be there for both of us.

I had a pretty good day at work.  I haven’t been sleeping well (which, I guess, under the circumstances is understandable), so I’m exhausted.  I yawn a lot.  The mornings are harder, because this job is SO darn complicated and it’s a little stressful.  It’s not really busy, and the people I’m working with are SO nice, but it just seems to me that I’ll NEVER get the procedures down.  I feel like I’ll always have to ask for help, and when I do that I’m not really helping, am I?

Anyway, afternoons are a breeze.  I am now devoting a lot of time to the new database and I input data all afternoon.  It’s tedious work, but the girls are all so nice and friendly and helpful and we all complain together.  I want to do well for them and really make a contribution, so I work as fast and as hard as I can.

I had an appointment after work, so I didn’t get home until 6:30pm.  I didn’t feel like walking, so I figured I’d just spend some time exercising in the pool.  Unfortunately, there were people (a father and his two daughters) playing in the pool, so it wasn’t a good time for me to do my laps.
I was pretty hungry anyway, because I was working so hard during lunch that I didn’t eat much of my salad.  I wasn’t really hungry, so I threw most of it away and then when I got home (at 6:30pm) I was ravenous.  I made a wrap with some cheese and had snap peas on the side.  I just wanted something fast and easy!

I watched last night’s SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and then tonight’s elimination show.  I do so enjoy all the young dancers on the show.  They’re so talented and work so hard.  They’re under so much pressure and it must all be very stressful, but they do a great job and it’s very entertaining.  They’re going on tour (just like AMERICAN IDOL and DANCING WITH THE STARS).  I’d love to see them dance in person.  They’re really magnificent!

Tomorrow is finally Friday!  This week seemed very long to me (again, understandable) and I am really looking forward to the picnic on Saturday.  The whole office is buzzing with excitement.  There will be about 600 people there.  The party is from 3:00pm – 8:00pm and it’s being held at a venue called THE WAVEHOUSE.  There is something called “The Plunge” (an indoor swimming pool) and you get admission to Belmont Park with unlimited rides.  There’s a raffle.  There’s a buffet from 4-6pm.  There are surf shows and a Sunset Firedance Show.

There’s a bar and each person gets two tickets for free drinks.  I already gave mine to the woman who’s training me, because she said she was hoping to get some extra tickets and I’m not much of a drinker – one will be enough for me!

We also have access to the beach, which is right there, and there’s a pool, too.  Something for everyone!  There are two wave machines – Bruticus Maximus and Flowrider.  Flowrider is the smaller of the two wave machines and is one of the waterpark industry’s safest attractions.  It features a patented sheet wave which creates an endless wave for riders to both stand and body board on.

Bruticus Maximus (as it’s name implies) features a 10-foot, one million pound macking tube, requiring riders to test their fusion of surf, skate and snow techniques.  I wouldn’t dare try it, but I can’t wait to see it!

The firm had their summer picnic there last year, too, and everyone said it was just fabulous.  I’m really looking forward to socializing with the employees outside of the office, and seeing what this Wavehouse is all about!

I really appreciate all our friends and family who have reached out to us.  We love you all and are so grateful to have you in our lives.  Your phone calls and emails are very much appreciated.  Thank you!

Yesterday, Eric spent the day with his sisters and other family.  Today, he visited with some of our best friends.

In the afternoon, he went to see our dear friend, Kaja, in the nursing home where she lives on Long Island.  He said they had a great talk.  Kaja is a wonderful person and I know Eric loves her dearly.

After he got back from the nursing home, he met up with our friend, Andrew, to go out to dinner.  Andrew’s wife, Susan, is visiting her sister in South Carolina, or she would have gone, too.  I feel bad that Eric isn’t going to get to see Susan, because he will probably be gone by the time she gets back.  Eric adores Susan, and I know he would have loved to have seen her, too.

Eric said he had a great dinner with Andrew at a vintage diner we used to love to go to in Williston Park.  It’s called Hildebrandt’s, on Hillside Avenue.  It’s been there for over 50 years and and stepping inside is like going back in time.  They have a great menu of standards – hamburgers, grilled cheese, turkey clubs, but also have great salads and home made ice cream that is to die for.

Eric called me as soon as he left Andrew’s house.  He had rented a car, so he could drive around for a few days visiting friends and family without taking the RV.  We talked for about 45 minutes and had a great conversation.  I am happy that he is going to take the time to visit more family and friends before heading home.

He is anxious to return, and has a sense of urgency, but I keep telling him to relax and enjoy a few days with friends.  I’m fine here, and I don’t want him to rush back as quickly as he rushed there.  It’s just not safe to drive for as many hours as he was.

After I hung up with Eric I went for my walk.  I walked about three blocks further down the hill than last time.  The walk back was killer.  When I got back to the apartment I went into the pool and did 4 laps before I was exhausted.  When I got upstairs I immediately jumped in the shower and then got dressed to go to the laundry room.  I just did one cold wash of my work clothes and then made dinner.  I had the veggie “latkes” I love, with fresh mushrooms.  Eric makes it better, but it was still pretty good!

I had a NUTRISYSTEM chocolate pudding for dessert.  I watched the elimination show of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, then watched GHOST WHISPERER and then the season premiere of MONK.  It was so sweet.  Stanley Kamel, the actor who played his therapist, died a few months ago, and in the first episode they discuss how his therapist had died, and the show was really a tribute to him.  It was better than ever.  I love MONK!

I’m exhausted, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay up to watch the season premiere of PSYCH, another great show on the USA Network.

I’m really looking forward to the company summer picnic tomorrow.  I’m feeling more lighthearted than I have in a long time.  Eric is coming home, and he says he is determined to make things work here.  He does still want to leave San Diego, but he says he’ll do it when I’m ready, and won’t rush me.  He says he wants us to enjoy our life together, and be happy.  He says he realizes that New York wasn’t the answer.  I’m glad to hear it, because I really wasn’t ready to move back there.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m glad Eric and I won’t be separated for much longer.  I just hope he can find some happiness here.  The last year has been so hard for both of us.  I just want him to be happy.  Then, I can be really happy, too.

Neither Eric nor I have been sleeping well.  I woke up at 3:30am and I guess I fell back to sleep, but it takes me a while and it’s so annoying.  I went to bed before 11:00pm and Eric went outside to watch TV, so I could really sleep well.  He can sleep just fine with the TV going, but it really does interrupt my sleep, so I appreciated it.  I didn’t hear him come in, so I have no idea when he came to bed, but he told me this morning that he didn’t sleep well at all.\

I gave him my last SIMPLY SLEEP, so he could try to get some sleep this morning, and then I told him to go to the drug store today and buy us some TYLENOL PM.  Now we’ll both be poppin’ sleeping pills in order to get some shut eye!  We’re just both under a lot of stress, and it’s not unusal for it to affect your sleep.  It’s not like we can’t figure out why we’re not sleeping well!

