Los Angeles and Riverside

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After leaving Death Valley, we drove into LA on Monday to visit some of my (Brandi's) old friends from high school. Alanna, who I was great friends with in high school even though she moved to Iowa, lives in Malibu now and is going to Pepperdine Law School. We met up with her and drove into Culver City to hang out at her boyfriend's apartment. Had some delicious pizza and watched a couple old videos she had of us in high school (probably incredibly boring for Wes!), and then hung out in the hot tub for a bit. It was really nice to catch up- we hadn't seen each other for about 5 years, but we got along pretty much exactly as we always did!

We camped out in Malibu that night and planned to meet up with another high school friend, Amy, later the next day, Tuesday. We tried and tried to get some vegetable oil for a few hours but had no luck (lots of people said yes but had no oil). We went over to Amy's place and made dinner for her and her boyfriend Carleton, watched some Eddie Izzard, and played Taboo... They're both really great people, laid back, good to just hang out with.

Wednesday we drove to Venice Beach and wandered around there for a little while. It seemed like a pretty cool area, lots of people selling handmade things on the sidewalk, and a lot of good people-watching to do. I'd love to go back on a weekend or when it's warmer out (although winter in LA is pretty damn warm) because I'm sure it would be much more crowded and interesting to sit back and watch.

After Venice, we went to the Santa Monica pier (wouldn't recommend that one...) and then drove through the lovely LA traffic at rush hour- we actually got passed by people walking- to go to the "Walk of Fame" where all the stars have their, well, stars on the ground, and the handprints at Mann's Chinese Theatre. We stayed the night again at Amy's before setting off for Riverside the next morning.

Thursday, we drove to Riverside to stay with my cousin Mimi and her husband John. I hadn't seen her since I was 11, so it was really good to catch up for a while. And they have the cutest beagles! Wes and I are suckers for dogs... We went out to dinner that first night with Mimi and John and my great Uncle Jim and Paul, who live in Banning. I hadn't seen Jim since I was about 13, and Paul since I was a baby. The next day Wes and I finally got some more veggie oil from a restaurant in Riverside (first time after days of trying), and that night we made dinner for Mimi and John. They took us out to a bar to meet up with their friends and John's cousin, and we saw a really awesome blues band. Mimi and I even got up and danced- the only ones on the dance floor- and I got made fun of by the comedian who did a short thing right before the band's second set. I was pretty embarrassed, but Wes helped me out by saying that it's cool to be the one person picked out of a crowd and made fun of by a comedian... Ha ha... But it was a really great time!

On our way out of Riverside, we stopped by Wes' good friend from high school Brittany's place and hung out with her and her husband Tim. They made us some delicious pancakes! And we caught up for a few hours before hitting the road again.

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Photos

Brandi and Alanna
at Phil's apartment in Culver City (LA)

The Beagles
Mimi and John's Beagles- Sturgis and Cody

Brandi, Mimi, and John
in Riverside

Wes, Brittany, and Tim
in Riverside