Weekend in L.A.

My first reaction when we arrived L.A. last weekend was, "Who are all these people and where the heck are they all going at 11 p.m."  Rob wasn't kidding when he told me about the large quantity of people living in this town...er..city.  Our small town visits and hospitality along Route 66 were over and L.A. welcomed us with open arms. So let me tell you about the last and final leg of our Off the Cuff adventure.

Saturday morning was spent helping Rob unload the U-haul, signing his lease for a new apartment and meeting his new "very outgoing" future roommate.  We were curious how storage was handled in L.A. since there is barely even space for parking lots.  Instead of garage storage units like we are used to here in the Midwest, the ones in L.A. were built upwards.  We had to load everything on carts, haul them into the elevators and head up!  Both of us were so excited for the warm weather, we wore flip flops without even thinking about the move!  We did manage to make it out with no blisters though!! 

Rob locked me in the storage unit for a while (ok for about 1 minute).

After the car was FREED of the back-end-nusiance it had been hauling around for 2,000 + miles, we headed to Santa Monica Pier to enjoy the sunshine and of course, ride the ferris wheel!

Saturday night, we treated ourselves to a very nice dinner of corn-fed steak and BBQ ribs at a restaurant and then watched the waves come in on Hermosa Beach Pier. As you all know I am not a very romantic person, but this was a pretty neat evening.

Sunday came quickly and our first stop on the Lord's Day was church. Rob scoped out the churches in the area and decided on Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church downtown L.A. The mass was very long- complete with three priests, incense, and all the old traditions, but it was neat to see all factors at play to make a beautiful service. I always enjoy visiting new churches when traveling.

After church, we continued being tourists and walked around downtown to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The walls reflected so much light and heat that it felt like we were in a sauna standing next to the building. Rob explained that some of the walls had to be sanded down on the back side, because they were heating up a nearby apartment complex.

We then made our way to Rob’s workplace – RTKL architecture firm in the Bank of America building. Side note - Apparently Richard Gere’s office in “Pretty Woman” was in this same building. 

I get giddy any time I enter a creative “space.” (yeah, you should see me when I step into Hobby Lobby) and this was no different. It was pretty cool to see his cubicle and the projects he has been working on.

Then, the tourists ventured on to Hollywood! I’m not much on keeping up with the Hollywood scene, celebrity gossip, etc., but I was a little star struck when I met Darth Vader, Cat Woman, and Charlie Chaplin. It was also pretty neat to see the stars lining the sidewalks and the Hollywood sign adorning the mountain side. So famous yet so small! I was shocked at how tiny it appeared.

Camera zoomed in all the way!

We finished our day on the beach in Hermosa enjoying the sunshine and playing in the sand. Let me reiterate how great it is to have someone to play and act silly with!

We made our own walks of fame.

Our final dinner before my flight was at In and Out Burger – one of the best burgers you’ll ever taste. If you’ve been there before, you know they only offer about five options on the menu, but do you know about the secret menu (or "not so secret" menu as they proclaim on their web site). Yep, we got our burgers “Animal Style” with caramelized onions and extra sauce. If you are ever out West, don’t miss one of these burgers of greasy goodness. The In and Out Burger was right next to the airport, so we picnicked outside and watched the planes come in over our heads (Bucket List – check!).

And that is it my friends.  It was a great end to a wonderful trip with a great person, and I managed to check five items off the bucket list. (Visited three states I haven't been to, watched planes come in over my head, and visited and hiked the Grand Canyon). Hopefully we'll have more adventures to come. The first adventure will be figuring out this long distance relationship stuff, but I'm looking forward to the challenges and the rewards of seeing how we can grow together from here on out.