So, I’m glad it’s Friday.  My big plans for the weekend include a pedicure and a cut and color tomorrow afternoon, and then I SWEAR I am going to decoupage that vase.  I want to finish it over the weekend and then I’ll get Eric to varnish it for me.  He’s really good at that stuff (better than me!).

I had a busy, yet not too stressful morning in KRM.  I went downstairs to get myself a decaf mocha latte to have this afternoon.  It’s my Friday treat to myself!  I had a NUTRISYSTEM ravioli lunch.  It comes in the tiniest cup and you microwave it for 45 seconds.

I had a big project in HR this afternoon.  I had to put together employee benefit packets for new hires – information and forms for medical, dental, life insurance, work/life, etc. There are about 20 different pieces of paper that go into each packet.  Some of the individual pieces are paper clipped together.  It’s a whole big process and it’s more busy work than anything else, but I know everyone else dreads doing it.  I don’t mind at all!  It is easy and I like getting them together.  I put together 15 packets and would have done more, but I need more copies of some of the forms and documents.  There are some I can copy or print myself, but others have to come from the companies themselves (like BC/BS or The Hartford).

Everyone in HR cuts out early on Fridays and we were no different.  We left at 4:30pm and I was home before 5:00pm.  Eric and I just relaxed and I worked on the computer until it was time to leave to go meet our new friends for dinner.  We met them at a place called the STUDIO DINER, off Balboa on Ruffin Road.

It’s fantastic!  I don’t know how we never heard of it before, since it’s only about 5 miles from our apartment!  Eric and I always complain about the lack of New York-style diners in San Diego – and this is the real McCoy, although it was built in the 90s.  It’s owned by Stu Segall Productions, which is the only Motion Picture and Television Studio located in San Diego County. The studio was created in 1991 when San Diego was chosen as the location for the hit television series "Silk Stalkings". Since that time the studio has grown to encompass over 22 acres. Over 800 hours of prime time, network quality television series, 7 feature films and 30 two hour telefilms have been produced at the studio.

They built the diner so that the employees would have a great place to eat that’s close by!  They have a wonderful menu.  I had the crab cake sandwich – blue crab cake with lettuce, tomato, onion and remoulade on a toasted bun.  It came with cole slaw.  It was SO good!

Eric had Stu’s B.L.T with hickory smoked bacon, lettuce and tomato on whole wheat with onion rings that came with a delicious ranch dip!

Marianne had the pot roast and Alan had the meatloaf.  Both came with mashed potatoes and veggies.

We all enjoyed the food and the atmosphere is a lot of fun.  The place was packed by the time we finished dinner.  We stayed and talked and then decided to get dessert.  Eric and I split the Lava cake with vanilla ice cream and tons of whipped cream.  Marianne and Alan split the warm Julian apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

I really enjoyed their company and it’s a shame they’ll only be here for 2 more weeks before heading back to New York.  They come out here 3-4 times a year, for 2-3 weeks each time.  They’ll be back in late September/October, but we already made plans to get together again before the leave on August 18th.

Marianne is a French/Italian middle-school teacher, but she just retired.  Alan is an accountant, so he needs to be in New York during the busy tax season.  They come out to their condo in San Diego as often as they can, and hope to retire here permanently in a few more years.

We got home a little before 9:00pm and I sat down at the computer to blog before we watched tonight’s new episode of MONK and PSYCH.  We have no plans for the weekend, but I’m getting a pedicure at 1:00pm and my cut and color at HAIRSPRAY at 3:00pm.

We had a lot of fun tonight.  It was great to get out with other people, socialize, eat a good meal in a fun environment and we really enjoyed ourselves.  We’re looking forward to seeing them again!

I went to sleep late and woke up early.  After I finished blogging last night, I kept working on the computer.  I did some room planning for Bob by using some free online planners, which don’t really work that great.  The best thing to do is measure out 1 inch equals 1 foot on paper and plot out the room using good old paper and pencil!

The measurements of rooms and furniture can be exact online, down to the inch, but the pieces are hard to move and line up with your mouse, and the end result ends up looking just as rudimentary.  I did have fun trying it out and did his dining room, master bedroom, living room and TV room.  They also don’t have all the options you require, so you have to kind of fudge some of the furniture pieces.  Anyway, it was a fun learning experience, although sometimes very frustrating!

When I finally went to sleep, it took me a while to actually fall asleep.  Eric had been sleeping for a few hours already, and he was still sleeping when I woke up at 8:00am!

We were getting picked up for brunch at 11:00am, so I figured it would give me some time to do some stuff around the apartment.  I cleaned up my desk, which always seems to get a mess.  I never have a messy desk at work, and never had one in the shop either.  I don’t know why I let my home office get so messy with papers all over the place.  I need to get more organized!

I ordered to vintage-inspired dresses from NEWPORT NEWS which were both on sale for $30!  They are gorgeous and I love them, but both need altering, so I’m going to have to make the time to go to the dressmaker, who is in the shopping center 3 miles away.  She already did some work for me and does a great job at very reasonable prices.  I figured at $30 a dress I could afford to have them hemmed and fitted a little better.  I need more clothes for work, and these will also work for going out at night on the weekends, too!

When Eric got up I stripped the beds and got the laundry all together, so I could start the wash as soon as we got back this afternoon.  I put away some stuff in the bedroom and put all my decoupage supplies away, since I won’t be doing any projects this week.

Elsa and Stephen picked us up at 11:00am and we drove to THE WAVEHOUSE.  We parked in a big lot and walked along the boardwalk at Mission Beach going into THE WAVEHOUSE through the beach entrance.  A buffet brunch is served from 10am – 2pm, and there’s a guy playing Jimmy Buffet and other of the same style songs on the guitar with a machine that adds some extra instruments and some percussion.  He was pretty good!  The BRUTICUS MAXIMUS was open, so Eric got to see the pros, and some brave souls on the waves.  He thought it was pretty amazing!

The buffet was very extensive with lots of breakfast foods and then lots of lunch dishes.  There was an omelet station, bacon, sausage, ham, French toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and home fries.  On another table there were crab legs and shrimp on ice with lemon and cocktail sauce and baked salmon with an orange glaze.

On another table there was cold macaroni salad, couscous, macaroni and cheese, chicken, enchiladas, and carne asada.  At the last table there was a coffee set-up (with decaf!), and lots of fruit, cookies and pastries.

