California weekend - in pictures
There was a roller derby team on the plane with me, they kept singing some song I'd never heard before about Texas. But just two lines from it...it got irritating pretty fast. The plane stopped in El Paso briefly...it's never appealed to me as a place to visit, but the clouds over it were pretty.
Marla picked me up from the airport and we talked non-stop for the whole drive to Pasadena, and then for another hour or so at her place until her boyfriend Seth called us to go pick him up from the middle school where he had been filming that day (he is a camera assistant). Then the three of us went to a really fun Mexican restaurant and ate $2 tacos and drank $2.50 margaritas. I don't remember what we talked about, but it was fun.
Friday, we went to Disneyland. All day. I think it truly is the happiest place on earth, I can't help but be happy when I'm there. Even when it's 10pm and I'm waiting in a 2 hour line for Space Mountain after being on my feet all day, and my feet hurt more than natural childbirth (possibly). Other than that one line though (and really, we made the dumb decision to go to S.M. right after the fireworks, which everybody else does too, as it is right by the best firework viewing spot, so it's our own fault) we had amazing luck with lines all day. I'd like to shake the hand of whatever Disney genius came up with the fast pass system.
This picture makes me want a boyfriend, for some reason. Marla and Seth on Splash Mountain. After the splash.
I love Disney.
This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.
After that last Space Mountain ride we hobbled back to the car, went home, and went to bed. I then proceeded to have a strange dream that I was 12, Kevin Bacon was a teacher at my school, and he hit me. Odd.
Saturday morning we went to Cafe 50's (see my last entry for how much I love that place) where I had an amazing spinach and avocado omlette, and a PB&J milkshake (which is amazing, by the way). I talked to Joey, the manager about how I've been eating there my whole life, and how he has been working there my whole life also. He is a good egg.
After eating so much we could barely walk, we drove up to Malibu to go to a beach. On the way we obsessively searched the hills for Mel Gibsons house, which Seth informed us that you can spot by the fact that he has a Church on his property, with a GIANT cross on the roof, or in front of it, or something. We didn't spot it, and accused Seth of lying to us...but then while sitting at a red light on the drive back from Malibu later in the day, we saw it (that cross really is hard to miss). We drove past Pepperdine, so I thought of Michelle (seriously, you go to school in the prettiest place, ever!).
We ended up at Point Dume Beach, it was a perfect beach day, weather-wise. So beautiful. A word of warning for anybody planning on taking beers to Malibu beaches though, those Malibu beach cops? Are not playing around. No overlooking of rule-breaking if the people breaking the rules aren't causing trouble on their watch, no sir. If they see one suspicious looking cup on that beach, they will hunt you down on their badass four wheelers and accuse you of being alcoholics, and then write you a ticket. An $80+ (I don't know the exact amount yet, but they said last year it was $80) ticket. For drinking a beer on the beach. Quietly. It will suck. But then you will have a story about how one time you were relaxing on the beach in Malibu and a cop wrote you a ticket for "one blue dixie cup with tecate", and maybe it will be worth it. Oh, another thing those cops don't like? People digging holes on the beach. Which I had always assumed was a standard beach activity, but not in Malibu, people. You will be told by someone with handcuffs and a gun to fill that shit in. Yep, Malibu beach cops do not mess around.
Despite the ticket, we had fun at the beach. Then we went and bought salads from the California Chicken Company (SO GOOD) and went to watch a movie at a cemetary. Yes, that's right...projected on the wall of the Mausoleum at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary. Not as creepy as you'd expect. Or at all, actually. We watched Hitchocock's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'. The crowd there reminded me of an Austin crowd, Fabulous. If you live in or near LA, check out Cinespia, it's good times.
Sunday was a sad day, because I had to go home. We spent all day up until it was time to drive to the airport, in Old Town Pasadena, eating Mexican food and wandering around. We also went to see the house my parents lived in when I was born.
I was brought home to this house in a Christmas stocking, on December 8, 1982 (for those of you who know my birthday, yes that is a whole month after I was born).
