Note: Westward Ho! covers April 25, 3012-May 8, 2012. The next few posting cover our  5 days in Los Angeles.

Sat. 4/28- late afternoon

Left my son Ira and daughter-in-law Samantha in Las Vegas for the airport about 2:30 pm. Dropped off our car at Fox Rental, then shuttled by bus to McCarren Car Rental Center (The cheaper rental companies are not in the center.), then another shuttle bus to the airport.

Our plane left at 5:10 pm and we arrived in Los Angeles by 6 pm, which is barely one hour, except we started out at 2:30 pm, so really the trip took 3 1/2 hours to go from LV to LA. As we all know who travel by plane, going anywhere is a complicated affair since 9/11, so we try to make the best of it. Of course, our colonial ancestors took weeks and months to travel from one part of the country to another, so maybe we are still ahead of the game!

In Pennsylvania, the azaleas are blooming and by the time we return, there won’t be many left, since the short azalea season will be over.  But in California we have bougainvillea, which are just as lovely. Below is an entire wall of these beauties:

Alan’s son Jay picked us up at the airport and then we picked up his partner and we went to a “designer burger” restaurant. (Only in LA!!) Unfortunately, the veggie burgers had breadcrumbs in them and I am limiting my intake of gluten, saving it for special meals, and a burger isn’t special enough. Instead I had a salad with veggies that was only so-so. But I was tired from traveling and wanted sleep more than I wanted food. I fell into bed by 9 pm.

Sun. 4/29 – Up early & feeling rested. Took a shower and went for a walk with Alan to buy a newspaper and have a Chai tea at the local coffee shop, quite close to the Jay & Ignacio’s West Hollywood house, centrally located in a neighborhood with all their basic needs nearby: post office, bank, food store, etc.  When we returned, Jay made me a green drink with his Cuisinart juicer. Nice to know someone else likes juicing!

Then we drove to Malibu, specifically to Paradise Cove to have lunch. This place has become a hot spot for stars who have purchased trailers for week-ends away from Hollywood, fixing them up so that they are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead of living in a regular trailer park, they live in an upscale, trendy trailer park. Oh, well, the beach was lovely and we talk a short walk while waiting for our table. Here I am at the beach sign:

And here is a photo of the surf. Someone was using a board of some kind with a paddle to navigate the low tide:

Lunch was an interesting event. We sat under a huge tent that was erected on the beach, so we were actually sitting on the sand. Waiters must have strong legs to walk back and forth from sand to kitchen to serve us  Quite an ambiance. I have eaten at restaurants next to the beach, but never on the beach itself. Even though it was warm, we were in the shade & the experience was quite pleasant.

After lunch,which was quite good, we took a walk through one of the trailer parks near the restaurant. Actually, the idea of spending so much money to live is a tiny trailer boggles my mind. Just another form of conspicuous consumption. I was not impressed.  As they say out here, “Only in Hollywood!”

Back to W. Hollywood, where I made dinner for everyone: salad and regular pasta for the guys, gluten-free for me. Still too tired to stay up late, since I was up about 5:30 am, so I went to sleep around 9 pm, while my husband spent some time in Jay & Ignacio’s hot tub. After all, we’re in Hollywood now!

Next installment: A tour of the homes of stars

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