LA Visit

Catching up on some of my blogging....

Last month we went to LA and picked up Arlene for a visit. While there we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Valencia (thanks to the great price I got on Priceline.com). Gene and I checked in on a Friday and the next morning we jogged through the neighborhood. It was very nice (although a bit tricky getting from our hotel to the sidewalk), but once on the sidewalks they were wide and had large parking strips to keep you away from the ever present traffic. After jogging I went for a swim and then we head to....you guessed it....Cupid's. We bought our tradition three dogs and enjoyed them sitting on the tailgate of the pickup (so Gene could enjoy his with a beer). Then we went to Olivera Street - a shopping area reminiscent of Tiajuana. We bought some margharita glasses and a couple of trinkets for the girls. Then we went to an outdoor Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a nice lunch, complete with Cervasa (not sure if that is the correct spelling) and Margharita and a couple of gentlemen playing guitars and singing Mexican songs. It was very nice. We picked up Debbie and went to Arlene and Juan's place. Jen was there with Tony. That evening Ingrid, Juan's girlfriend came home and her mother came over with a delicious soup. Juan showed us photos of the trip he and Ingrid had taken to Guatamala, where Ingrid was born. What an awsome place to visit!

The next morning, Gene and I hiked up Towsley canyon. There were quite a few people hiking and parts of the trail were quite steep. When first taking off, there is quite a bit of noise from the freeway. Then, not too far in, the path curves around the back of the mountain and there is only the blessed sounds of nature. It is amazing how nice it is the not hear traffic. I wonder how often Angelinos go somewhere where they are not continuously bombarded with noise. I was feeling pretty good about my progress up the hill, then I see a woman wearing ankle weights! Talk about shooting a person down. To climb while purposely adding additional weight!!! On the way down, we pass a group of people hiking down the hill, having obviously taken the same route as us, but one of the young women has a baby about 5 months old tied to the front of her! Again I was amazed at the strength some people exhibit. (the baby's father was carrying her hat - way to pitch in).

We finished our hike, showered, and went to Juan's. Gene and Juan went golfing and Debbie, Arlene and I went to Jen's and then went downtown. We went to a very busy restaurant - Portas. It is not the type of place I would normally have frequented, and the large crowd was a bit intimidating for me (and for Arlene), however Jen professed "That is how you know it is good!" She was right, the food was very good, and I realized that I has never thought of it in that way - usually if there is a large crowd and it will be difficult to get a table, I leave and find somewhere else. We shopped for a while and I bought Sharna and Kylie purse hooks. We stopped back by Portas on our way back to Jen's and bought a raspberry cheesecake that Arlene had been impressed by. It was very delicious. Gene and Juan met us at Jen's and we hung out. While taking Debbie back we had her take us by the dragon house, which Gene and I had tried on previous trips to find from vague directions provided by Debbie and by Juan. I teased Debbie that the proof would be in the pudding, because her directions in the past had not taken us to the right place, but of course she lead us right there. She knows San Fernando like the back of her hand. That night we went to the Elephant Bar in Valencia.

On Monday we went to Ikea and visited a bit more with the family and had dinner that night at Chili's.

All in all a nice trip south.