We filled our plates and sat down on benches outside with a nice umbrella, so we were all sitting in the shade.  Eric immediately hit it off with Stephen and they had a lot to talk about.  Of course, Elsa and I always have a lot to talk about, which makes our rides to and from work so pleasant.  She’s such a doll and she's fun to be with and has an easy laugh.  I really feel lucky that I met her, that she lives so close, and that she has become a friend.  I didn’t mention it, because it would sound weird and might freak her out, but she’s my best friend in San Diego!  That’s not really saying much, because I hardly know anybody, but she’s been very kind to me and has really made my stay at the firm go smoothly.

Our brunch came with two free drinks, so Elsa and I had Mimosas and Eric and Stephen had Bloody Marys.  They each had a second drink, but Eric and I just had the one.  When we finished our first plates, we went back to try some other stuff we didn’t pick the first time around.  Elsa and I didn’t get much, and I had some little pastries and some fruit.  Eric and Stephen got another plate full of food and then went back for a third with dessert!

We were totally stuffed when we left.  It was a gorgeous day, with a beautiful breeze blowing, and it was so comfortable sitting outside.  The place was pretty empty when we arrived, but by the time we left it was pretty packed.

At 2:00pm a band sets up and the place becomes more of a bar and club, and less of a restaurant.  They have these individual cabanas that they set up with these cushioned wide benches and round ottomans, so everyone must be laying around.  They say it’s a very young crowd, and we didn’t stick around long after we were done eating.

They dropped us off back at the apartment and we came upstairs.  We wanted to go out right away, but we were so stuffed and so tired and so we decided to lie down for a while.  Big surprise!

We only took a fast nap and when we got up we were going to put the laundry in, but all four machines were being used, so Eric put the laundry back in the apartment while I walked with the cart to KEIL’S and then he met me inside the supermarket.  We did a fast shopping and then I did 3 loads of laundry and went back upstairs.

We had recorded MONEY TALKS a 1997 film starring CHRIS TUCKER and CHARLIE SHEEN.  It was pretty funny and I like both those actors.  We stopped watching so I could go down and throw everything in the dryer, do my “quick steam” and then bring everything back up to hang on the line.  Then, we finished the movie.

After that, we watched AMERICA’S GOT TALENT.  They narrowed it down from the top 60 to the top 40 and now the top 40 will to to Hollywood to compete live and America will vote.  The winner gets $1 million and a definite contract to perform in Las Vegas.  Not bad!

When we got hungry again I made a salad (not too big – just snap peas, spinach, cucumber, veggie shreds (fake cheese) walnuts, and cilantro and we cooked up more Mahi Mahi (since it tasted SO good last time).  We made it the same way – with the wasabi mayo, pecans, lemon juice and a little olive oil.  It came out great!

We watched the Olympics for a while.  I love watching the gymnasts, because they’re so talented and their bodies do such amazing things, but I can’t help feeling sorry for them, because I really feel like they don’t have a life.  The commentator spoke about one 20-year old Chinese female gymnast, saying she begged her parents to let her come home and not make her compete and, “We’re glad she’s here, because we got to see her great performance.”  I wanted to say, “What about what SHE wants?”  It’s amazing to me that these children are taken away from their families, training all day all their lives, and forced to compete to honor their country.  At least in the United States the children get to stay with their families, and I think they try to have a pretty normal life.  I really feel sorry for a lot of them.

We’ve got a busy week coming up.  Tomorrow night we’re having dinner with Marianne and Allan, because they’re heading back to NY next weekend.  On Wednesday I’m having dinner with my friend Robyn.  On Thursday we have our appointment and then usually go out to dinner.  Friday Ilene is coming and it will be a whirlwind weekend of fun and excitement – A Broadway show that’s come to San Diego on Saturday night (SPRING AWAKENING), an Art Festival in Laguna Beach on Sunday, and a lot of fun stuff inbetween!

Before I close, I want to tell you about these great videos my friend, Sergio, in New Orleans has been putting together.  He calls them "photo parade videos," and he takes a classic song and chooses pictures to go with the music.  He does a great job and they're really fun.

His latest (and I think greatest) is a tribute to Sophia Loren.  Below is what he sent me, with the link, so you can check it out.  If you like it, you can search for more going to www.youtube.com and typing in his online name -- Boopkid.  Enjoy!

Today is one year since we left our little house in Whitestone.  It seems like years.  I wish I could say that this was the best year of my life, and that we have no regrets, but I’m afraid that’s not the case.  This has probably been one of the worst years of my life – and definitely the worst that Eric has ever had.  He’s pretty much been on a downward spiral since we left Whitestone.

He misses New York – the greenery, the change in seasons, the beauty of the mountains the the trees.  He misses our house in Whitestone.  He misses all our friends and family.  He misses work.  As for me, I never really think about anything except friends and family – and occasionally Broadway.  Otherwise, there’s not much I miss.  I don’t miss our house, or my shop, even though I thought I would.  It’s not like I didn’t really love our house, or my shop – I had the happiest years of my life there.  It’s just that I was so ready to move here – had dreamed about it for so many years, that I had no regrets about leaving.

If I could see the writing on the wall, if anyone had warned me, if I had any notion of what was to come, just an inkling of what would happen, we never would have left – believe me.  It’s not like I was determined to leave, come hell or high water.  I just never dreamed, in a million years, that any of this would happen.  I never dreamed Eric would resist change and have such a hard time adjusting.  I never dreamed he would hate San Diego (how could I possibly dream that he would?).  I never believed we would have anything other than a beautiful life in paradise.  But, as John Lennon wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

So, here we are.  One year later.  I have found San Diego to be everything I dreamed of – and more.  Eric thinks it is hell on earth.  He’ll tell you that summers in New York are better than summers in San Diego.  He’ll tell you it’s a barren desert and that he can’t imagine why anyone would want to live in “this dump.”  He’ll complain about the fact that the sun shines all the time and it never rains (it hasn’t rained in about 3 months).  He’ll tell you that the reason there are no bugs in San Diego is that nothing can survive here.  We look at the same view, but see totally different things.  It’s the saddest thing you can imagine to find a place to be so desirable, and have it be so repulsive to the one you love.

I try to appreciate every single day here, because I know I will not live here forever, which is what I really want.  I am willing to sacrifice, and to compromise, because Eric is my partner, my husband, my one true love, and we are a team.  My only request is that we do it on my terms.  Eric would love for me to quit my job (which I love), pack everything up (which overwhelms me, just thinking about it) and go back to NY (which depresses me, just thinking about it).  I have told him that I can’t do it.  I just can’t.  I have promised him – and I mean it (otherwise I’d never say it here in my blog, would I?) – if he goes back to New York and is happy there – really happy – I will join him, even though it’s not really what I want.

