California Dreamin'

The first leg of my recent travels took me to California--the furthest west I have ever been. Marie, Philip, and I drove for 12 1/2 hours last Tuesday to get there. We debated driving through the night, but elected to go the next day because we wouldn't really be good for much after a red-eye roadtrip. Plus I was still spending time with them, albeit on I-10W in the confines of their Cadillac Catera. My first California experience was at about 10:00 pm the night we got in, at In-n-out Burger. It's a California and Arizona joint that is the best fast food burger I have ever had. Their menu consists of about 5 items, but there is this not-so-secret secret menu too. For instance, per Chris's recommendation, I ordered mine "animal style:" grilled onions, pickles, and extra 1000 island dressing-esque sauce. Their burger wrappers have Bible verses on them too!

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." --Revelation 3:20

The next morning we went running (uphill!) and then went to the pool at their apartment complex. Marie had a class all afternoon, so Philip and I and Jon, another friend of theirs, went to Hollywood! We walked down the Walk of Fame to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, then hiked up to the HOLLYWOOD sign!

Next best thing to getting tickets for a Jeopardy taping: getting your picture taken by Alex Trebek's star!

Outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre...

Me putting my hands over Julie Andrews's handprints!

Some of the squares had quirks other than signatures, handprints, and footprints. For instance, the Harry Potter cast's includes their "wandprints!"

I had heard of Sonja Henie as a figure skater, not an actress. I thought it was neat that she included her skate prints, but she had tiny feet compared to mine! Philip said some of the actresses made their toe and heel impressions separately to make them appear smaller though, since that was the fashion of the day.

Me with a wax statue of Shrek!

The Grauman's signs, walking back in the opposite direction now.

Philip and I with Mickey Mouse! How appropriate that the star in the photo belongs to Donald Duck.

Bob Barker and I...fellow Drury University alums.

We took a shortcut up to the portion of the path marked off by the white fence that you can just barely see at the top of this photo. It was kind of like climbing a stair-stepper, but we all made it!

Downtown LA.

The trail leads to a vantage point above the letters; this is as close as you can get.

Jon, Philip, and I.

I love my new camera's panoramic mode; I could get the whole thing in one shot!

We hiked up THERE!

Dusk was just beginning to fall as we made our descent.

Thursday was beach day! Jon and his wife Sidney came along, and we arrived in Santa Monica around noon after sitting in traffic forever! That's California for you. I loved being by the ocean; it reminded me of many a family vacation to Florida as a kid. I also learned to skim board, boogie board, and play bocce ball!

Santa Monica pier.

Me skim-boarding! I am so thrilled that Marie captured this moment on film, so I have proof that my klutzy, accident-prone self skim boarded successfully!

Marie and I by the pier sign when we went up for lunch.

Sunset over Santa Monica.

The pier at sunset!

I wasn't ready to leave California yet, but Friday promised to be an early morning for my flight to Houston!

Until next time, blessings!