MAY: MEMORIAL DAY - LOS ANGELES

Well, April went by too quickly and we never planned a weekend away, so we planned a fun getaway for May. We decided to go to Los Angeles to visit Michele's brother and sister-in-law for the long holiday weekend. We flew out early Thursday morning and arrived in L.A. around 9:00 am, which meant we had the whole day to explore. After picking up our rental car (a Mustang convertible), we drove out to the beaches. First, we headed to Santa Monica, which was beautiful and looked just like we had seen in pictures. Then, we walked to Venice Beach. We did not get any pictures there, because we were too busy people watching! We found a great place to eat on the boardwalk, Figtree's Cafe, and just sat there for about an hour watching everyone walk by, it was truly entertaining! And we knew we were in California, when we noticed that they had a Tofu Reuben on the menu. Sounds yummy, huh?


Darren getting ready to check out Santa Monica Pier


The Classic Santa Monica Pier Picture

Friday morning, we woke up early (thanks to the time change), and decided to do our own Hollywood sightseeing tour. Unfortunately, the weather was cold and rainy outside. Who says it never rains in Southern California? First, we drove to Beverly Hills and checked out Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Hills Hotel.


The Beverly Hills Hotel

Then, we headed to historic Hollywood Boulevard. Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame were of course full of tourists, but they were fun to see, especially Brad Pitt and Matt Damon's hand- and foot-prints!


Grauman's Chinese Theatre


Brad Pitt and Matt Damon's prints

Our friend Tina had recommended that we do the Kodak Theatre tour, which turned out to be a great idea for the rainy day. The Kodak Theatre opened in November 2001 and was built to be the first permanent home of the Academy Awards®. It was definitely fun to see inside the theatre and the VIP areas. Unfortunately, they were doing work on the stage, so we did not get to see any of the backstage area.


Getting ready to do the Kodak Theatre Tour


The staircase outside the theatre

After our tour, it appeared that the rain had stopped for a while, so we decided to drive to Robertson Boulevard and check out all of the hot celebrity spots. We walked by The Ivy and saw Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Prince von Anhalt, being interviewed by the paparazzi. Then, we checked out the shops that young Hollywood is always shopping in, Kitson and Lisa Kline. Darren was quite happy that Michele could find nothing to buy at either place, because it surely would have put a dent in our travel budget!


The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard

Saturday, our hosts Kevin and Joanne were excited to show us around their city. We decided to try to find some of the houses used in famous television shows. The first one we went searching for was the "Brady Bunch" house. We spotted it right away. There is now a fence in front of the house, but it still looks exactly the same!


The "Brady Bunch" House

Next, we searched out the apartment complex from "Melrose Place". We went inside but did not see the famous pool from the show, so I don't think they shot any of the inside scenes here.


The "Melrose Place" Complex

We then took a break from house searching and went to check out Griffith Park. Griffith Park is a 4,000 acre park which includes the Griffith Observatory, the Greek Theatre (an outdoor concert venue), and numerous trails and recreation areas. We got some great views of the city, including the Hollywood sign. Then afterwards, we headed over to Beechwood Drive, where we could get some great pictures of the famous sign.


Views from Griffith Observatory


Hollywood Sign as seen from Beechwood Drive

To complete our sight-seeing for the day, we then found the house from "Happy Days". Again, it looks exactly the same! And our final stop of the day was the Little Brown Church of the Valley. This is the church where Ronald and Nancy Reagan were married. It is open 24 hours a day to the public. Recently, you may have seen paparazzi photos of Britney Spears there.


The "Happy Days" House


The Little Brown Church of the Valley

Sunday was all about Dodgers baseball. We had strategically planned our trip to Los Angeles so that we could see both the Dodgers and the Angels while we were there. On Sunday, the Dodgers were playing the Cardinals. The weather was gloomy in the morning but fortunately started clearing up for the game. It was very cool to see Dodger Stadium which was opened in 1962. Our seats were in the outfield in the "all you can eat" section, so we were able to have as many of the famous Dodger Dogs as we wanted. It was well worth it! The game was incredible and ended up going into extra innings. The "Boys in Blue" did not let us down and ended up winning the game in the tenth inning!


Dodger Stadium est. 1962


View from our seats in the outfield

Monday was Memorial Day and our last day in L.A. Fortunately the weather was finally nice! We were able to put the top down on the Mustang, and then we decided to check out Malibu. We drove to Kevin and Joanne's favorite area near Pepperdine University and did a nice little hike around the area.


