my first trip to southern california was flawless, except for the rain… :)  i arrived at LAX on friday to a gorgeous afternoon of sunshine in the 70s which was exactly what i needed after weeks of clouds and rain in seattle.  amber and i headed to santa monica to shop along the promenade.  i immediately started talking about the need for a new camera since mine blacked out on me a couple weeks earlier.  we found a couple shoe bargains and i saw a great new purse at a street vendor then we headed to circuit city to look at cameras.  i found a great new canon SD750 and i was excited to try it out, but quickly realized i needed to charge it first…  we tried to make connections with heather for dinner, but she ended up having to work late, so amber and i had a few drinks and headed back to west hollywood to get changed for the evening. 

amber & roommates were renting out the second floor of a sweet house in west hollywood.  from their rooftop deck you could see the hollywood sign and all the palm trees of surrounding neighbors.  i don’t know what it is, but i still have a facisnation with palm trees.  i absolutely love them. 

 

i charged up my camera battery and we headed to an area a few miles away (can’t remember the name) to watch a friend’s band play.  on the way we stopped at the famous in-n-out burger for dinner.  while it was good, i can tell it’s a local thing that you must get addicted to because i wasn’t totally impressed. :)  it took us quite a while to drive through hollywood (past all the stars at the chinese theatre) and i quickly realized that LA is a city of congested driving with no hope of mass transit (it’s all about your image in LA so it would take a lot to convince them to keep their expensive cars in the garage and take mass transit).  we had a great night hanging out watching a few bands with amber’s roommate mclean and john, watching a few dancers (what an awful way to make some cash - scooping up dollar bills from the floor), and running blocks through the pouring rain.  they said the last time it rained was april, so i was getting blamed for bringing the rain down from seattle. :) 

 

saturday morning we woke up to the alarm to make sure we made it to the 11am shuttle for the observatory.   the griffith observatory had been under construction for a few years and recently reopened so amber was excited to see it as well.  the observatory has been a leader in public astronomy, is an icon of los angeles history and located on the southern slope of mount hollywood.  amber and i took a few hours to browse through the exhibits, have lunch, see the planetarium show, and enjoy the views of the entire LA valley.  the clouds were a little disappointing, but i didn’t mind since i’m so used to them!

  
 
 

after heading down from the observatory, we lounged around west hollywood getting ready for the party they were throwing at their place.  since amber was moving back to omaha in a week, they were throwing a going away party, and the rest of the roommates were on the hunt to find new apartments.  it was great to meet so many of amber’s friends she had met over the last 6 years in LA.  i got some great tips on traveling through italy from elizabeth (who grew up there). i think it was a little bitter sweet going away party for amber, as she was excited to move back to NE, yet sad to leave so many of her friends.  my 7 layer mexi dip (which we later realized only had 6 layers) was a big hit once the drinking set in. 

 

sunday we woke up late and headed to santa monica to pick up heather for lunch in malibu.  we drove up the past the regency wilshire where pretty woman was shot (one of my all-time favorite movies growing up).  the drive up the pacific coast highway was spectacular.  the beaches were lined with sand volleyball nets, amazing houses, and lots of palm trees. :)  we had fish & chips at neptune’s net and headed down to the beach to check out the houses up close.  we dropped heather off and headed back to west hollywood (via beverly hills and rodeo drive) for a nap. :)  after waking up we decided to hit up the mall for my long-awaited trip to h&m that cecilia and the girls at work always talk about.  with only 30 minutes before close (we forgot the mall closed early on sunday) i grabbed as much as i could and raced to the dressing room.  i literally could have spent a couple hours in there, but it was a good thing we had a time restriction. :)  amber and i wanted to see the borne ultimatum, so we watched that in the theater before going home for a night of lounging in front of the tv. 

   

 

amber and i both flew out monday, so it was a convenient trip to the airport.  amber’s flight took off a bit before mine, so i got a few good magazines and relaxed.  i’m so glad i got to see LA before amber moved back.  it’s taken me 28 years to see it for the first time and i’m glad i had an amazing tour guide to show me around.  :)