Home Again

My grandparents and I are now back home after a great time in California. Last time I wrote we were about to head to Joshua Tree, which was a huge highlight of the trip. I happened to get pretty sick while in the desert, but I still had a good time because its just one of those places I could go 1000 times and still be amazed.

After the desert we headed to Jerry's house, which we had to ourselves so it was very nice and relaxing. That night Mitchell drove us around the neighborhood in the golf cart, which was quite the experience because this neighborhood is ridiculous. Then we went to The Yard House, which I loved when we went there over Christmas, but this time it was super loud and packed with women that all looked like they were from the Housewives of Orange County. I still liked it a lot, and maybe my annoyances were based on how I wasn't feeling well. After that we just lounged around, and then I got one of the best nights sleep in my life. Important stuff going on in this blog people, pay attention.

In hindsight this was one of my favorite parts of the trip because it was just so relaxing. We lounged around the house all morning and just enjoyed the perfect weather, nice view and amazing home. On the way back we hit the outlets (best ever, by the way..) and then I went to have sushi at my favorite place with my old coworker. It was so nice seeing her again, and it made me feel like I was living out there again. She is one of the nicest people I've ever met.

Friday we went to see the storyboards for Mitchell's movie, a remake of The Wizard of Oz. I can't say anything about it because we signed strict confidentiality agreements, but lets just say its going to be AMAZING. I was so impressed and definitely want all of the pictures they have for it once its all over with. Mitchell said he would try, so we'll see what happens. That night the Tomcos and Susan and John came over for pizza night. That was another one of the best times we had there. Mitch and Donna have a great group of friends, and these people are some of my favorite. I have such a great time whenever they are over, and everyone is laughing the whole time. Plus, Mitchell's pizza and fried zuchinni can't be beat. Soooooo good.

Saturday was Manhattan Beach day. Our first stop was Charlie's house, which is great because its a beautiful home to begin with, and his wife, Liana, has great style. Then we went to their friends house which is right on the beach. It was probably the size of my parents townhouse, and very outdated, but since it was right on the beach in one of the most expensive places in the country, Charlie estimated that it was worth $12 million. Absurd. I think that might be a little mroe than its actually worth, but still. Whoa. After hanging out on the beach for a while Donna and I walked down to the main area and did a little shopping. They were having sidewalk sales that weekend so it was a really great time to be there. They had some reallllly amazing deals, and if I still lived in California I definitely would have been buying a lot. Unfortunately, the clothes people wear out there don't really have a place here in Virginia. But its probably for the better, since I didn't have a lot of room in my suitcase. I did get a few things, though :) Oh, and one of the highlights of the trip? Donna and I got Gatorade and soda the second we got there (10 block walk!) and we had to leave them sitting outside the stores we walked in. A lot of the places have little tables outside for that because theyre upscale stores and its just the norm. The second store we get to, we come back outside to just my Gatorade! We couldn't figure out what was going on, checked the trash can, looked around.. and then I saw it. A bum walking right down the street from us with her soda in hand. Guess he was thirsty. I'm also going to guess he has a soar throat now, because she was sick. We saw him sitting in a little corner later, with a huge sandwich and a lot of half empty drinks; he got himself a nice little meal.

Sunday was a day of rest. I watched a lot of Housewives and then Survivor. Then Isabella and David came by with their new puppy, Benny. SOOOOO cute. No words for it really. Suffice it to say the blades of grass were just about as tall as he is. Its the smallest dog I've ever seen. The girls fell in love. Monday the flight back was great, and I feared it wouldn't be because the way out here was awful. Andddd now I'm bac. To find out there has been major flooding, so we're going to check it out today :)