I love the ocean and I love movies, so it should come as no surprise that for as long as I can remember I have always wanted to go to Los Angeles. Well, thanks to a rare stroke of luck, I got to do exactly that just recently!
There was a free raffle at work for Southwest Airlines tickets. Once I checked that they flew to Denver and Santa Ana (only places I want to go to, except London), I entered. And I won. Weird thing is, I knew I'd win. Don't know why, didn't hear voices like I did when I predicted the winner of the ninth season of American Idol (Lee DeWyze), didn't have a dream about it like I did for that horse I bet on; I just knew. And, no, I do not want any of you Yanks telling me that it was the result of positive thinking - I think positively all the time about being five-foot-eight, weighing 110 pounds and being married to Anderson Cooper and none of those things EVER come true.
Financially it would have made more sense to go to Denver but timing was not on my side as several people I wanted to visit there were also out of town the same weekend. So California it was. My dearest friend L. lives in Orange County, so I flew into Santa Ana. It was a whirlwind weekend - we took in some Laguna spots (there are a lot of places in the area with Laguna in their name); drank cocktails; checked out beachside and hillside homes and wondered how in the hell people can afford to live there; ate yummy fish (why does fish taste better by the seaside? It can't just be a vicinity issue); pissed off some Germans when we got the last ocean view table at a bar; walked on the beach; and drove to Los Angeles and spent some time there.
Tinseltown. La La Land. City of Angels. The Big Orange.
To say visiting Hollywood was a dream come true is no exaggeration. Longtime readers know I am not a fan of bucket lists but even I have to admit, visiting Hollywood would be very near the top if I kept one.
I can't believe I finally made it there. Being such a movie buff, I have long been a fan of Hollywood and all that it entails. And I was such a clichéd, cheesy tourist - I bought some Oscar statue souvenirs, took pictures of the Hollywood sign, sought out certain stars' stars on the Walk of Fame (didn't get to see Frank Sinatra's star because it was a bit of a hike but that was no biggie because I was once in the same room as him (well, hockey arena)). And at Grauman's Chinese Theater (where the concrete stuff is) I even got a little teary. We drove past Rodeo Drive, but I couldn't bring myself to check out any of the shops there because I have panic attacks when I see the prices in the OUTLET stores of high-end retailers, so I think seeing Rodeo Drive prices might have sent me over the edge.
I also had an idea that could make someone a millionaire: I was looking for a group souvenir to take back to my co-workers, sort of like those chocolate-covered macadamia nuts EVERYONE brings back from Hawaii. I couldn't find anything. Someone should come up with Oscar statue-shaped lollipops or gummies or gold foil-wrapped chocolates, something like that, because I know I can't be the only person who wanted to show off back at the office. Obviously, you'd have to tweak the design a little so you don't run into copyright issues, but still...
I didn't do everything I'd have liked; the weather was not cooperative so I did not get to see a beach sunset; I never saw anyone famous - not that I know of anyway - some places were so crowded there could have been an A-lister slumming it; and I wasn't discovered - seriously, how did that not happen? I have the fat-chick-with-an-English-accent market cornered.
And I did realize that my dream of one day living in California might never come true because the drivers are maniacs. My three previous trips there - San Fran (30th birthday), somewhere in the Silicon Valley, and Anaheim (both business trips) did not involve much traveling by car and so this was the first time I was exposed to how effing crazy Cali drivers are. So, yes, only way I could ever live there is if I could afford to be chauffeur-driven everywhere.
And for those of you keeping stats - yes, this was the first time I have left the state of Nevada since moving here 10 years ago (and no, the two minutes I spent on the Arizona side of the Hoover Dam does not count). And this was the first time I'd flown in over 10 years - a fact I shared with everyone I came into contact with at the airport, from the Lyft driver to the cocktail server to the flight attendant who brought me a seat belt extender (surprised I didn't have to buy a second seat actually, size of dat ass).
