L.A. Day 3
We spent the day with my high-school friend,
Henry and his girlfriend Jessica and then the afternoon and evening with Ed,
Brenda, and Parker
I'd drive an hour for a poached
egg...
We didn't get back from the wedding until close to midnight, so we slept in a little bit and awoke just in time to set up a brunch with my really good friend from high-school, Henry, and his girlfriend Jessica. They are foodies, like we are, and really wanted us to come down to try a wonderful restaurant on La Brea called Campanile - driving 45 minutes for brunch is not something Lauren and I do very often, but in LA it seems to be somewhat normal. We arrived a bit late but it was worth it - it was an absolutely fantastic restaurant and the brunch was extremely good. Lauren and I both had a brisket-hash with poached eggs and it was quite amazing. And we even had a celebrity sighting when Beck and his girlfriend arrived while we were eating.
We had a great time catching up with Henry and Jessica and hearing about their big trip to Italy that they are taking in a couple of weeks... actually, that part just made us jealous! Anyway, here we are in front of the restaurant. Jessica is, unfortunately, taking the picture so she's not in the shot! I should have done one of my patented one arm photos but I don't think it works well with more than two people.
Back to Thousand Oaks
We got back in the car and drove back to Thousand Oaks just in time to meet Ed and Brenda coming home from their trip to the east coast. They were back and forth between Wayne, PA and Martha's Vineyard going to weddings and delivering my Jimmy to their house on the island.
In a definite sign that we are all related, we immediately headed out to Costco to get *more* food for the evening meal. I had never been to Costco since Lauren and I just became members so it was a special treat for them to all watch the Costco-virgin wander aimlessly around the store picking up 8 pound jars of peanut butter with tears of joy in his eyes. We got some great scallops, halibut, and lamb chops for a little surf and turf back at the house.
We spent the next couple of hours watching Ed prepare the meal (helping out here and there but mostly watching). It was fun to catch up and hear about their trip and all their interesting plans for their next big move now that Parker is going to Cornell this fall.
Here is Lauren and Brenda standing on the patio:
Meanwhile, Ed was cooking everything on their massive outdoor grill:
Eventually, we all sat down for an incredible meal (the only home-cooked one we had the entire trip) and had a great time. Parker told us all the stories of the small family of rats that seem to be making their nests in his engine compartment at night - a man after my own heart, he video taped the rodents for evidence.
After dinner, Ed took me for a brief ride in his highly modified Lingenfelter Corvette - I could write an entire blog entry on this car but I won't. Suffice it to say, I've never ridden in a car that fast before and it has re-ignited my desire to get another Corvette (can you hear Lauren groaning?)!
Rob is great, take us to the chocolate cake
When the evening finally came to an end, we decided to head back to Rob's house in order to be closer to the airport in the morning. We left Thousand Oaks around 11PM and despite absolutely gorging our selves at Ed and Brenda's and having a wonderful desert, Lauren and I had a final hankering for some late night heavy-duty chocolate dessert action. Rob obliged us by taking us to Solley's where we got a fried banana split and a piece of chocolate cake as big as my head. Absolutely disgusting but it was more about hanging out with Rob one last time before we left in the morning.
We said goodbye to Gus and Sebastian, packed up our stuff, and went to bed so we could leave early in the morning. It was a great ending to a perfect extended weekend in LA!
We didn't get back from the wedding until close to midnight, so we slept in a little bit and awoke just in time to set up a brunch with my really good friend from high-school, Henry, and his girlfriend Jessica. They are foodies, like we are, and really wanted us to come down to try a wonderful restaurant on La Brea called Campanile - driving 45 minutes for brunch is not something Lauren and I do very often, but in LA it seems to be somewhat normal. We arrived a bit late but it was worth it - it was an absolutely fantastic restaurant and the brunch was extremely good. Lauren and I both had a brisket-hash with poached eggs and it was quite amazing. And we even had a celebrity sighting when Beck and his girlfriend arrived while we were eating.
We had a great time catching up with Henry and Jessica and hearing about their big trip to Italy that they are taking in a couple of weeks... actually, that part just made us jealous! Anyway, here we are in front of the restaurant. Jessica is, unfortunately, taking the picture so she's not in the shot! I should have done one of my patented one arm photos but I don't think it works well with more than two people.
Back to Thousand Oaks
We got back in the car and drove back to Thousand Oaks just in time to meet Ed and Brenda coming home from their trip to the east coast. They were back and forth between Wayne, PA and Martha's Vineyard going to weddings and delivering my Jimmy to their house on the island.
In a definite sign that we are all related, we immediately headed out to Costco to get *more* food for the evening meal. I had never been to Costco since Lauren and I just became members so it was a special treat for them to all watch the Costco-virgin wander aimlessly around the store picking up 8 pound jars of peanut butter with tears of joy in his eyes. We got some great scallops, halibut, and lamb chops for a little surf and turf back at the house.
We spent the next couple of hours watching Ed prepare the meal (helping out here and there but mostly watching). It was fun to catch up and hear about their trip and all their interesting plans for their next big move now that Parker is going to Cornell this fall.
Here is Lauren and Brenda standing on the patio:
Meanwhile, Ed was cooking everything on their massive outdoor grill:
Eventually, we all sat down for an incredible meal (the only home-cooked one we had the entire trip) and had a great time. Parker told us all the stories of the small family of rats that seem to be making their nests in his engine compartment at night - a man after my own heart, he video taped the rodents for evidence.
After dinner, Ed took me for a brief ride in his highly modified Lingenfelter Corvette - I could write an entire blog entry on this car but I won't. Suffice it to say, I've never ridden in a car that fast before and it has re-ignited my desire to get another Corvette (can you hear Lauren groaning?)!
Rob is great, take us to the chocolate cake
When the evening finally came to an end, we decided to head back to Rob's house in order to be closer to the airport in the morning. We left Thousand Oaks around 11PM and despite absolutely gorging our selves at Ed and Brenda's and having a wonderful desert, Lauren and I had a final hankering for some late night heavy-duty chocolate dessert action. Rob obliged us by taking us to Solley's where we got a fried banana split and a piece of chocolate cake as big as my head. Absolutely disgusting but it was more about hanging out with Rob one last time before we left in the morning.
We said goodbye to Gus and Sebastian, packed up our stuff, and went to bed so we could leave early in the morning. It was a great ending to a perfect extended weekend in LA!
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Published On: Apr 20, 2004 12:56 AM
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Published On: Apr 20, 2004 12:56 AM