That’s because I believe I can be happy anywhere.  I’m much stronger than Eric, and much more adaptable.  I may not be able to work in the city and commute in the winter, but I would be willing to temp for the warmer months, and hibernate in the colder months.  I’d be thrilled to be back in NY, seeing my friends and family all the time again, going to all the Broadway musicals, and enjoying the great things New York has to offer.  But I will not be happy in the winter – that I know.  Yet I’m willing to go and deal with it – at least for a couple of years.

Then, we will move to North Carolina.  I know that is also not exactly what I want, but you can’t always get what you want, can you?  It’s buggy and muggy and colder in North Carolina than it is in San Diego, but it’s warmer than New York, and so I will go.  I will get a job, and make friends, and take yoga and do my crafting, and build a life there, just like I did here.  I am willing to do all this – but I am not willing to move back to the East Coast until Eric has proven to me that he will be happy -- that he can make it.  I need to know that he can find work, enjoy mountain biking, and be happy.

I’m just afraid that the problem is not San Diego, but Eric himself.  I think he had too much change too fast and he was unable to adjust.   Now, he’s just depressed and he blames it all on San Diego, but I know it’s not so bad here.  It’s just that he’s focusing all his frustration, unhappiness, and depression on a place, rather than on himself.  It’s easier to hate San Diego than to work on adjusting, work on fitting in, work on making it work.  Well, enough about that.

This morning I woke up at 4:40am and didn’t fall back to sleep.  I was tired and when I got to work there was so much to do.  I started to get flustered (it’s my ADHD and my current stress level), and just calmed myself down saying “Just do one thing at a time and you’ll be out of here in 4 hours.”

One of the girls who works at the reception desk emailed to let me know that there was decaf coffee upstairs.  I thought it was so sweet that they thought of me, because they knew I was looking for it on Friday.  I went upstairs and another woman told me that she also drinks decaf and was going to make it every morning.  Then she said, “If you get here before me, you can just make it instead of me.”  I told her I don’t make coffee – I don’t even own a coffee maker.  I told her that if I want coffee I get in my car and go to STARBUCKS – otherwise I’ll just drink a SNAPPLE.  The only reason I had coffee at work, is because someone else made it.

I told her that I bought FOLGERS DECAF INSTANT COFFEE this weekend at KEIL’S and that I brought it to work.  She offered me the decaf she made and told me the coffee was very weak and I tasted it and it tasted like dirty dish water and I spilled it out as soon as I got downstairs.

I then emailed the two of them and told them that I was going to stick with my decaf instant coffee.  I think they must have been insulted, because neither of them responded to my email, but what can I tell you?  I didn’t ask them to make it for me, and I didn’t volunteer to make coffee.  That means washing out the filter, and the pot, and I just don’t want to deal with it – especially without my rubber gloves.  It annoys me enough to wash out my Betty Boop mug and salad container every day!

Next, I find out that the woman who has been training me is going on vacation tomorrow and won’t be back until next Wednesday!  I’m really not confident and comfortable sending things out on my own, so I was pretty stressed out by that news.  The guy I work with will help me, but he’s SO busy that I hate to bother him.  Nancy sits about 5 feet from my cube and I bother her about 20-30 times in 4 hours.  I can’t do that to the guy, so I’m going to be more on my own, or I’ll have to ask the boss and she’s the one that wanted me working on my own, so I don’t know how big that’s going to go over with her.

At least she’s only going to be in tomorrow, because she’s away at a conference in Denver Wednesday through Friday.  I have a feeling I’m going to be bored, because the guy is so busy he won’t have time to help me much, and things will just build up until the woman comes back from vacation next Wednesday.  So, that was my morning.

Of course, my afternoon in HR was great – as always.  I always make the girls laugh, and they tell me the afternoons are so much better, because I’m there.  It just warms my heart!  They’re so sweet to me.  When the four of us were together at brunch on Sunday, Elsa told Eric that I fit right in and that everyone loves me.  It was so sweet of her to say, and made me feel great.

By the way, when I got in the car with her this morning, the first thing she said was that they had a great time, they were so happy to meet Eric, and they want to go out again really soon.  I was so happy!  They’re a great couple and Eric really liked them, too, so I hope we can go out again, because it was a fun afternoon.  I had to laugh, because she told me that she and Stephen took a nap as soon as they got home and I said, “We did, too!”

When I got home this afternoon, I just relaxed for a few minutes and read my mail and then we went out to meet Marianne and Allan for dinner.  First, I deposited my check from the agency, and then we drove to MISSION HILLS to CITY WOK.

We got a spot right in front of the restaurant on West Washington Street and went inside.  They weren’t there yet, so we got a table.  They gave us a bowl of noodles and duck sauce, which was a big mistake, because it was practically empty by the time they showed up!  We ordered a bowl to share of hot & sour soup, shrimp with garlic sauce, Kung Pao chicken and spicy tomato and basil chow fun.  Everything was really delicious and we had just enough food, but not too much.

There’s never a lull in the conversation and before we knew it, it was 8:30pm and I had to get home before I turned into a pumpkin!  When we left, they reminded us that they’d be back in San Diego at the end of September, and I started singing, “See you in September.”  Remember that song, by THE HAPPENINGS?  I had the album when I was a kid.  We got in the car to drive home and I sang it on the way and couldn’t believe I rembered every word.  If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlkYqErYIyg

When we got home Eric watched TV and I just worked on the computer and listened to THE HAPPENINGS sing “See You In September” over and over again.  It made me happy!

 woke up this morning just knowing it was going to be a great day.  We were going out to lunch for someone’s last day at work, and Ilene was coming to town!  I got to work and did a few things for my boss.  He’s SO busy that he really has no time to spend with me, so I was pretty bored.  I was helping one of the girls yesterday with her files, and she was on vacation today, but I told her I would help her more and she should leave me instructions as to what needed to be done.

She needed two drawers of files moved from one place to another, and replaced with the two drawers of files that were currently there.  Confused?   I was a little, but I managed to get it all done with the help of a little cart.  I just piled all the files into the cart, moved them to the other side, and then replaced them with the correct files.  Then, I organized them and neatened them up.  When I was done, it was almost time to go to lunch.

We just walked across the parking lot to Tio Leo’s, a cute Mexican restaurant.  There were 9 of us, including the guest of honor.  I had the Fish Taco Special, which was one fish taco, with rice and beans.  It was SO good!  Most everyone had the Fish Taco Special.  We all chipped in to buy him an original framed watercolor of a surfer, because he surfs all the time and it’s his greatest passion.  He’s only leaving because he and his wife are moving back to the East Coast.

