Kontan’s Place

Back to work today, still buried in paper work. Feeling much better, but can feel the sinus thing coming on. You just have to love the beginning of school. Illness abounds.

Now on to LA…

I am so glad to get to go on this trip with Djembe. I was surprised his work approved it. Granted we had to pay for my expenses, but still. They could have said no way. The first obstacle was getting our girls taken care of. No problem, family stepped up for that and arrangements were made for them to miss school for two days. I hate that part, but my aunt is a teacher so I knew they would not miss out. Unfortunately, we could not fly out of the nearest airport with the cheapest rate. We had to fly out of Bham b/c that is where family is. In the long run the cost was about the same. Since we had early flights it was easier to drive to Bham the night before. I felt bad for my family b/c they felt obligated to wait up for us. We weren’t arriving late, but it had been an exhausting day for them. That morning, in the wee hours, they had put their daughter and her children on a flight home to Abu Dhabi. It was a long day for the household. We made good time to Bham, got the girls settled, and caught some rest for ourselves. The next day was going to be LONG.

Waking up at 4 AM we quickly got ready for the day and headed to the airport. I have to say, early morning is pretty nice. There were no crowds, and everyone still has patience. I expected security to be more than it was. They looked at my carry-on, but nothing major. All of our flights were on time! Once in LA getting to our hotel was a breeze. Luck still with us, we were allowed early check-in. A nap would have been nice, but we were in LA! Time to explore. After a quick refresh it was time to venture to Hollywood.

Going to LA was not my idea of an awesome vacation. I am a relax at the beach kind of girl, all about the hotel and atmosphere of relaxation. Big cities are busy, go and do. I’m not a go and do. My decision to go on this trip was based only on getting to spend quality time with Djembe. Most of the big deal things to see in LA have little meaning to me. I do not watch a lot of TV and haven’t seen a ton of movies, so it isn’t familiar to me. That said, the hotel was nice. Feather pillows, soft comforter, and comfortable bed. I like a little more unique feel, but still thumbs up.

The first evening in Hollywood was nice. Like I said before, we didn’t get to see all we wanted to because of the premier red carpet event, but it was still interesting. The cool part is watching TV and seeing the places that I have seen, knowing their significance now. I also understand why my tour guide kept calling it “Hollyweird”. As normal as most people seemed, there are some strange people hanging out in front of Grauman’s. Everybody wants to make a $ I guess. Later in the trip I even got to see Batman arrested for disorderly conduct. Not everyday you get to see that. As we walked the “walk of fame” toward Musician’s Institute we saw a Scientology building. Not impressed. My first thought was “how pathetic, this is what so many celebs are into? You would think the building would be nicer.” Of course, turns out that was not the celebrity center. On that note…ever read about Scientology? OK..yeah, now there’s some interesting stuff. Reminds me of a joke someone told about their belief in Thetan and questioning if the founder had a lisp…but anyway…it is interesting.

Back to the first day…we just went exploring, ate at the California Pizza Kitchen, and had a remarkable day. There is something special about getting away. It really helps you recharge. I was fascinated by the Babylonian look of the shopping area. The elephant sculptures were seriously cool, even if we do relate elephants to Alabama football. A friend of mine is a serious Alabama fan so I must photoshop one of the elephants to represent AL for her.

I was surprised by Hollywood. As nice as it was, it was not a glamorous part of town. I’m sure that at certain times it is. I think tourism has taken away from some of the glitz and glamour. There were many areas that seemed in need of repair. It was a dirty area, but it was somewhat dingy. Not as bad as other areas I saw on my tour, but still…

Enough for tonight. If I plan to get and stay well sleep has to be a priority. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the well wishes…we are all on the mend. Hope you were able to follow my ramble…tata