California - Here I Come - or Came.

 I don't know what I expected when I got to California.  The Pacific Ocean is beautiful, but I guess I expected all of it to be beautiful (like the movies, I guess).  Sunday, I put Margaret Ann back on the plane to Reno and drove north to LA.  I stayed with the son of a friend of mine.  They are delightful, and have two really, really cute children  I can say that because I don't have to be around when they become teenagers!!  However, the really fun part of the trip was seeing someone I haven't seen in around 25 years.  Steve was a friend, a great skater (because we all grew up at the ice rink) and in 7th grade I was madly "in love" with him.  However, our friend, Sharon, was also in love with him and she assured me he would definitely like her.  And, as it turned out, she was correct.  But, we were still friends (because he did not know how I felt, so he could not have felt awkward about it!)  And, even though I occasionally liked a boy, I was never secure enough to actually be involved!  Okay!! Enough history.  We talked, talked, talked about school (we relived, jr. high, high school and winterhurst) about ex-spouses, Mike, children, grandchildren and just about everything else under the sun; drove through Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Santa Monica, Venice, other suburbs of LA and, finally, to Rodeo Drive.  Now, that is a beautiful street!  The fronts of the stores are even beautiful.  It was definitely fun to see a little of how "the other half llives"!!  All in all, it was a really great visit and definitely worth the drive!!  Tomorrow, it is on to Santa Barbara - then back to Reno.  I am not certain I can do that in one day, but I will give it a go. Thanks for listening.  Ricci