Remembering LA

Usually, this blog tends to focus on my relationship with my kids... our days, our weeks... our time and the littlest (and sometimes the biggest) moments that make them memorable. As a stay-at-home Mom, more often than not, my kids are always with me. Sure there is the weekly dance class and times when Aaron takes the kids while I get some "pampering" ;). A little over a month ago, I... with the push of my husband and a friend found in the most unlikely of places... bought concert tickets and a flight to LA. It had been a month of nerves...

But last Thursday, February 25, after picking up Claire and Chase from school, the month of anxiousness was upon me as we headed to the airport. It'd been years since I traveled alone... college to be exact. And, like I said, I had never even attempted to leave my kids for any longer than a couple of hours. The five of us sat in the airport talking as we waited for my flight... unfortunately, it didn't last long as long as I would have liked it to... because the longer we sat together the more emotional Claire got. Realizing that the situation was only getting worse, Aaron made the decision that they needed to leave. As I walked to the TSA screening area, Claire began to panic... wanting to hold my hand... and so wanting to go with me. We gave HUGE hugs... and as I walked away... her tears began to flow. It was heart wrenching as she screamed "I want my mommy." :( I had wished she wasn't so worked up over me... but knew that she just wanted me to know that she loved me that much.

I sat in Wilmington, for what seemed like an eternity. The flight coming in was late... therefore our flight leaving left late. When we landed in Charlotte, I was majorly stressing because I only had 8 minutes to get to my next flight. Luckily, we came in on C6 and I only had to go to C15! I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I was going to make my flight to LA. When I finally got on the plane... all the stress that I had about traveling finally vanished. The flight was so long...and it was strange not having my kids crawling all over me ...but I was fortunate enough during such a LONG flight to sit by 2 young girls. One from Germany traveling from Central America on her way to Singapore and a rapper named Jayne Deaux (she's super nice and her music is really good.... if you like hip hop you should check her out ;) )

When I arrived in LA, I called my friend Catherine-- we were roommates at UNCW in 1999 and have been friends ever since. Catherine told me that she was on the freeway and that I should head towards baggage and she would pick me up at the"curb." Of course, being friends as long as we have been I couldn't resist, "Curb??? What am I a hooker??" Ahhh... and the fun had begun. It was so good to see my old friend... after not seeing each other for 3 years... I wondered if she would look different...ok... so she did a little... she added blond streaks to her brown hair... I told her that she was "totally trying to live up to my California stereotype". I also wondered if our relationship had changed... BUT... it's amazing how really good friendships work... it was like no time had ever passed between us. Before heading back to her house in Corona del Mar, we stopped at The Cheesecake Factory for a late night snack of Avocado Egg rolls... YUM. Once we finally made it back to her house, we stayed up talking for a bit... then my eyes couldn't stay awake anymore. Catherine told me just to text her when I woke up in the morning... which I did.

I woke up on Friday, at 6:10 am. I waited until about 6:45 to text Catherine, "Good Morning :) I've been up for 30 minutes and I can't fall back asleep. Sorry." To which I got a return text: "You're a pain in my ass. I don't get up this early on a work day." I bust out laughing because that is SO the Catherine that I know and love. I headed into her room... to get in a morning chat... and let her know how I was starving. On our walk to breakfast, I started becoming enamored with her neighborhood. The trees... the trees... the trees...from Palms to Pines they stood strong and were amazingly beautiful. We shared a breakfast burrito (whoever came up with that food invention is a genius) and fresh squeezed orange juice with so much pulp I could've used a fork... ewww, I know... but it was yummy ;) On the way back from breakfast we walked to her beach... which I have to say was AMAZING. Living on the Southeast Coast, I'm used to seeing sand dunes and sea grass... 2 things that seemed to be non-existent on the California coast. Instead of dunes and sea grass.... there the coast line was marked by high cliffs and rocks/boulders. It was so beautiful. The juxtaposition of the smoothness of the sand and the hardness/roughness of the rocks was a sight that my eyes couldn't get enough of. As we stood there, over-looking the beach, I noticed a spot called "Inspiration Point" and as I looked around I was in awe of how the seemingly "locals" were stopping and taking a moment just to look out at the ocean... it was obvious... they love where they live. After our brief stop at the Corona del Mar beach, we headed out to drive PCH to Laguna Beach. Going from the more spacious area of Corona del Mar to Laguna... was a quite a change. Laguna was a sight to see. So much going on... beach volleyball games and people everywhere. Until... we walked out onto the beach....

