Utah Boys in the City of Angeles

For some, California is the land of milk and honey. For others, fruits and nuts. For us it means friends and fun. Oh, and traffic!

This trip was memorable for our hotel, the beach, the science museum, and time with our friends.

THE HOTEL:

Staying in a hotel was a gift from the estate of our dear friend, the late Carol Harmon. She had always wanted us to be able to visit again and stay someplace the boys could enjoy a pool.  Amusingly enough, when I registered, the desk clerk said, "You're all taken care of. You have an angel!" Man do I ever miss my chain-smokin', f-bomb droppin' angel.

Three aspects of hotel living really struck the boys' fancy:

• Using the key cards
• The whipped eggs offered at the complimentary breakfast (they were freakishly good)
• Of course, the pool.

 The pool also proved to be rather memorable for me as well: twice I was forced to speak French. Didn't know Je parle le français? Neither did I! However, due to the strength of the Euro,  and it being August, we ran into tons of French and Italian tourists.  On two different occasions, when we were leaving the pool and the boys' dive toys needed to be recovered from French swimmers, I figured it out. Thanks to my Grandmother Abbie, I remembered that the capital of Louisiana - Baton Rouge - meant red stick. And that was all I needed:

Monsieur, baton s'il vous plaît. Merci!

THE BEACH

No matter how much fun the boys had in the pool, it simply cannot compare to the beach. As we walked down to the water, I looked out on the Pacific and said, "Look! Dolphins!" A pod of dolphins were feasting a few yards from the beach, jumping out of the water as they chased their prey.

The boys are natural water lovers and very at home in the water.

And of course, what's a trip to the beach without fun in the sand?

But Gus will always remember this trip as the time he learned to boogie board!

FRIENDS

Even the fun of the beach can't compare to the fun we had with our friends!

As final tribute to Carol, we joined John, Sabine and Giancarlo in Carol's backyard for one last time before the new owners moved in. We enjoyed pizza from our favorite Brazilian place, (plus a "to-die-for" banana desert pizza), toasting Carol, and lots of great memories.

After dinner we went to our old neighborhood, where we were the guests of honor at the home of our friends and former neighbors Chris and Debra. Their oldest son, Isaac, was Gus's best friend when we lived there. Their younger son, Jude, barely had any recollection of us. But that didn't stop the four dudes from instantaneously renewing their friendship. In fact, Chris and Deb even ended up hosting our guys for a sleep over that night!

To top off a great night, the couple that lived - patiently and accommodatingly - between Chris/Deb and us, Paul and Grace were also there, making it a perfect night.

SCIENCE MUSEUM

In South Los Angeles near USC, there's a campus of museums: the Natural History Museum, the African American Museum, and the California Science Center, which is now home to the space shuttle Endeavor.

Amazing doesn't do justice.

 

There's also a beautiful rose garden and fountain. While I looked at the roses the boys were up to something else.

Our trip to LA was fantastic.

There was an amazing breakfast at Lisa's (during which Terry was glad to hear Niko makes good use of the ridiculously large Quatchi luggage bag she bought me during the 2010 Vancouver Games, and Giancarlo and I downed a bottle of champagne in mimosas.) 

There were dinners and drinks in John and Sabine's backyard with Oma and Opa (and once Tante Nori!)

But most of all, there were wonderful times with the people we love.

Next installment: The boys go to sin city!