Saturday, September 27, 2014

Happy 28, MIM!

Happy birthday to a real favorite.  One of the things I admire about you is that you "took over" very early in life.  You knew what was good for you...before I told you.  You took ownership, of you.  And you're so that way now, of course.  Determined, goal setting, disciplined.  You're driving all the time.

Enjoy the first day of school, today, on your birthday...at the number 2 school for MBAs, UChicago's Booth.  You got there because you worked hard and knew it would be good for you.  And it will be.

And you give me the gift.  I get the pleasure of sitting back and nodding, yes, son, great idea.  What you're doing is good for you.  Good for you, my second born.  Second to none.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Last hours

It's almost over...we have had a fun, relaxing trip...and spent our last day checking off the final musts:  shopping on Rodeo Drive, an afternoon Ultimate Hollywood Tour that allowed us to a ride around the Hollywood Hills and traveling other roads in the Santa Monica mountains (including Mullholland Drive), stopping to peek at rooftops and hedges and an occasional celebrity's home ("the higher the hedge, the bigger the celebrity" according to our tour guide).  We ended our last day with a stop at Mom's Bar, a Green Bay Packer bar, for the NFL opener between the Packers and the Seahawks - but mostly catching up with our LA-resident niece Christine and her guy Malcolm.
Runyon Canyon Park - where the celebs exercise
Malibu Starbucks, hoping for a celebrity-siting
Herman, our resident Seagull, enjoying a cracker on us
The lobby of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, aka the "Pretty Woman" hotel, yes those are fresh orchids!
Rodeo Drive area
Commotion around Joan Rivers star on Hollywood Boulevard, moments after the news of her death
Denzel Washington's home in the Hollywood Hills
Mom's Bar, waiting to celebrate the NFL opener with Christine and Malcolm
Rank girls!


Wednesday, September 3, 2014

'Bu!

Hang on Gidget and Elvis...look out Jen Aniston and Chelsea Handler...we're here in Malibu!

It's a gorgeous French-Riviera-like beach town with celebs and mansions atop the Santa Monica mountains, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Malibu's coastline is a narrow stretch of beach running parallel to the four lane, heavily-traveled Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), the only north - south road in the city. The beaches are natural beauties, with segments reserved for non-public access, and other areas of the water designated for surfers only.  The cliffs and canyons on the other side of PCH are breathtaking!

After Steve's famous eggs and ham, aka "Shipwreck", and lots of time on our deck staring at our pet seagull Herman and the wide blue expanse of ocean, we spent the afternoon hours at Malibu Lagoon State Park...it was great until we returned to our towels on the beach to discover the seagulls had ripped open and eaten our bag of Doritos and then, returning to our rental, we found out we parked in a no parking zone.  Oh, 'Bu!


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

R2

I'm a patriot, a history buff, and a bit of a joiner.  It's with that self-awareness that I happily agreed to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential library in Simi Valley, CA.  We spent the previous night in Thousand Oaks and in the morning drove to this beautiful library, ascending up from the canyons, to the top for a breathtaking panoramic view.

Even for someone who is not super conservative, like at all, I really enjoyed this museum.

We ended up in Malibu, at our own VRBO beach house (20044 PCH), and eventually at Duke's - for $3 fish tacos, discounted beer, and fabulous oceanside fun!

Cali

As George Harrison sang, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

But we knew exactly what we wanted to see...and do!


CA-bound!

We are on our way!