As I looked down, I knew I had found my "gifts" from California to my 3 children. Purple (that's my color) shells everywhere and sea glass. I was in heaven. I've always wanted to find sea glass! After Laguna, Catherine and I headed to her favorite Mexican restaurant "Javier's (?)". I have to say that it was the fanciest Mexican restaurant that I have ever been to... BUT... fancy or not... the food was AMAZING! After lunch, we headed back to Corona del Mar to go to the beach. Huge pelicans...I touched an anemone and I could hear sea lions barking in the distance... I was determined to see one... so we started walking down the jetty wall... yes... I was nervous that I would fall into one of the giant holes... but I was determined... unfortunately, my determination was not going to convince my brain to make it all the way to the end... so we turned around. Just as in Laguna, sea shells and sea glass abound. However, so did litter. I tried to leave "myself" at home... but my conscience quickly woke up as I saw a straw laying in the surf. It was in that moment, that I stopped collecting shells and started collecting litter. With only my 2 hands, I filled them until I could hold no more... then made a trip to the trash cans. Catherine... not one to pick up litter... came around when she started noticing sharp pieces of glass everywhere. I immediately said, "How shitty would that be?? To step on glass at the beach. That's just messed up." AND, of course, she agreed and started picking up EVERY piece of glass. (I'm thrilled that I have at least convinced her to pick up some sort of litter... YAY... Catherine!! ;) ). On the way back to Catherine's home (2 blocks from the beach), I couldn't get over the beauty of all the landscaping (and the LEMON trees!!)... but the flowers were calling to be photographed. All that know me, know that besides taking pictures of my kids... I have a major thing for taking pictures of flowers.

We went out to dinner... to some Crab house, then to See's Candy (to get chocolate for the kiddo's... ok... me and Aaron, too) and to the Huntington Beach Pier. I've been on piers before... but holy moly... never one THAT big. Sure it was in the dark of night... but it seemed monstrous! By the end of the day, the time change had really taken it's toll on me... as Catherine and I chatted... I could no longer keep my eyes open. I quickly fell asleep, only to awake at 3:30 in the morning! The rain was pouring outside and after about an hour... I managed to fall back asleep... only to again wake at 6:10 am!! I guess one could say that I'm consistent! I laid around for about an hour listening to the rain before waking my sleepy headed friend ;) Then we got around and went to the crazy good breakfast burrito place... I'm thinking that I could live in Corona del Mar if I could go there EVERY morning... hmmm... they have lunch, too!!

We then headed to LA in the pouring down rain. I'm not sure if I had been living in a bubble... but I was under the impression that rain wasn't something that happened often in LA. hmmm... Anyway, we made it (safe and sound) to my friend Adriana's a little later than I had originally planned... but on this trip... I had told myself that I would not overly plan... what happens happens... and I will go with the flow... to some extent ;) Now, back to Adriana... before Saturday, I had never met her in person... and most had asked me if I was nervous about meeting someone for the "first" time... and strangely enough... I wasn't. Meeting her for the first time... was like seeing a friend that I hadn't seen in years. I immediately felt comfortable in her presence... she was a busy bee... trying to work out a "kink" in the LRO video. Once everything was "seemingly" under control... she took me on a driving tour of some popular LA areas. Her "short cut" was through the area where the Playboy Mansion is and other ginormous houses. She then took me to "Café Audrey" and "Jones". Café Audrey was absolutely stunning... the walls are covered in pictures of Audrey Hepburn. A definite spot that I will return to when I go back to LA. And "Jone's"... mmmm....I'm semi-wishing we had one here in Wilmington... because the menu was so diverse that I honestly would LOVE to try a bit of everything. Oh, and I also got to go on an audition (casting call??) with Adriana. I didn't audition for anything... not my schtick... but a lady there asked me if I was there for the "Bare Essentials" casting call. "HA!" But she told me I had great skin and I was perfect for it... I was OBVIOUSLY completely flattered.... not that I would've gotten the "job"... but it still felt really nice.

We then headed to Long Beach for the "Cord Progression" concert to benefit "Life Rolls On" (LRO). It was a good haul from LA... and my talking (do I normally talk so much??) wasn't doing Adriana any good as she kept getting off on the wrong exit ramps! Future reference to myself: shut it! No stress or worries, though, because we had plenty of time. OH! And we saw the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen in my life. I took a picture to share with the kids... but its grandness and beauty just didn't come through. Oh well... I suppose it's still etched in my memory. When we got to Long Beach, I (once again) couldn't get over how beautiful it was. If I'm being honest, when I hear Long Beach I immediately think of Snoop Dogg ;) However, Long Beach totally blew my expectations out of the water. We walked around an area that had lots of restaurants, shops and even a game room that was humongous... my kids would have gone crazy for it. After walking around a bit, Adriana and I headed over to the venue for her to get the LRO video that she produced ready for the concert. She had to be there at sound check which meant us getting into the venue early... I have to say... it was really an experience. I've never been to a sound check... walked across the stage (besides a dance recital anyway ;) ) or seen what goes on before the show. I sat on a little couch while Adriana worked... met some really nice people... and listened to Timmy Curran sound check. The hope was to see Jason sound check... BUT... even though we didn't... I loved EVERY second sitting still, listening and taking in every moment of being there. Once the video had proven itself to be in working order, we headed to dinner.

