L.A. Days

Once we were back on the mainland, we loaded up the car and we drove to Beverly. Hills, that is. 

We spent a few nights in a hipster hotel with paper thin walls and a few days touring Irvine, Anaheim and Santa Monica.

On the schedule for our visit to Irvine was lunch with a fellow Wolverine. Originally from Buffalo, my college housemate, Courtney, moved to Ann Arbor for school and then moved out to the L.A. area about five years ago. A few years later, she married Andrew, and just last year, they welcomed baby Wesley. She was pregnant with the little guy when we visited last year, so this was our first time meeting him. We set up a group photo after our Mexican feast at Javier’s at the Irvine Spectrum.

Growing up on the West coast, I predict that Wesley is going to be a surfer. In his bucket hat and shades, he already looks like he’s ready to catch some waves.

We strolled through the Irvine Spectrum, an outdoor mall unlike anything we have in the Midwest. Before we saw it, we heard this little canine making quite a fuss. It stood there in it’s Angels jersey and goggles for several minutes and barked it’s little heart out, while it’s owner sat there with an expression that seemed to say, “Are you done yet?” I laughed so hard, I just about fell over.

Unlike most malls, the Irvine Spectrum had a ferris wheel, which I thought was a pretty cool feature and informed Justin that we would not be leaving without taking a ride.

As evening approached, we bid farewell to Courney, Andrew and Wesley and set off for Anaheim – Disneyland, to be specific. When we visited southern California last year, we went to Disney’s California Adventure theme park. I bought plenty of presents for my niece and nephew while we were there, but nothing for my sister, so she asked us to stop by Downtown Disney and get her a tee shirt if we had time on this trip. Maybe it was guilt or maybe it was the power of suggestion, but somehow we found time to visit the happiest place on Earth.

Inside the World of Disney store, Justin faked some enthusiasm for Mickey Mouse, but couldn’t disguise his genuine excitement for R2D2. Sorry ladies, this man is all mine.

The next afternoon, I had my heart set on visiting the Santa Monica pier. I thought it would be so wonderful and whimsical to experience a seaside carnival, and it probably is, on any day other than the one we visited. The overwhelming crowds combined with some unexpected and heartbreaking news from back home turned the day a little sour. Though neither one of us was really in the mood for a day at the beach, we decided to try and make the best of it.

The famous Route 66 ends here in Santa Monica, so of course, I had to have a shot of the sign …and so did about a thousand other people.

The ferris wheel, the roller coaster, the arcade games… these are what I was most excited to see on the pier, and they didn’t disappoint.

We wandered along the path in the sand until we found a quiet spot for a photo.

Even on it’s busiest days, I’ve never seen Lake Michigan as crowded as Santa Monica State Beach was this day. To the L.A. natives, I’m sure this is normal, but to me, it was claustrophobic, a truly bizarre sensation to experience when standing on the shore of the Pacific Ocean.

As we walked back to the car, we decided that we’ll have to come back another time to really enjoy ourselves, and actually go on some of the rides!