After a long lunch (1 ½ hours), I went to work in HR.  I was busy all afternoon and it just flew by.  When I got home, I just did a few last-minute things around the apartment and then we went to pick Ilene up at the Amtrak station.  She was taking the Pacific Surfliner from Los Angeles to San Diego and arrived a few minutes after 8:00pm.

We got in the car and drove to HILLCREST.  We were going to take Ilene to PICASSO TAPAS, but the place was packed and we didn’t feel like waiting, so we walked around the corner to TASTE OF THAI and had a delicious dinner.

We started with Shrimp Sa-Rong – marinated shrimp wrapped with egg noodles, golden fried and served with palm sauce and Fresh Spring Rolls – rice paper stuffed with lettuce, bean sprouts, mint, vermicelli noodles and shrimp (or tofu), served with a special house sauce.  Then, we shared two entrées: Scallops with Broccoli -- oriental broccoli, carrots, baby corn and mushrooms in oyster sauce and Pad Thai Noodles -- rice noodles, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, scallion, egg and ground peanuts.

Everything was so delicious and we enjoyed talking and catching up.  When we left, we walked back to the car and drove home.  Eric had another neckache (or maybe it’s the same one), so he went right to bed and Ilene and I stayed up and talked.

Tomorrow we’ll be running around all day, and then we’ll go see SPRING AWAKENING tomorrow night.  I can’t wait!  It’s so great to have Ilene here.  She’s so much fun and such good company!

Boy, we packed it in today.  I don't usually get as much accomplished in one day, and enjoy it as much as I did today!  We woke up at 8:00am and got right into the shower (not the three of us together!).  We were in the car by 8:45, on our way to THE BIG KITCHEN in South Park.  It’s one of our favorite breakfast places, and we wanted Ilene to experience it.  Eric drove and we kind of took the long way there, but we got to show Ilene a lot of South Park, and the mission style houses, so she enjoyed every minute.

Ilene and Betty outside THE BIG KITCHEN!

We were lucky, because we were seated immediately at THE BIG KITCHEN and that place can sometimes have a 45 minute wait.  I guess 9:00am is a good time to go, because the place was half-empty!  We got a great booth right at the front and right after we sat down Judy, “the Beauty on Duty” (the owner) arrived.  She’s so cute and full of personality.  I was so glad Ilene got to meet her.  All the staff is very friendly and helpful, and one young kid was telling us all about his New York friends.  I think people think that knowing someone from New York is VERY cool.  Well, we ARE!

Ilene’s been living in Los Angeles for 25 years, but I think she’s still a New Yorker.  I think if you’re born and raised in New York State it makes you a New Yorker for life – no matter where you end up living!

I got the Challah Bread French Toast – which comes with butter to dip it in (how healthy!).  Eric got the pancakes with blueberries and Ilene got eggs sunny-side up with biscuits and gravy.  They accidentally gave her a side of potatoes instead, so they brought her a big bowl of biscuits and gravy on the side, so we all got to try it.  Yummy!

After breakfast, as we walked around the corner to the car, we passed a little garage sale.  Ilene and I both love garage sales, yard sales, tag sales, estate sales – any sales!  We’re both experts at having them, and going to them!  I knew we’d be hitting a few this weekend!

Eric drove us back to the apartment.  He parked the car, I got my little black cart, and Ilene and I headed to the dry cleaner’s and KEIL’S (pronounced “Kyle’s” – just like Ilene’s husband!)  I did a fast food-shopping -- some grapes, some salad stuff, and some fresh fish.  I was lucky enough to snag a 12-pack of DIET LEMON SNAPPLE, so I’m definitely set for the week.  I told Ilene I drink two a day and she said, “You’re addicted!”  I know I am, but it’s zero calories, and I just figure how bad can all the Splenda be?  They never have the DIET LEMON out on display, but a few weeks ago I mentioned that they haven’t had it for a few weeks and one of the kids went in the back and brought one out.  Now, I ask every week and they always have it!  I don’t want to be mean, because they’re SO nice, but I don’t know why they’re not out there in the first place!

When we got back, we put everything away and then jumped in the car to go to the shopping center a few miles away, so I could pick up my two dresses from the dressmaker.  She wanted me to try them on to see if everything was perfect, but I was a little sweaty, and we were on a schedule, so I just told her if they weren’t perfect I’d come back, but I was sure they would be!

We drove over to the other side of the shopping center to STARBUCKS and I got a grande mocha frappucino light, but Ilene didn’t want anything, so she got a cup of ice water.  She’s not much of a coffee or tea drinker, because the caffeine bothers her and she doesn’t bother with decaf.  I am the same way about decaf (although I’ll have regular occasionally), but I LOVE coffee and tea and that’s really all I drink.  I never drink soda (which is good), or juice (which is bad) and very rarely drink water (which is pitiful, but I can’t help it!).

After STARBUCKS we were now ready to drive to HILLCREST and go for our massages.  I had an appointment at 12:30pm and Ilene had one for 1:00pm.  We were right on schedule, but suddenly we saw a sign for an ESTATE SALE.  An ESTATE SALE?  That’s not something we could pass up!  We followed the signs a few miles and found it.  Unfortunately, it was noon and we couldn’t find a spot.  I promised Ilene that we would go back after our massages, and off we went.

Everything at HOLISTIC HEALTH SPECIALISTS is very calming, including the beautiful roses and bamboo.

We got to Hillcrest and went to HOLISTIC HEALTH SPECIALISTS.  I had met Leah, my massage therapist, who is a Tuina Practitioner, when Eric and I first visited there last November.  It’s a different kind of massage, which I found very therapeutic.  At that time, Eric had a very bad neck ache and we passed by and decided to go in.  Eric and I each got a ½ hour massage and Leah worked on me.  She’s been calling me occasionally since then, to come back, but it just hasn’t been on my priority list of expenditures.  I love a massage more than I can say, but I consider it a luxury which, sometimes, I can’t afford!

Jessica (Ilene's masseuse), Bernadette (the manager) and Leah (my masseuse).

I thought it would be a brilliant idea for me and Ilene to get massages as part of our “weekend extravaganza” and she agreed!  We were supposed to have a ½ hour wait inbetween, but someone didn’t show up for their appointment, so we both went in at 12:30pm.

I thought it was fantastic.  She worked on my back for about half the hour, because that’s where I carry all my stress.  I was totally relaxed and almost asleep when it was over.  Ilene enjoyed hers, too, but she’s not as into the painful aspects as I am, so she was a little less enthusiastic about the experience.  She agreed that the result was great, but didn’t enjoy the process as much.

It’s funny, because I always tell people that I don’t mind if a massage is painful.  I always kind of think it has to hurt to really do some good.  Anyway, I think pain is very subjective.  If I was kidnapped by some foreign government and tortured for information, if they pressed on my back the same way that Leah did, I’d  tell them everything.  The fact that it’s for my benefit, and I know it’s going to make me feel SO much better helps me to endure the occasional painful pressure.  Most of it feels glorious and I can feel the tension just melt away.

