Donny was a good bowler, and a good man. He was one of us. He was a man who loved the outdoors… and bowling, and as a surfer he explored the beaches of Southern California, from La Jolla to Leo Carrillo…
- Walter Sobchak, The Big Lebowski
I went to L.A. for the first time for a few nights over New Year’s to visit my sister, Stephanie. We camped in Leo Carillo and Cleveland National Park, saw Dane Cook at the Laugh Factory, watched the L.A. Kings annihilate the Chicago Blackhawks, and overall thought about and subsequently consumed food as much as possible. Especially Mexican food. I miss tortillas and jalapenos. And my beloved cat, Ivy.
Here is a link to the photos.
And here’s a time-line of the major events:
Dec 28 - Tim and I arrived late and pretty much went to bed
Dec 29 - Had an easy morning. Opened Christmas presents! Tim and I enjoyed breakfast outdoors in the sun for the first time in a long long time. Hand lunch at Kay & Dave’s “No Lard Zone” Mexican restaurant (recommended, but do add salt to their food!).
Went to Santa Monica shopping area and bought jeans and groceries and camping stuff. Cooked a yummy belated Christmas dinner (Tofurkey with all the fixins) then went to the Laugh Factory where we saw Johnny Sanchez (of Mad TV), Dane Cook (not that funny), an Italian guy who joked about having “a table”, and some other people who were not as funny as the above three. The host was also funny but kind of gross. In fact, most of the humor was either gross or racial. But we laughed out loud. It was very fun. Thank you, Steff!
Dec 30 - Wine country in Temecula! Discovered Longshadow Ranch. Note to self for next time: plan a picnic lunch around this place. I bought a bottle of Chardonnay. Filsinger Winery needed a serious update, but had tasty wine and we bought a bottle of champagne for new year’s. Steff had wine spilled on her at La Cereza Winery, but walked away with a token purple wine stopper. Returned to L.A. for dinner at home (Tim’s Precise Nachos / Mini Tostadas) and camp planning.
Dec 31 - Went to Leo Carillo State Park for a very windy New Year’s Eve camp-out. Watched the sunset on 2007 from the beach, then made dinner on the fire - veggie burgers, potatoes (burnt by moi), corn (sweet and delicious), salad, grilled onion and pepper. Drink Heineken and Champagne and played charades. Retired at 11:30pm like a bunch of old farts.
Jan 1 - Happy New Year! It was still windy at Leo Carillo, but we had an awesome campfire breakfast anyway. Went back to Steff’s place for Tim’s Tofurkey Ruebens (but use of leftover Tofurkey EVER) then watched the Chicago Blackhawks get their asses kicked by the L.A. Kings. Still, was a great game and an awesome Christmas present. Thank you, Steff!
Jan 2 - Left L.A. early for Cleveland National Park for another night of camping. What a delightful campground - quiet, peaceful, and plenty of room - the stuff dreams are made of! We took a walk in the Santa Ana mountains, then had an awesome feast at the campsite. Tim had the best burger he’s had (veggie or meaty) in many moons. The potatoes were perfect. Everything was pretty much perfect. The slow, relaxed easy campout that we were all hoping for.
Jan 3 - We all slept like dead babies, and had a wonderfully long morning cooking the best campfire breakfast of our lives: veggie sausage, toast, pan-fried onion and green pepper with leftover potato, oatmeal, tea. Really great stuff.
Left in the afternoon for L.A. and planned Tim’s and my last night in town. We opted for home-cooked Mexican feast. Admittedly, we went overboard: fried plantains, bean dip, corn casserole, guac, pico, verde salsa, fajitas, tortillas, Corona with lime, Negra Modelo. But it was all really good and a fitting end to a fantastic trip.
Jan 4 - Not much to say here, just breakfast then off to the airport. It was a sad farewell. For me, anyway! I love California. And now I’m feeling just a little bit homesick…
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M
Sounded like a wonderful trip. “slept like dead babies” - great turn of phrase.
H