Breathtaking views and texts

I was extremely happy when I saw Clare waiting for me at the airport. It was great to be able to spend a full week with her, and in a new place. Being able to travel anywhere new is exciting for me. I had once driven through L.A. with my dad, but we hadn’t stopped anywhere.

The trip was from that Tuesday night to Monday. Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so we had that day off.  Clare and I both took off work on Wednesday through Friday. I should say that she and I are both only children and we are very weird. Our Wednesday evening consisted of watching a pre-recorded episode of Biggest Loser and putting together a beautiful tray of snacks for watching it. And, of course, this included mimosas. 

Our week also consisted of me learning the importance of Trader Joe’s and their amazing dark chocolate Pretzel Slims. Since then I have asked her to ship me a few bags. They are that good. We also watched several episodes of Hoarders. She likes to call me a hoarder, though I must say my apartment is much better since she had helped me organize and throw stuff out in December.

We also explored Olvera Street, a Mexican area in L.A. There were tons of shops and booths along this street. I bought plenty of Day of the Dead style souvenirs, and then we rested at an amazing restaurant on the street. They had freshly made tortillas, and a few were cooked in mint. It sounds weird, but the flavor was great. We tried to explore Chinatown, which was right next to Olvera Street, but all we could see was the big Chinatown sign along with a bail bonds store, so we decided to get out of there.

I am also obsessed with bubble tea, so we kept an eye out for it while I was there. We tried several places, but I was not able to find any as good as a bubble tea place in Oklahoma. (Yes, bubble tea in Oklahoma sounds wrong, but it is so right.)

We also visited the Getty museum. The outside of the museum was better than the inside though. It sits atop a hill and has a gorgeous view of L.A. We took a ton of photos outside. That day we got stuck in traffic for two hours on the way home. But we just listened to some funny rap music and gossiped the whole way back.

Chris texted me throughout the week. On Wednesday, he sent this gem: “Leaving right after having sex the first time was a brilliant idea if your goal was to make me think about you frequently.” On Friday we were chatting about exercises and he said, “I can think of a lot of fun exercises to try with you. There’s this great workout for your thighs called reverse cowgirl. Really works up a sweat. Or maybe the butterfly. You stay on your back in the bed so I can stand and hold your legs apart. You know, for stretching.” I responded, “Hmm…sounds like a good stretch.” Of course I was telling Clare about these texts and even she was saying, “Damn.”

Clare and I hung out with her husband over the weekend. We drove down Mulholland Drive to see the huge houses and check out the views. It was breathtaking. Then we drove into Beverly Hills and browsed the shops on Rodeo Drive. She bought lipstick from Chanel while I gasped at the prices of the clothes. We found a cupcake shop on a side street, which was affordable enough for me. After our shopping adventures, we met up with another couple that also used to live in Texas. The five of us tried an Ethiopian restaurant. None of us had tried Ethiopian food before. We ordered a bottle of honey wine, which the restaurant makes. The bottle didn’t even have a label. To me it tasted like liquor with a little bit of honey mixed in. I couldn’t even finish my glass. Clare and I shared a huge vegetarian platter. It was delicious, but we agreed that it wasn’t necessarily food that we would crave, just something that was pretty good. Chris texted me that day with this: “I eagerly await your return. My lips miss your lips.”

On Sunday visited the beach in Malibu. We parked at a point and walked around taking photos along the beach. Again, this was another breathtaking view. I love the ocean.

Monday was spent getting pedicures and driving over to the beach by her apartment. You can literally see the ocean from her apartment, but it’s still a few blocks away. We stood by the cliff above the water and just listened to the waves. It was wonderful. We talked about great it would be to just sit here and read a book. On the way to the airport, she and her husband took me to their favorite Italian restaurant. Each person gets a personal pizza that is huge with a thin crust. The margherita pizza was yummy.

It was hard to say goodbye to Clare again. There was no planned trip for her to visit Texas so it was unknown when we would see each other again. I got a tear in my eye as we hugged bye. Then it was into the airport to wait and wait. I texted with Chris while waiting, and of course my flight was delayed. I told him, “I’m a little horny.” He wrote, “What a coincidence. May we can help each other with that issue. I happen to know some great remedies.” He also told me, “Hurry up and get back!” to which I responded, “I’m trying!”