I told Leah that if I won the lottery I’d have her move into my house (my mansion?) and give me a massage every day.  She said she’d love the job!  When Eric was massaged back in November, the therapist had used an infused oil on his neck and he said it really helped.  They had bottles for sale and Eric bought one.  He’s been using it ever since, whenever he has a stiff neck, and after eight months the bottle was finally empty.  He asked me to buy another bottle.  The stuff comes in a pretty little tin and there’s a small glass bottle inside.  The name of the oil is “Po Som On” which looks like a Chinese word, but when you say it, you realize it’s a funny way of spelling “Pour Some On.”  We always thought that was amusing.

When we asked about buying more, they said they didn’t have any in stock, but told us where we could go to find it.  It’s a little Chinese herbal shop in North Park called GIN MIN.  They gave us directions and we jumped in the car.

We headed onto University and saw a charity thrift shop.  Ilene said they had one of the same in L.A. and I told her it was supposed to be fabulous (it’s across the street from my salon – HAIRSPRAY – and the guy who does my hair raves about it.  We pulled over and got a spot immediately – with time on the meter!

We went in and walked around, but I was not impressed.  The only thing I found was a Country Decorating magazine.  We got back in the car and headed down University to GIN MIN.  We found it easily (it was a 10-minute drive) and we got a spot around the corner.  When we walked in, we saw that it was a small shop with floor-to-ceiling shelves on two walls.  The walls were filled with bottles, jars, tins and various other containers of herbs, seeds, pills, ointments, oils and pills.

There was an old Chinese man behind the counter, and a younger Chinese woman in a lab coat standing in the middle of the floor.  She looked at us and said, “What do you want?”  She was kind of accusatory, as if she didn’t think there was anything there we could possibly need.  I was kind of taken aback, so I just said, “Po Som On?” and she said, “How many?”  I just bought one, knowing where the store is and figuring I could always go back if he needed more.  We paid for it ($6.75 plus tax) and we headed out the door.

Ilene had to go to the bathroom, and she noticed a STARBUCKS down the block, so we walked there.  I was happy, because I can never visit too many STARBUCKS!  When we got inside, we realized we were hungry, and decided to get drinks and sandwiches of mozzarella, basil and tomato on foccaccia bread.  They warmed it up for us, so the cheese was melted and gooey and delicious.  We sat and relaxed for a few minutes and ate our sandwiches and drank our drinks.  Then, we walked across the street to the North Park SALVATION ARMY THRIFT SHOP to look around.  I had been there before, and it was kind of disappointing.

We got back in the car and started driving back to Clairemont.  We had a nap in mind, after we returned to the estate sale, but we ended up taking so much time getting Eric’s oil, eating and just running around.  When we got back to the estate sale, it was just about to close.  We walked through the entire house and each of us managed to find a few things to buy.  Ilene found some kind of fancy baking or cooking tool (I can’t remember what it was) and some fabric.  Ilene is an unbelievable cook and this gadget was mint in the box – never used – for $2.00.  She also found a beautiful vintage ceramic planter with a hand-painted scene on it.  We were thrilled to see there were no chips or cracks.  It was $1.00.  Her last purchase was a small plastic train case, which she can decoupage or decorate in some creative way to make it a great storage container.

I found bags and bags of giant beads, which I love to use as feet on my boxes.  If you take a plain cigar box, decoupage it and then add feet, it morphs into something fabulous!  I don’t know why, but adding feet just makes it special.  I always like to add feet to my boxes and these beads were the perfect size.  They were all wood and came in different colors, shapes and sizes.  I knew they’d serve me well for years to come.  There were about 30 in each big bag and I paid $1.50 per bag.  I also paid $1.00 for about 5 pairs of clip-on earrings, and she threw in some wrapping paper I could use for decoupage.  We were thrilled with our purchases and finally headed home.

We arrived at around 4:15pm and knew we had to shower at 5:00pm to head out to dinner at 6:00pm.  While we were running around all afternoon, Eric had gone for a bicycle ride and he saw that they had empty bicycle boxes at BICYCLE WAREHOUSE, so when we got back he told us he was going to drive over there and pick up two boxes, so he could pack up more of his bicycles.
Ilene said she was going to go down by the pool and read, and I decided to go for a swim.  I asked Ilene, but she didn’t feel like it.  I put on my suit and went down to the pool to join her.  She was reading under an umbrella, and my next-door-neighbors (a mother and her young daughter (around 12) were in the pool.  We’ve lived here 8 months, but we’ve never said more than “hello,” so I felt a little awkward.

As I approached, the mother was getting out of the pool to lie down on one of the lounges.  She’s a real sun worshiper and I often see her out there laying in the sun.  Sometimes her daughter is swimming while she suns.  When I approached I said, “Would you mind some company?” and the girl said, “Not at all.  I get bored in the pool by myself!”  I thought that was SO sweet and so considerate.  She really welcomed me, instead of just saying, “No.”

I dropped my towel (which I had wrapped around me) and as I got in she said, “Cute suit!  I love polka dots!”  My bathing suit is probably 10 years old, but it’s comfortable – and it still fits!  It’s black with multicolored polka dots all over it and the back has multiple straps that criss-cross the back in all the same colors as the polka dots.  When I got in, she said, “Your straps are twisted” and came over to adjust them for me.  Is she sweet, or what?  Ilene was on the other end, reading and talking on her cell phone, but the three of us started talking.

The girl was wearing goggles and flippers and I told her she was like a fish.  She said, “I prefer mermaid!”  I thought that was so cute!  She was swimming back and forth, so I started to do that, too, instead of my usual laps around the perimeter.  She saw that I only doggie paddle and she would go all the way across and be halfway back and I’d still be paddling along.  I didn’t mention that I do it for exercise, but I told her that I’m not much of a swimmer and it’s the best I can do.

She kept swimming back and forth with me, and then she said, “I’m going to take off my flippers, so I can stay with you and not swim so fast.”  I told her she didn’t have to do that, but it was like she felt sorry for me and didn’t want to “beat me.”   Again, her empathy and kindness touched me.  She started to tell me about how she was stung by a bee recently and now she’s kind of afraid.  She was nervous anytime a bee flew near us, and I told her she couldn’t be afraid, because it would make it less fun to be outdoors.  I told her they’re much smaller than us and they really don’t want to hurt us.  I also told her that by making noise and moving around quickly, you could agitate the bee, which might make it sting.

