Let’s Do the Timewarp Again!
Wow! I completely missed December! What was I thinking? Anyway, I had started writing a post mid-December and just lost track of time and space apparently. Well now I’m getting things back on track for the new year. So let’s recap the past month and maybe even throw in a handful of photos for all you visual entertainment folks out there.
As my good buddy Ferris likes to say “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Thanksgiving was at my Uncle and Aunt’s house, due to my grandmother having surgery and the a slight accident as a result of the surgery. It seems she had a pretty serious operation done on her inner ear which of course made her equilibrium a bit out of whack and she took a nasty fall, hit her head, and blacked out resulting in her heading back to the hospital with a nasty gash on her head. She is doing much better and says that she can hear like 80 percent better than she has for the past 60 plus years! I’m telling ya that modern medicine is pretty spiffy! So turkey day was moved and we all seemed to have a pretty good time with tons of good food and fun, hangin’ with family.
While my mom was in town watching J through the long Thanksgiving weekend, Karen and I headed out to Pasadena to see our friends Andy and Crissy. We ended up having a few drinks at this groovy bar/club/pool hall and then grabbing dinner at the Crepe Vine Bistro which is a must visit for anyone reading this who is planning on visiting Pasadena anytime soon. Thanks to Andy and Crissy for a much needed getaway and an all around fun night out.
We rolled in December with a trip to Disneyland thanks to my old pal Lawrence and his brother. This time, however, we ended up spending most of the night in California Adventure because 1) We’ve never really been to that park and, 2) They are undergoing a complete overhaul on it that should be done by 2011, I believe. Oh and by the way, the plans look AMAZING for the newish park! We also can’t emphasize how cool that new Toy Story ride is… it blows Buzz Lightyear AWAY! The next night was our annual trip to the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade. Maybe it was because of the cold weather, but it certainly seemed more festive this year. We started the parade off with a dinner at Domenico’s where lot’s of friends showed up and then joined the us at the parade. Overall, a very nice evening for everyone.
Next up, Christmas and that meant grandma was coming back out to spend time with the J-man and and that gave me and Karen a chance to get away for a few days! We spent the day (after I got off work) at my Uncle’s again and played our Feikema version of the white elephant gift stealing game. We also went with a more non traditional barbeque style dinner and was a nice change of pace from the old ham and turkey routine. Later that night we bailed from my family’s gig and headed over to our friends Sam and Lisa’s household. We all exchanged gifts for the kids and stuck around for awhile talking and eating with the Barreras.
By Saturday, Karen and I were off to L.A. for a local getaway at the Georgian Hotel for a couple of days of peace and quiet. The hotel was beautiful and very 1920s L.A Art Deco style that faced the Santa Monica Pier.We walked around the 3rd street promenade that night for some shopping and dinner and ended up catching the late showing of Milk with Sean Penn. A great film with incredible performances by everyone involved and definitely an Oscar for Mr. Penn. The next day we drove up into the Hollywood hills to do some sight seeing and after an hour or so we headed back down to the city for reservation at the Dome on Sunset to see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Another outstanding film, although a little odd for maybe some people’s tastes, but still a really enjoyable film. It’s extremely spooky at how good the effects are getting nowadays. The work they did on Brad Pitt and even Cate Blanchett was spectacular. Our mini vacation ended with good food, two good movies and spending it all with my best friend, my wife Karen. Perfection!
We rang out the year with a new Xbox for Christmas and tons of game time, but one last trip was in store for us with J to the La Brea Tarpits. This time we spent our time on actual tours and got a run through on the museum and then it was outside to an actual excavation site!
