Our Trip to Malibu

Downtown Los Angeles, in all it's glory.

I used to crawl into this delightful "LA river" and watch my boyfriend draw murals.  It smells like...disappointment.

This first stretch of PCH is something I drove EVERYDAY for five years.  The nostalgia killed me.

The edge of Ocean Boulevard in Santa Monica, as seen from lower PCH.  This fence is a serious Santa Monica icon.

Turn right, and you're in Pacific Palisades.  Turn left, and your car crashes into six hundred beach-goers.

I worked for this beautiful family and at this absolutely gorgeous store for almost six years.  The Cosentino's are the salt of the earth.  I got to see my old boss, and one of my dearest friends, John, but he's being a queen and won't let me post the picture.

Just a little bit of "local" culture.  When I was in college, we bought drugs at the newsstand.  Oh how things have changed.

This is the beautiful Samantha.  She is the daughter of one of my oldest, dearest friends, Genevieve.  Could there be a more beautiful child? 

Throughout the trip I would yell, "LOOK! It's so-and-so's house!"  John was like..."I have no idea where I am and this road seems to go on forever."  What?!?!  You don't want to see where Lou Adler lives?  You'd rather pay attention to the road?

Peace.

Looking at Santa Monica from Malibu.  They call this area the "diamond necklace" because at night it lights up as such.

Old school seafood, shells on the floor, seagulls at your table and the wind in your hair.  I miss every moment of it.

John and I both took off on Friday, because I had purchased tickets for the Red Sox and Dodger game.  John is a die hard Red Sox man, so I was hoping to treat him on their West Coast jaunt.  We left a little early, and decided to drive up the coast to Malibu, my old stomping grounds, to eat lunch and visit with a few old friends.

The weather could not have been more perfect.  I think John was a little nervous about the drive, it is a rather difficult road to navigate if you're not used to the million of tourists and entitled assholes in Lamborghinis.  We managed to visit with my old boss and dear friend John, as well as see one of my nearest and dearest, Gen and her beautiful family.  I only wish we could have stayed longer.  In fact we SHOULD of stayed longer.

It took us THREE HOURS from the Dodger Stadium exit on the 110 freeway, just to climb up this massive ravine (which took two of the three hours), to be screamed at by cops to "GO! GO! GO!", just to find out THERE WAS NO PARKING.  People that were turning around would not even tell us what was going on.  I was astounded.  Having arrived three hours early, we thought for sure we would be there for the AT LEAST the second inning.  Now, it was the sixth.  

No one told us where to park, people were leaving their cars in tow away zones, on strictly "NO PARKING" streets in the LOVELY area surrounding the stadium, or as one kind cop FINALLY told us, we could park at Union Station, and take a shuttle.  It was now the seventh inning.  We turned around, and went home.

Now it's no secret how I feel about the Dodgers.  But this has nothing to do with the players themselves.  It was all over the news the next day that they were allowing people to park in the lot with NO TICKETS.  Apparently, they wait for scalpers or listen to the game on the radio while they tailgate.  How droll. 

So, after nearly two-hundred wasted dollars, the saddest and most pissed off I have ever seen my fiance, and the fact that we drove nearly eight hours all day for nothing, I will be firing off several emails to the Dodgers, the ticketing office, security and the like.

On a happier note, I won a ModCloth gift-card giveaway over at Lena B, Actually and it made my whole day!  I quickly purchased an adorable dress covered in barbecues! I just want to thank her personally for being so rad and supportive of me and my blog.  If you are not yet a reader of hers, you need to be!  Not only is she beautiful, she's witty and REAL.  You know I love ladies like that.

I have been working doubles all week training newbies, but this Saturday John and I will start our official hunt for our new place in Long Beach! YAY!  

Happy Monday loves!