LA, California – Day 2 (Monday, Aug 4)

So day 2 began much like day 1... Wake up early, roll out of bed, shower, dress, head downstairs to a little cafe for coffee, bagel and fruit to go that mom and I split, and get moving because we have lots to do. And we did do a ton today!

Here are few pictures of us outside of the hotel, waiting for our car. The day must begin with a few smiles!




First, we headed to Hollywood. I can't even type the word without hearing mom in my ear singing "Hollywood, dun, dun, dun, dun Hollywood" over and over and over and over and over and over again! I think I actually leaned over and smacked her to stop! So, we head to Hollywood and have no problems getting there (Thank You Gypsy!). Mom read about Brooks and Dunn getting their star on the walk of fame, so we wanted to try to see that. Even though neither of us are necessarily big Brooks and Dunn fans, (I at least know some of their songs and what they look like - mom is completely clueless and keeps calling them Dunn and Brooks), we thought what a cool experience that would be. So it was supposed to happen at 11:00, and we got to Hollywood by around 9:30 - plenty of time to find out where we needed to be, right? Well, we walked, and stopped and asked, and walked some more, and stopped and asked, and walked some more. We walked over spots we'd already been 2 and 3 times. Since we had some time to kill and were still looking, we ducked into a few souvenir shops and got goodies to take home. Finally, we duck into the Gap (my good 'ole faithful) and ask a sales associate there if he knows anything about Brooks and Dunn getting their star (so far everyone we asked says "yeah - I heard something about that, but I don't know where it is"). Well, he says he thinks it's all the way down at the other end - surprise, surprise. So now it is getting really close to time and here we thought we were so ahead of the game. We book it back down to the other end of the walk of fame and sure enough, there are the barricades and people waiting.

We got there just in time (luckily not too early after all since we are in the HOT sun, with no shade, and I forgot my hat at the hotel, and you know how the sun doesn't agree with me!). Pretty soon, here comes Brooks and Dunn. You can see in these pictures we really weren't that far away. As mom is taking pictures she keeps saying - "which ones are they?" and "which one is that?". She is so funny. I'm just laughing, especially since we are surrounded by die hard fans (one lady from Australia!) who are going berserk. It turned out that Dr. Phil and his wife were doing the introduction so they were also there. She was all decked out in her boob popping Dolce and 3 inch Louboutin heels. So first we had to hear from the President of the LA Chamber of Commerce, then someone else in a similar sort of role (I can't remember), then Dr. Phil, then his wife... jeez - give us the stars already!!

At this point, I'm sweating, it's so hot, and I am so over this. So, mom and I decide - enough already. We came, we saw, we took the pictures, we're done. Oh, by the way - I almost forgot to say that about halfway through all the nobody's speeches, mom's camera battery died (forgot to charge it the night before - oops), so you can imagine we're REALLY done!

Here are a few pictures from our stardom... The grey haired guy in the middle is some big whig in the LA Chamber of Commerce - whoopty - but as you can see he is totally blocking our view! Look on either side and you can see Brooks and Dunn and the back of Dr. Phil's bald head.


This one is for Allan (I'm not sure if he even reads my blog), but he better appreciate this one - this guy was sweaty and kept trying to talk while I was trying to smile for the picture!


As we're walking back towards the Kodak Theater (home of the "red carpet"), we see along the backside of where all this hooplah was going on that there is a DSW. We duck in, (Let me sidebar really quickly to say that this DSW was HUGE - twice as big as any I've seen and with tons of great stock), and wallah - we have a perfect, air conditioned view of Brooks and Dunn getting their star. But soon, we were REALLY over seeing them pose for pictures and doing basically nothing, so I looked at some really cute handbags, and ended up finding some great Michael Kors shoes that were $100, on sale for 50% off, and with mom's $20 coupon (Thanks Mom!), I only paid $30!

It is now afternoon, and we are finished wandering Hollywood. We're now starving, and decided to head to this restaurant for lunch that my friend Jen recommended - The Alcove. She said it had a great menu - very cafe / bistro like. Sure enough, Gypsy got us there in no time, and just like Jen said - it was a very cute, quaint place with a different and very enticing menu. I ended up having a ham and cheese panini (with a not so common cheese I don't remember) and a side salad with balsamic dressing (still trying to be good). Mom had a turkey and cranberry sandwich with sweet potato fries (which of course I stole a few). It sounds easy enough, but it's difficult to accurately describe. They were made with just enough twist from a normal, boring way - and oh so yummy!! I have been finding something very interesting in our dining experiences in LA... in California, people wait for a table OUTSIDE, in Texas, people wait for a table INSIDE. Just an observation.

After lunch, we debate on what to do next. Mom is very distraught that she doesn't have a camera and even contemplates buying a disposable for the day. But of course, although we have seen 20 CVS along the way - there isn't one to be found now. We end up driving through Beverly Hills and along Rodeo Drive (at this point, we're happy to observe from the car and not have to pay to park to wander the stores we can't afford to shop in). One more thing to cross off the list - check!

As we headed back to the hotel, we came across a mall. Just what we needed, but I really was in need of some new Reef flip flops. My feet were killing me with all the walking we were doing, and my Reefs were 3 summers old, so it was time. We wandered around the mall (because we don't have malls in Texas!), and I did find a new pair of Reefs (made that change and threw my old ones away), and also stumbled across a store called Aldo where I found not 1, but 2 fabulous handbags, a pair or way cool gold sandals, and mom and I both found awesome necklaces. All in all, I spent only about $100 in the store and found some great stuff!

Back at the hotel, we decided to get a recommendation from the Concierge for dinner - something light and casual we tell her, and preferably close by. We remembered how difficult it was to find anything open in downtown at night, and we don't want to have to go far, or go fancy. So she recommended this Italian place called Zucca within a 5 minute drive and offered the hotel car to take us. We thought this was a good idea, but then we have to wait for the car to get back from taking someone else, then we'll have to call them when we're ready to be picked up and wait for them to come back. It's just not worth it and after all, that is why we rented a car. So we drive ourselves and just resound to pay for parking (did I mention you have to pay to park EVERYWHERE in LA and it's crazy expensive?!) We get to Zucca and are looking at each other like - oh no, this is so NOT what we had in mind. I felt very under dressed and it was not laid back at all. But whatever, we're already here now, so we might as well go with it (plus we already paid the $5 or $10 to park!). Mom and I split the eggplant parmigiana appetizer and a fried calamari (so not on my diet), and a margherita pizza. It was good, but NOT great, and definitely not worth the price. But oh well - at least now we're fed and can head back to the hotel to wind down and get some rest.

And we did - I think we crashed by 9:30!!!