Wednesday - Going to San Diego

On Wednesday morning I headed out of LA, stopping at the La Brea Tar Pits. It was interesting to see (and smell!) the pits, and see all the reassembled skeletons of mastadons, wooly mammoths, birds of prey and big cats. There were many school groups there so I tagged along with some of their tours to pick up little tidbits offered by the guides.


The La Brea Tar pits

Afterwards, I headed out to The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. I toured the library (including an illuminated Cantebury Tales and Gutenberg Bible) and the art museum before having high tea in the tea room.

Then it was off to San Diego... another beatiful ride. I stopped to take pictures (my digital camera was acting up, so they are on film) and a little chipmunk or something came right up to me to say hi!

I checked into the 500 West Hotel, which was formerly a YMCA but now is an inexpensive, European style modern botique hotel (simple, nice furnishings, shared private bathrooms). I relaxed for a bit before heading out to dinner at a veggie-friendly Mexican place called Pocquez. It was ridiculously inexpensive, and I enjoyed the tofu options on the menu!

Tucked in early that night, pooped from several days of hard traveling.

Tuesday - Back in LA!

Tuesday morning I woke up at the hostel around 5am and headed back to LA to get there by 8am for The Price is Right. The sunrise was beautiful, and at one point I came around a bend and the view (of a bay and mountains) was like a Monet painting, all pink and blue and green.

I met my sorority sister Cristina there. We had some time to kill so we sat at a cafe in the mall next to the CBS studios. Finally at about 2pm we got called in for the pre-show interviews (used to decide who gets on the show) apparantly you need to be bonkers to get called on. Then the taping started. It was a lot of fun, although NOBODY won anything! (71st time in the show's history). Bob Barker was funny, and as he left the stage I got to shake his hand! The show airs(ed) Thursday, Feb 23rd , and I am sure you will see me as 2 people in my section were called and I high-fived them as they ran to contestants' row.

After the taping Christina and I had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. I did a little shopping and then Jody came and met me for dinner (he ate, I was stuffed from lunch still) and we had some wine. We had to sit at the bar in the restaurant though, since it was packed for Valentine's Day.


random duck at the mall

Monday - Santa Barbara Wine Country

On Monday I woke up early to head up to Santa Barbara wine country. I started out in Santa Maria, about three hours north of Los Angeles and worked my way down the Foxen Canyon wine trail, visiting several of the locations featured in Sideways (including the winery where he drank from the spit bucket and the restaurant where she orders the "fucking merlot").


one of the wineries

I found out early on that mentioning I work at a wine bar ("in the industry") got me free tastings and a 10-33% discount on wines. I tried to buy a bottle everywhere I stopped if I found something I liked. I didn't buy anything at Firestone (or tire and "The Bachelor" fame) because their wines were pretty disappointing.

Driving through wine country was really peaceful, and everyone I met at the wineries (mostly couples touring together) was really nice. The wineries all close by 6, so afterwards I had dinner in Los Olives. Since I was tired and had spent the day wine tasting I decided to stay at a hostel in Santa Barbara rather than drive all the way back to LA. It was a decent spot and at $21 was a bargain.


bucolic roadside scenery

Sunday - Vegas to LA

Sunday morning I picked up my rental car... a hunter green Chrysler Sebring convertible with a GPS navigation system. Because I was traveling alone, I knew the GPS would save me the hassle of trying to read a map while driving, plus I could be spontaneous and go anywhere without having to plan a route.


my license plate

With the top down, I set out for LA. The weather that day (and for most of the trip) was in the high 60s/low 70s and sunny!) - a little cool for a convertible, but with the heater on, enjoyable. As you can see, even the gateway to Death Valley was temperate.



Once in LA, I heaaded straight for the LA County Museum of Art in Hollywood. It is a beautiful building with a large outdoor courtyard and several galleries surrounding it. Jody came to meet me and we went to have dinner at Toi, a funky Thai restaurant with an East Village vibe. Jody lives nearby, in Hollywood, and was nice enough to let me stay at his house.