Day 2

Off to Manhattan Beach!

But first of course there were crepes.

My quest to finally take family to Hermosa (or Beautiful) Beach was dashed once again by another festival. We will get there one day. So it was off to Manhattan Beach.

I take people to places like Manhattan Beach because these beaches have a lot more to offer than sand, sun and water. I feel like the beaches above Santa Monica and below Seal Beach are just a strip of sand and a public bathroom. ( I could be wrong) Manhattan Beach, on the other hand, has a great downtown area that has a lot of mom and pop shops, plenty of places to eat and drink and walk around. And best of all the beaches are clean unlike Santa Monica and Venice. (ick!)

I think MB was a hit, especially the mom and pop restaurant called the Kettle. Oh and laying in the sun and wading in the chilly waters of the Pacific isn't bad either.

the ladies visit LA

I had some visitors over the labor day weekend. Some ladies from Minnesota. I always love the opportunity to be a tourist in my own city.

Day 1

"The Walk of Fame", the Kodak theater and Pink's

I am always unsure whether or not I should take people to the Walk of Fame or the Kodak theater. I guess it is because your idea of it is so much better than what it is. When I take people there I always wonder whether or not I ruin that idea.

The "Walk of Fame"- I think people are expecting to see a velvet roped off area with very clean well kept sidewalk spaces and a museum-like atmosphere. Well, I hate to disappoint you but the walk of fame is just a sidewalk, like the one outside of your house, just stick more gum on it. You can almost miss it if you don't look down.

The Kodak theater, I feel is equally disappointing. It is nestled within the Hollywood and Highland center, next to Aveda. You can just imagine them clicking their manolos up the stair case and stopping by the Bread Papa for a quick bite. (Not really, too many carbs) Not very exciting. Not the majesty of old Hollywood that I think people are expecting.

Having had people visit a few times it was nice to venture out and see something new. My new places for this trip both involved food. Tonight's venture was getting a hot dog at Pink's. The line at Pink's is long. We waited 50 minutes to get our hot dog's. Pink's has a great menu from the cringeworthy (Chili, Patrami, cheese, or heart attack) to the splendidly surprisingly good as Alice found with the Martha Stewart which is:

Martha Stewart Dog
10" Stretch Dog, relish, onions, bacon
chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut & sour cream

I tried a burger this time which was pretty good.

After Pink's it was time to go back to the Farmer's Daughter, the LA hotel of choice, where I squeezed into a full bed with mom and Coey.

What I have been up to-September

My time lately has been spent looking for apartments, which can be very time consuming. Driving around, writing down numbers, calling people getting no answer, being stood up for appointments, etc.

We did find a great 1920's apartment. Two floors, iron warmer, hardwood floors and for the first time I feel like I have room for guests, hint hint

In blast from the past news, my very first boyfriend was in town last weekend with his band. It was great seeing him and it is great when you have people in your life that come and go and you can pick up where you left off like not a day has passed.

I saw an extremely minor celebrity from a show called "Rock of Love" who had a spin off show called "Daisy of Love" Wow our definition of celebrity has changed.

Now back to my original task of documenting the labor day trip.