Happenings: October 2005 Archives
Deciding that I needed to "get out of dodge" this weekend, Mike and I headed out for sunny and balmy (ha!) Los Angeles. The joke, of course, is that it was neither sunny nor especially warm the whole time we were there. But, that didn't stop us from having a good time.
Our first order of business was meeting up with Mike's office mate for drinks at a semi-trendy bar in the West Hollywood area. That was my first dash of L.A. culture -- where Mike and I were immediately outed. Our lack of designer jeans apparently shouted "outsider" to the natives.
We stayed with Tamsen, a friend of Elizabeth's that I first met on a camping trip last year. Tamsen lives in Manhattan Beach, a part of L.A. that I quite liked. It had a nice, small town feel, and is situated quite close to the Pacific (hence the name). Tamsen was a fantastic host, and on Saturday the three of us tromped around L.A., until we finally met up with Elizabeth on a dusking hike up Mount Hollywood:
L-R: Elizabeth, Tamsen, and Mike
Dinner was at a Sushi restaurant that Tamsen favors. I think that my opinion of Sushi has changed since living in California -- good Sushi is okay, bad Sushi is still off the list. Thankfully, this was very good Sushi, and I think that we all left the restaurant quite satisfied.
After staying up way too late, Mike and I headed off for Ojai, California, the details of which I will cover in a subsequent post.
Overall, I had a good time on the trip, and of course I took lots of pictures. I find it to be somewhat surprising that I have lived in the bay area for around two and a half years, and this is the first time that I have made it down to L.A. My impression of the city is that it is quite different from San Francisco, both in culture and in content. I didn't really have a chance to explore more than a small fraction of what the city has to offer. But it was nice to get away, and for sure I will go back.
-Andy.
On the way back from L.A., Mike and I stopped by Ojai, California, home of my second cousin Lonnie, her husband Randy, and their family. I have not seen them in quite a long time, and it is probably some sort of travesty of familyness that it has taken me this long to get down there. Here is a group photo with Ojai in the background:
Mike, Lonnie, Randy, and me
It was a really good visit. Mike and I were fascinated by Lonnie's miniature horses. She has around sixteen of them, and she takes them to shows, etc. around California and beyond. These horses are a sight to behold -- they are so small, that hey almost don't look like horses. Yet, when they trot, snort, or neigh -- you immediately realize that they are the real deal.
Lonnie and Randy showed took us to lunch at a superb italian restaurant, and showed us a bit of Ojai. The town itself fits my mind's eye vision of an ideal, picturesque, California town. The view of the valley is akin to something of a storybook. The downtown, with its limits on growth and stores owned by mega corporations, has a pleasant feel to it.
Although we only had a few hours to spend there, Ojai was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The pictures from Ojai start on page five of the gallery that I posted. On the way back to the Bay Area, Mike and I took 101 (on Lonnie's suggestion). This proved to be the correct choice -- as some of the scenery that you can see from the road is amazing.
-Andy.