I explained that the best thing to do is just keep still and let it fly away, which it probably would want to do anyway!  We kept talking and swimming and it was really pleasant.  The mom was adding to the conversation, too.  When Eric came back with the boxes I got out of the pool.  I told Ilene that I hadn’t had a real conversation with them before and I was so happy, because it’s nice to know your neighbors, don’t you think?  We tend to leave the house at the same time each morning, and I always wave and say, “Hi!” but nothing more.

We all went back upstairs and I jumped in the shower.  Then Ilene and Eric showered (not together!) and we all got dressed.  I decided to wear one of my new dresses and it DID fit perfectly.  Anny does beautiful work!  The dress has many reds, oranges and pinks in an all-over floral pattern.  I wore red open-toe mules, a red, pink and orange vintage beaded 2-strand choker, and a pink, orange and red cuff bracelet.  I decided to carry my beige crochet cardigan and a beige straw and beaded vintage purse.

Ilene wore a gorgeous pair of pants that are stretchy black lace with a skin-colored lining that makes it look like you’re nude underneath.  She had on a flowing black chiffon top and a black pashmina shawl.  She looked gorgeous!  Eric wore jeans and a nice button-down shirt. We clean up real nice!

We knew the address of the BALBOA THEATRE downtown, so we went online and found a restaurant that sounded great and was right across the street.  It was called BOTTEGA DE LA STRADA on Fourth Avenue.  We figured that would be really convenient, because then Eric wouldn’t have to drop us off at the theatre.  He could just get back in the car and go home and we could go across the street to see SPRING AWAKENING.  We were so excited to see the show.  Eric and I had seen it in New York, when it first opened, and we loved it.  Ilene bought the tickets for us, and she had the cast album on her IPOD and had been listening to it a lot, so she knew the story and a lot of the songs.  That always makes it a better experience, because you’re not straining to listen to every word their singing, and you understand what’s happening.  Also, as everyone knows, the more you listen to an album, the more you love it, so familiarity helps you enjoy it more.

I had trepidation about eating downtown, because we’re not familiar with the area.  We went to the GASLAMP QUARTER when we first got to San Diego and were still in the RV.  We drove around for almost an hour and couldn’t find a place to park.  The lots wouldn’t let us in and the spaces were too small for the RV. In San Diego they have the spaces marked out, so you can’t extend too far into another space.  You’re only allowed so much room and our vehicle was too big. 
I got so frustrated by that experience that I haven’t been back much since.  We went into the city on Thanksgiving, but it was deserted, because most people were at home with their families.  That was nice, because it was easy to park and we got to walk around without the crowds.

When we were lucky enough to find a great restaurant right across the street from the theatre, I thought it would be fine, but it turned out that a window washer was stuck up at the top of a building and Broadway was closed to traffic.  We weren’t sure where we were going, and now we were forced to make a detour.  Our reservation was for 6:15pm and now it was almost 6:30pm.  I was freaking out, and Eric was stressed, too, but Ilene was the voice of reason.  She suggested that we get out and walk, since we knew it was just a few blocks, and Eric would find it and park.

We walked there and sat down inside.  They had an outside seating, but we decided to sit inside, because it was actually a little cool out and I was afraid I’d be chilly.  Also, the people outside were smoking, and Ilene and I definitely didn’t want to be around that.

We looked at their menu and saw that they have a $21.95 Prix fixe page.  You got Bruschetta (two pieces each), a nice Caesar salad, and your choice of about 6 dishes.

Ilene and Eric both chose Farfalline Pollo e Broccoli – Bowtie pasta, grilled chicken tenderloin slices, broccoli, sun dried tomatoes and shallots in a cream sauce.  I got the Penne alla Beatrice – Tube shaped pasta with tomato sauce, fresh chopped mozzarella cheese, basil and parmesan cheese.  It’s funny, because I remember now that it said “tube shaped pasta” but they actually gave me spaghetti!  I didn’t remember and the spaghetti was delicious.

The servings were so large that we all took home a large portion of our dinner.  They gave us a tiny square of lemon cake and a tiny square of cheese cake for dessert.  We were a little disappointed that it was so small, but we had already planned to take Ilene to PAPPALECCO GELATO LOUNGE in Little Italy after the show, so we figured it was a good thing!

At about 7:40pm we walked across the street and said goodbye to Eric.  He promised to come pick us up afterwards and I told him I’d call him during curtain calls and then we’d wait right outside.

We had great seats and enjoyed the show tremendously.  The cast was amazing.  One of the girls was right out of high school, and she was so great.  There was another girl who was one of the top finalists on CANADIAN IDOL.  They were all fantastic.

I tried to photograph the set, which is so interesting, but the lighting wasn't right.

It’s just such a great musical, with such unbelievable young talent.  It’s great rock music, and the story covers every theme of angst and heartbreak that a teenager experiences – no matter where and when.  The story actually takes place in the 1850s when most everyone was sexually repressed, yet they experienced the same problems as teens do today – which is why the show is such a hit with kids.  I really recommend it to one and all.  It’s great theatre!

When the show was over we went outside.  It was a gorgeous night and the city was hoppin’!  There were lots of young guys and girls walking around.  Unfortunately, a lot of the girls looked like they were “working” if you know what I mean.  Ilene and I were so shocked by the outfits.  There were two girls crossing the street that had on the highest heels and the shortest shorts we’ve ever seen.  Then, we saw three girls walk by and they were wearing the shortest dresses.  It seemed to me that if they reached up to fix their hair we’d all have a “free show.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off them – and I’m a straight woman!  As they were walking away we saw two guys coming towards us and they kept turning around to look.  When they approached us, Ilene and I both said, “We can’t blame you!”  And they started laughing and saying, “You can’t blame us!”  It was really funny and Ilene and I got a big laugh out of that.

It seemed like 5 minutes and Eric was there.  The streets weren’t as crowded with cars and traffic as they are after a show in Manhattan.  I don’t know why not, but it was nice!  We jumped in the car and used Betty to find Pappalecco.  Once again, we kind of took the long way around, but Ilene enjoyed the tour of Little Italy!

I thought it closed at midnight (that’s really GELATO VERO), but they close at 10:30pm.   It was 10:45pm, but luckily they were still open and serving.  We got our gelato to go and brought it home.  I got half Pappalecco, which is chocolate with amaretto, and half Mocha.  Eric got half Cocco, which he thought was cocoa, but is really coconut, and half banana.  I told him his combo was very tropical!  Ilene got half chocolate and half Stratiatella, which is a cream with stripes of chocolate.

Eric sat in his chair and watched TV, and Ilene and I sat at the table and enjoyed our gelato while we read magazines.  I read my decorating mag and Ilene read my latest issue of COSMO.  It was pretty late and I was too pooped to blog, so we called it a night and went to sleep.  We knew we had a big day in the morning at the FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS!

