California Dreamin'

All the leaves are brown

All the leaves are brown

And the sky is grey

And the sky is grey

I've been for a walk

I've been for a walk

On a winters day

On a winters day

I'd be safe and warm
I'd be safe and warm

If I was in l.a.

If I was in l.a.

California dreamin

California dreamin

On such a winters day

Alright, part deux of my trip - Friday was gorgeous as well, so HB and I road tripped over to Cabazon to see the dinosaurs that were featured in one of the best movies of all time - Pee-wee's Big Adventure. And yes, they were just as cheesy as I hoped they would be. See below for

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

We had a great time walking around inside the dinosaurs, checking out the gift store, and looking at all the other ridiculous dinosaur displays that, for some reason, also included a medieval soldier and a lion and a lamb together. Not quite sure that they were for, but okay.

After lunch and fun with a couple slot machines at the casino on the reservation next to the dinosaurs, we made our way to Pasadena Art Night. A brilliant concept that allowed free access to a wide variety of Pasadena organizations featuring visual and performing art from around the world. We made it to the Pasadena Alliance Francaise (bien sur!), the Public library where there were some great dancers, as well as the Norton Simon Museum which, luckily, featured a great exhibit of ancient Indian art.

Superfun night and a great way to support the arts.

Saturday was a chill day exploring Venice Beach. Definitely a crazy cast of characters with all kinds of art, street performers, color, and random stuff for sale. Wherever I travel, I love to buy pieces of original art - even if the artist is completely unknown. I'll post more on this later, but I have to say - thrilled with the art I bought there.

Later that night, we met up with HB's college roommate for a community production of The Secret Garden. Enjoyed it, but I must say that the musical deals much more with the afterlife and ghosts of the dead characters than the book ever did.

I arrived home on Sunday after a great breakfast at a farmer's market in LA and an easy flight back to Chicago. I was exhausted and burned, but really grateful to have had a mini-vacation with a good friend and great memories. More pics from the trip can be found here.

Oh, and one more goal down: 99) Watch the sunset from inside the "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" dinosaur. (Please note - didn't get to experience sunset because of time demands and I'm pretty sure they weren't even open at that time. But what I say - close enough)

So, that's 11 goals down, 89 to go and it hasn't even been a year!