We got back to the Long Beach Terrace Theater at the perfect time. Walked around for a bit... walked backstage looking for a different bathroom to use-- you should have seen the line!! Then settled into our seats just before the lights dimmed. AND the concert was absolutely AMAZING!! It opened with The MakePeace Brothers, Bushwalla, and Timmy Curran. What I loved is that they all were completely different... MP Bros. are super chill, Bushwalla is a little hip hop and hilarious, and Timmy Curran... wow. I was amazed that anyone could get up during any of their sets... although my reason for purchasing the tickets was because Jason Mraz was headlining... I certainly didn't want to miss a thing. Before Jason came out... the video that Adriana worked so tirelessly to get to the show played... I'd seen it before... but somehow on the big screen (and a room full of energy) it was even more hilarious than the first time I watched it. The video ends with Jason saying, "...out of respect for Jessie... I have someone carry me.." With that he enters... being carried. I thought to myself... I know her... the girl that made that all possible :) Like the acts before him... amazing. His voice is so pure... I could see him in concert a thousand times and never tire of his voice. As I sat and stood and sat and stood... I dreamed of laying in a hammock. Maybe my fatigue was setting in... because I kept having to say to myself, "I am not tired. I am awake. This moment is so short."

Here are a few of my favorites from the evening...that I could actually find on YouTube... trust me there was SO much more!

After the concert, we headed backstage. Adriana had hopes of me meeting Jason... but instead, I met a lot of really nice people. I know that chances of that all happening again... is so teeny tiny... that I stood there absorbing the moment.... the sights and sounds... I felt out of place... but completely comfortable all at the same time. After hanging around for awhile, we decided to head back to LA. It was a long drive and Adriana was whooped... I was, too... and I finally stopped repeating the previous phrases to myself and gave in to the fact that I was beyond tired. I went to bed around 1 am and woke at 5 am! With the flight home on my brain (and the fear of oversleeping), I couldn't fall back asleep. I laid under the blankets-- as not to wake Adriana--talking to Aaron and then got all of my stuff around for the trip home.

On our way to the airport, I listened as Adriana spoke in Spanish to her Mom. I sat there in awe of the effortlessness of it all... and I smiled because I had absolutely no idea what they were saying...and as I smiled... I remembered that the conversation was not a light one. I stopped and paused thinking... as I often do... languages are amazing. We stopped for bagels and not untypical of my short visit with Adriana had the best of conversations. As Adriana says, "The universe conspires..." and I am so grateful that it conspired to bring us together.

After Adriana had dropped me off at LAX, I ran into a little snafu... I reached into my bag to get out my flight info/tickets when I couldn't find my purse!!! I immediately started to panic and thought that I had left my purse in my friend's car. I quickly borrowed a phone (mine was in my purse)... and as I stood there I said, "I don't know her phone number." (NOTE to self... start dialing numbers instead of speed dial!!!). I called my husband who called my mom to get Adriana's number from my email. Aaron called Adriana (my purse wasn't in her car). And all the while this is going down, I hear my name over the intercom. Longer story short, I guess my purse fell out of my bag at LAX... and someone (an amazing someone) turned it in!!! Someone must have been looking out for me... because I had over $200, my iPod, and my phone in my Kate Spade purse. Anyone could've taken it... and no one would have ever known... I am so grateful for honesty and genuinely good people. After that whole fiasco, the rest of my trip home was great! I sat by the best people on the way to Charlotte... never laughed so much with complete strangers... a 21 year old Navy boy and a 42 year old mother of 5...which after they shared their ages... I, of course, had to share mine...AND they were completely shocked to find out my age because they thought I was 25-26!! Woohoo!!  I SO needed this trip to LA.

To LA: I thought that I may feel insecure because I am surgery free...and I don't dress to the nines......

Thank you to my friends and those that crossed my path for opening my eyes and showing me that LA is more than a desert filled with superficial fake plastic people. :)

Yes, I took pictures.... not as many as I usually take. For some reason... having a camera glued to my face... just didn't feel right. Maybe it's because the whole time in LA... I had this song stuck in my head.

"Today I finally overcame trying to fit the world inside a picture frame."