So recently hubby and I were in LaLa Land (also known as Los Angeles) on business ....his not mine. And technically speaking we will be in the OC not LA, but I digress. I was just tagging along cause, well, why not take advantage of a perfectly nice hotel room in a perfectly nice hotel??? Now I am not much on the SoCal scene....too many young ones with great bodies, tanned skin, and white teeth. Ugh, makes one feel like Fred Flintstone having a bad hair day and unsightly bloating! But I decide I can grin and bear it because I am in desperate need of a change of scenery....
We head on down the highway, in my zippy zippy car, with the top down and tons of sunscreen on. Beautiful day in Cali. Rolling hills and oak trees, grape vines and blue skies...does it get better than this?!? Well, yeah, it can. And then it happens....just past SLO, the highway comes back out to the coast and we get our first glimpse of the vast Pacific. It is sparkling in the sunshine. Wide open beaches with gentle waves...very different from NorCal, with it's rocky coastline and crashing waves, but nonetheless, beauty. A quick snack stop in gorgeous Santa Barbara and we're "on the road again" (uh cue Willie Nelson please...thanks). A couple hours later and we enter driving hell. Oh well, it was fun for a while anyway. Zooming in and out of the legendary LA freeway traffic, we end up in Irvine for hubby's meeting.
The hotel was situated in a business area of tall buildings and fine dining so it's not too bad. However...hubby is tired after the long drive and wants to eat in. This is code, for him, meaning lets check out the concierge lounge treats. Okay, I admit it was VERY nice. They had a bar set up and steak bites, grilled veggies, caesar salad, assorted crudities, cheeses, breads, etc. We order drinks, wine for me of course and surprise-surprise hubby orders a cocktail...very unlike him as he is usually the DD, but we sample everything and are no longer hungry so that was my meal. Actually it was relaxing and delicious, sitting there looking out at the city lights and talking. Oh and here's the best part...they close down the appetizers after a couple of hours and set up a dessert bar! SCORE!!!
The next day hubby heads to his meeting and go out for a "girl" day. I drive over to Newport Beach and the Fashion Island mall. Nirvana for retail pros like myself. First I decide to go get my hair done at the Drybar. Totally LA. This place is really cute and they do blowouts only...no other salon type services like cuts or color. After you get your complementary drink (yes please) the stylist will wash your hair and then set about getting your hair to look just like their menu. It was a lot of fun and would be a great thing to do with a buddy. So after my hair is bouncin' and behavin', I set about shopping. This mall is really nice...and has an ocean view to boot. I find a couple of things and have lunch in their version of a food court. It was really nice, but small though there were some delicious options for an inexpensive lunch. I have a sushi plate, but in true LA fashion, it is arranged on a plate of salad with the most scrumptious lemon ginger dressing....one of the best dressings I have ever eaten! Seriously good. After some more browsing and shopping...more browsing than shopping at this point, I sit down with a cappuccino and enjoy the people watching. It is a beautiful,warm sunny day.
Heading back to the hotel, I get a text from the hubby saying he is finishing his meeting soon and for me to get dolled up for dinner! He was excited to try this Japanese restaurant and I didn't have the heart to tell him I HAD sushi for lunch...no biggie because it is all about being together, but I will say he is darn lucky I like Japanese/Asian food. Just sayin'
Before we leave LA, hubby wants to cross off something on his bucket list. See a while back, he saw Anthony Bourdain do a food tour of Korea-town on an episode of his CNN series. So hubby, being of partial Korean descent, decides he has to eat in the dumpling place. After much in and out and stop and go traffic, we exit the freeway in to a very, er uh, "depressed" neighborhood. Welcome to the big city. We manage to (finally) find the place and proceed to have a fantastic meal. We get a couple of to-go orders for RL, our daughter, and merge into speeding traffic. Driving back home is not a fun as the drive down, we are tired and ready to park it at our little hacienda. And in a few hours we are doing just that....climbing into bed for some much needed shut eye.
What a fun little quickie...
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