Enjoying the beautiful day in Malibu


The amazing houses on the beach in Malibu

At lunchtime, we decided to check out Neptune's Net, which is a famous seafood restaurant and bikers bar on the beach. The food was pretty good and we had a nice view of the beach, plus it was fun hanging out with all of the bikers and surfers!


Neptune's Net in Malibu


The beautiful Malibu beaches

Our final stop of the trip was Angel Stadium in Anaheim. This is a much newer stadium than Dodger Stadium, and it is really nice! The Angels were playing the Tigers on Monday, and we had club seats this time. We had great views of the stadium, especially of the bullpens, plus we got to have some good food delivered to us. It was a much slower game than the one on Sunday, although there was some good defense to watch. At the end of the ninth inning, the game was tied at 0-0. So, once again we got to see extra innings. This time, the Angels won the game in the 12th inning. And since it was a holiday, we got to watch the fireworks next door at Disneyland as we drove home.


Outside Angel Stadium in Anaheim


View of the bullpens from our seats

We had a great trip to Los Angeles. Next time, we hope to have more time to do some hiking, because there are some great trails in the area. And hopefully we will have better weather too! To view more pictures from our trip, check out our album on Kodak Gallery:http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d7zvi5.ahecf2hx&x=0&y=-kqvihm&localeid=en_US. To see more on the baseball games, check out Michele's blog at http://natsgirl.mlblogs.com/. Now it is off to plan something fun for June!

MARCH: EASTER WEEKEND - THE HOMESTEAD

For our March getaway, we decided to go to The Homestead on Easter weekend. The Homestead is a luxury resort located in the heart of Virginia's Allegheny Mountains. It was founded 10 years before the American Revolution and has hosted a number of U.S. Presidents throughout the years.

The Homestead

We set out on Friday night after work and it was a bit of a drive to get there, about four hours, but it was worth it. The resort is beautiful and we were given a great room with our own balcony, which had spectacular views of the resort. Since we arrived late on Friday and we were given an agenda of the many activities available for the holiday weekend, we decided to retire early so we could start the next day bright and early!

Darren hanging out on our private balcony

Our package included breakfast buffet for both days and unlimited use of the pool and gym. So, Darren hit the pool early on Saturday while Michele slept in a bit, and then we both visited the breakfast buffet. From omelets to Belgian waffles, there was plenty to choose from for breakfast, and everything was delicious! Afterwards, we definitely needed some exercise, so we decide to explore the town of Hot Springs, VA, where the Homestead resides. We also came across one of The Homestead’s hiking trails and decided to do a short hike where we got some great views of the resort.

Michele enjoying the view of The Homestead

Then, it was back to our room to change and hit the gym for a quick workout. Afterwards, we decided to walk around the resort and check out all of the available activities. That was when we found the bowling alley. We had never bowled together, so we figured now was the time. It was a close game, but Darren ended up winning at the very end. Next, it was time for a quick sandwich for lunch and then more exploring. We checked out their ski resort and ice skating rink (which were closed of course) and watched some guys play paintball. We headed back to the resort on one of the other hiking trails. We were ready to go back to our room when we saw the croquet set and decided to play. Neither of us really knew the rules so we made them up as we went along!

Views around the resort

Darren with the winning stroke in Croquet

Before returning to our room to read books and relax, we saw that they were serving afternoon tea in the Great Hall. We enjoyed a few cups sitting in front of the fireplace and then retired to our room to get some rest before the evening activities. There are many options for dinner at The Homestead, and you really should make reservations. We decided to go the casual route and chose Sam Snead’s Tavern. We hadn’t made reservations but there was plenty of room at the bar, which worked out perfectly, because we wanted to watch some of the NCAA games. The tavern had a relaxed, casual atmosphere and was surrounded by photographs and memorabilia from Sam Snead's years with the PGA Tour, and his life in Hot Springs. After dinner, we decide to check out the bars in the resort. First, we went to The Presidents Lounge, which has portraits of a number of presidents. We couldn’t understand why only some of the presidents were there, but then we realized that it was all of the presidents who had visited The Homestead over the years. Next, we headed to The Players Pub to play some darts, pool and watch more of the NCAA games.

Sunday morning, we had another great breakfast at the buffet, and then decided to take the scenic route home. Darren took Michele to Douthat State Park and showed her where he usually mountain bikes and camps with the guys. Then, we stopped at James Madison University, so Michele could show Darren where she went to college. It was a great holiday weekend, and we hope to get back to The Homestead to try out all of the activities that we missed, especially the spa and golf course!

Enjoying the views at Douthat State Park