Then I flew back to Austin, and my plane wasn't delayed, thankfully. I wrote three papers when I got home. Monday was not a fun day at work.
Marla picked me up from the airport and we talked non-stop for the whole drive to Pasadena, and then for another hour or so at her place until her boyfriend Seth called us to go pick him up from the middle school where he had been filming that day (he is a camera assistant). Then the three of us went to a really fun Mexican restaurant and ate $2 tacos and drank $2.50 margaritas. I don't remember what we talked about, but it was fun.
Friday, we went to Disneyland. All day. I think it truly is the happiest place on earth, I can't help but be happy when I'm there. Even when it's 10pm and I'm waiting in a 2 hour line for Space Mountain after being on my feet all day, and my feet hurt more than natural childbirth (possibly). Other than that one line though (and really, we made the dumb decision to go to S.M. right after the fireworks, which everybody else does too, as it is right by the best firework viewing spot, so it's our own fault) we had amazing luck with lines all day. I'd like to shake the hand of whatever Disney genius came up with the fast pass system.
This picture makes me want a boyfriend, for some reason. Marla and Seth on Splash Mountain. After the splash.
I love Disney.
This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.
After that last Space Mountain ride we hobbled back to the car, went home, and went to bed. I then proceeded to have a strange dream that I was 12, Kevin Bacon was a teacher at my school, and he hit me. Odd.
Saturday morning we went to Cafe 50's (see my last entry for how much I love that place) where I had an amazing spinach and avocado omlette, and a PB&J milkshake (which is amazing, by the way). I talked to Joey, the manager about how I've been eating there my whole life, and how he has been working there my whole life also. He is a good egg.
After eating so much we could barely walk, we drove up to Malibu to go to a beach. On the way we obsessively searched the hills for Mel Gibsons house, which Seth informed us that you can spot by the fact that he has a Church on his property, with a GIANT cross on the roof, or in front of it, or something. We didn't spot it, and accused Seth of lying to us...but then while sitting at a red light on the drive back from Malibu later in the day, we saw it (that cross really is hard to miss). We drove past Pepperdine, so I thought of Michelle (seriously, you go to school in the prettiest place, ever!).
We ended up at Point Dume Beach, it was a perfect beach day, weather-wise. So beautiful. A word of warning for anybody planning on taking beers to Malibu beaches though, those Malibu beach cops? Are not playing around. No overlooking of rule-breaking if the people breaking the rules aren't causing trouble on their watch, no sir. If they see one suspicious looking cup on that beach, they will hunt you down on their badass four wheelers and accuse you of being alcoholics, and then write you a ticket. An $80+ (I don't know the exact amount yet, but they said last year it was $80) ticket. For drinking a beer on the beach. Quietly. It will suck. But then you will have a story about how one time you were relaxing on the beach in Malibu and a cop wrote you a ticket for "one blue dixie cup with tecate", and maybe it will be worth it. Oh, another thing those cops don't like? People digging holes on the beach. Which I had always assumed was a standard beach activity, but not in Malibu, people. You will be told by someone with handcuffs and a gun to fill that shit in. Yep, Malibu beach cops do not mess around.
Despite the ticket, we had fun at the beach. Then we went and bought salads from the California Chicken Company (SO GOOD) and went to watch a movie at a cemetary. Yes, that's right...projected on the wall of the Mausoleum at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary. Not as creepy as you'd expect. Or at all, actually. We watched Hitchocock's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'. The crowd there reminded me of an Austin crowd, Fabulous. If you live in or near LA, check out Cinespia, it's good times.
Sunday was a sad day, because I had to go home. We spent all day up until it was time to drive to the airport, in Old Town Pasadena, eating Mexican food and wandering around. We also went to see the house my parents lived in when I was born.
I was brought home to this house in a Christmas stocking, on December 8, 1982 (for those of you who know my birthday, yes that is a whole month after I was born).
Then I flew back to Austin, and my plane wasn't delayed, thankfully. I wrote three papers when I got home. Monday was not a fun day at work.