It was a LONG day and I cannot believe all the fun we had, the things we accomplished and the adventures we had.  Ilene is so much fun to be around.  Every outing is an adventure!

I actually got to sleep through the night last night – thanks to the fact that Conrad never woke me.  I’m hoping it never happens again, but – hey – you never know!

The woman who’s been training me was back from vacation.  Unfortunately, she got a terrible earache and flew back last night, making it even worse.  She came in today, but the whole side of her face was swollen and she left before 9:00am to go to a doctor’s appointment and never came back.  I’m not sure she’ll even be in tomorrow.

It’s a shame, because we left to many things to do when she got back, and now she may not be back for the rest of the week.  I feel so bad for her, because she has one of those jobs that a lot builds up while you’re gone and you almost regret going on vacation, because you’re so overwhelmed when you get back!

I got a text from my friend, Kris, this morning.  She and another friend, Suzanna, arrived in San Diego yesterday with Kris’ sister-in-law, Stephanie.  The three of them are on a vacation here for the week.  I have been SO excited because I haven’t seen them in a year.  They said they were going to play it by ear and would contact me when they could get together for dinner and tonight’s the night!  I just texted back one word: Wheeeeeeeeee!

I didn’t have much to do all morning, so I worked on a filing project.  I’ve been helping someone in another group (one which I’ve worked closely with for the past 7 months), so even though I don’t really work with her, I saw her moving files around and offered to help.  I’ve really gotten a lot done for her, and she’s so appreciative.  She’s been telling everyone in the office.  Even the girls in HR heard about it and told me I’m such a “team player.”  The truth is, I just like to keep busy!

At noon I went downstairs to HR.  They’re posting a lot of new jobs, which makes me busier than ever.  I love this kind of busy, because there aren’t deadlines, so it’s not stressful, it’s just that I always have something to do.  I’ve been working through lunch since I started there, because I have nothing else to do.  Today they told me that it’s the law that I have to take at least ½ hour for lunch, so they said to bring a book.  Fortunately, Eric went to the library today and brought back another Dick Francis novel for me – SHATTERED.  So, I’ll bring it tomorrow and make sure they all see me reading!

This afternoon Kris called and we made plans for me to pick the girls up in Pacific Beach and I’ll drive them to La Jolla where we have reservations at the CRAB CATCHER Restaurant and Seaside Grill, which is right on the water and has fabulous seafood.  I arranged for a table by the window, so we could look out over the water. 

When I got home, I changed into the same dress I wore to see SPRING AWAKENING with Ilene on Saturday night.  It’s dressy, yet comfy, and I’m adding lots of jewelry, because I know these girls will be dripping with vintage.  That’s what we all have in common – a love for anything vintage.  Kris and Suzanna were regular customers in my shop, and loved to buy purses, jewelry, and accessories for their homes.  That’s how I met them, and how we all became friends.  I’m also good friends with Kris’ mother and father, Dutch and Eugene, because Dutch used to come into the shop all the time also, and Eric and I used to double date with them.

Kris, Suzanna and Stephanie are all in their early 30s, so there’s quite a difference in our ages, but our love of the same things brings us together.  Suzanna also designs gorgeous purses and is a talented designer and artist.  Kris is an English teacher at a middle school and Stephanie teaches elementary school.  They’re all fun, beautiful girls.

I picked the up at their hotel (TOWER 23) in Pacific Beach, which is right on the ocean.  We drove north to La Jolla and I dropped of Suzanna and Stephanie and Kris and I went to the underground parking down the block, which is only $8.00.  We both commented at the exact same time that in NY it would be $40.  That’s one thing about San Diego – some things are just as expensive, but some things are SO much cheaper!

The restaurant is huge with many different rooms and you have to go down several flights of stairs to reach it.  When I called for a reservation, I begged for a table by the window, and he said he’d try to accommodate me.  Unfortunately, when we got there, they didn’t have one available, so we sat pretty much in the middle of the room.  The good news is there was a huge picture window about ten feet away, so we still had the view – we just weren’t as close as we had hoped.

We started with a Calamari appetizer – Panko crusted, deep fried, with a charred tomato horseradish sauce.  I thought it was great, but the girls went crazy.  They said it was the best calamari they ever had!  Stephanie doesn’t eat calamari, so she got an Ahi Napoleon appetizer – Spice crusted yellow fin tuna, Asian slaw, on a crispy wonton.  I got to taste some, and it was delish!

For dinner we got four choices off the menu: Suzanna got the Salmon with summer corn polenta, warm heirloom tomato fennel relish and a mustard lobster sauce.  Kris got the Halibut – macadamia nut crusted with coconut sticky rice, papaya coulis and a miso honey buerre blanc.  Stephanie got the Sea Bass with charred tomato basil couscous, baby bok choy and saffron garlic cream.  I got the Ono with Alaskan King Crab stuffing, Peruvian purple potato and carmelized garlic hollandaise.  Wow!

They were all so beautifully presented – each on a different kind of dish.  Stephanie’s was spread out on a long, clear green glass dish.  Mine was on a white oval dish.  Suzanna’s was on a small square cobalt blue dish and Kris’ was on a different white plate.

They shared a bottle of wine and I had my usual – an unsweetened iced tea with Splenda.  I don’t enjoy wine, and I was driving, so I figured it best to stick to just tea.  We talked and laughed and enjoyed each other’s company.  We filled each other in on everything that’s going on and there was much too much to talk about at one dinner.

For dessert Suzanna and I got Green Tea Gelato.  Kris got Strawberry Sorbet and Stephanie got a crème brulee.  They also got dessert liquors, and I got a decaf mocha latte.

We were so stuffed and so satisfied with the delicious meal.  Then came the best part – Kris insisted on treating me!  I was so thrilled.  She had mentioned it when she first spoke about getting together while she was still in NY, but I really didn’t pay attention.  Of course I tried to chip in, but she was adamant and said she really wanted to do this, because I was so good to her in NY (and I was!).  She’s easy to be good to, because she’s such a sweet girl and she helped me SO much in the shop and always wanted to be there.  How could you not fall in love with someone so wonderful?  I told her she’s like the daughter I never had.

I’ve always told my nieces the same thing – and I treat them the same way – but Kris is not my niece – she’s just a girl I met who really had a positive impact on my life.  I’m forever grateful for her help and her company in the last year I owned the shop.  She made it much better than it would have been without her!

After dinner we took some pictures (which I will post very soon!) and then I drove them back to Pacific Beach, dropped them off and headed home.  I got home at 11:00pm and just washed up and went to bed.  It was too late to blog and I was really tired.  It was a wonderful evening and I’m looking forward to seeing them again over the weekend!

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