AT THE HUNTINGTON WITH CHRISTENE and earlier, THE PANTAGES WITH EMMA..….

Christene is a docent at the Huntington as well as a student and delightful friend.  Emma is her talented and quite charming daughter.

Friday Christene & I went to a lecture on wild flowers in California at the Huntington.

It was fascinating to hear how important the wildflowers were to the native Americans in California.

Seeds were passed around for us to smell and examine.

They were small but mighty!

The woman is holding a ‘digging stick’.

……..and here’s one that was passed around.  Guess I’m all set to go digging for dinner!

More seeds……………….

Time to hunt and gather………

Or perhaps time for tea…….

……..what a lovely spot to sit back, enjoy our beverages and watch the assorted peeps and birds go by……..

Fun to take a photograph of someone taking a photograph!

This fellow looks to be quite serious about his photographs….no iPhone stuff for him!

Capturing the moment…..

Going back to the previous Tuesday evening,  Christene’s daughter Emma & I went to the Pantages to hear Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential and a dozen or so other books.  I just don’t understand why no one else wanted to go as he’s #1 terrific in my book…gosh I posted it on Facebook …..Oh well!

We got to the Pantages sooooo early (eager with anticipation) that I thought a hot dog was in order….this little place is right next door.  When we left it was jammed. 

Decided to split this ham creation instead.  Yes, it was yummy!

Anthony, or ‘Uncle Tony’ as Emma calls him, was sharing the stage with Roy Choi of the KOGI BBQ Taco Trucks fame.  They bantered back and forth and opened to a question & answer time.

This doesn’t show you much so you’ll just have to take my word that it was TERRIFIC!!!

Afterwards, Christene picked Emma up at my mom’s….a favorite meeting spot!

To be continued…….

MORNING IN RICHMOND VIRGINIA…..

……..brought beautiful blue skies and a 90 degree temperature!  I thought it best to start the day with a hearty breakfast in my room.

Just one photo before I go….

A partial view of the grounds at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel.

And I’m off with lovely Julie!

What’s that I see?  Could it be a Nan Rae image???

Yes, exactly that….one of 300 plus.

And here I am, signing and numbering those 300 plus prints.

Here’s a signature to prove it and the job only took me 5 hours.  I think the numbering slowed me down.

The finished stack of 300 plus signed and numbered images.

And here it is framed and ready to go to CRATE and BARREL with the other 299 hand signed and numbered prints.

Can you see the deckled edge?  The print is floated above the mat.  Someone does the deckling by HAND….imagine!

Time for a relaxing dinner……

Easy on the dessert………….

Did George Washington sleep here????

The grounds at the hotel were soooo beautiful & relaxing.  Can you hear the birds singing in this video????

I thought it best to have a hearty breakfast before leaving my comfy room and heading to the airport. And yes, I polished off everything!

En route……so beautiful……

This adorable little girl was at the Richmond  airport with her two pooches….they had been flying for 5 hours…….

Meet Captain Christy, flying out of Charlotte North Carolina. I actually stopped her in the ladies room with “Are you a pilot?” …….so fun! We decided to exit the LR for this photo!

See Captain Christie’s tie showing all the places she flies to…..

I bought this sandwich in the terminal and it was soooooo delicious.  Chicken salad with chunks of apples & the best ever bread.

Going home it was Super Shuttle which I do not recommend. Even with a reservation I waited outside over 30 minutes and it was late at night and cold….not quite a ‘dark and stormy night’ but too cold to wait that long for the shuttle and of course, after being picked up the driver had to circle around looking for more passengers.

These fellows and the lights in the tunnel leading to Sepulveda Blvd looked like something on another planet.  The photo doesn’t capture it.

For some odd reason, the driver was unable to process one of my fellow passengers credit card and made her go into a 7Eleven in Glendale for cash.  She was only able to get $10. so it was a crazy time getting the matter resolved.

I’m so glad to be home!

KITA’S FIRST DOG PARK ADVENTURE……

……….was thankfully uneventful.  I went with Trudy and Geoff who walk her early each morning.  Geoff drove and it was quite a sight seeing the three of us in the car with Kita barely under control. Trudy had suggested Kita go to this park near the Zoo so she could run around off leash.  Geoff brought a walking stick to fend off aggressors.  I suspect the following videos will only be of interest to the most ardent, over the top dog lovers.  

You can see that Kita is more interested in getting a rub down from Trudy than socializing with the other pups.

Finally a little bit of chasing.

This little pup wants no part of ‘Big Dog’ and thought it best to hide under the table. Wise move.

Kita would much rather be with Geoff.

Kita, you’re a very bad girl.

At this point my iPhone had no more memory….lucky you!  But be warned, there’s always the next trip to the park.

WE HAVE TO GO BACK……..

………but wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Here I am last Wednesday morning, off to LAX.

NOTE to SELF:  While you may love that bag, please remember to take one with lots of pockets for ‘stuff’….and, it should only weigh a few ounces.

SECOND NOTE to SELF:  Don’t you think those Porche sunglasses are a bit much???

Can you believe this was the very first time I didn’t check my luggage thru…. Got this little Samsonite carry-on number and crammed all the essentials into it.  So pleased.

Wait just a minute…I didn’t say goodbye to Charles……

O.K., I’m ready to go…………

Oh this is great, comfy sedan, friendly driver and a beautiful day.  Traffic’s not too bad as we’re approaching the Los Feliz off ramp on the 5.

WAIT……….WE HAVE TO GO BACK! “Go back?????” says my driver…..”are you sure…what do you need…..you can get it there”?????  “Oh no” says I as he glumly gets off the freeway and heads on back.  Meanwhile, I phoned Nikka with instructions to grab the two make up cases on my bathroom counter and meet us at Western & Glenoaks!  At this point I’m sure all you gals understand WHY I had to go back.  In fact, if I  had been at LAX & noticed the missing items, I would have gone back….plane or no plane.  Honest.

You can hardly see her but this lady was an angel in disguise.  She checked me in and when I asked her where I should go next she replied…..”Just go back outside, turn left and walk about ten minutes…….then go inside to Gate 68”  WHA????????????????

Guess my face fell as she then asked if I’d like a wheelchair.  FANTASTIC IDEA!!!!  Guess you know my answer.  So into the chair I plop as my ‘driver’ carts me the ten minutes outside and then about another 20 minutes inside over hill and dale.  We went on forever and honestly I don’t know how anyone does it.  Even had to take two elevators to get to other levels……Now that I had that ‘light bulb moment’, I requested a wheel chair to meet me when my plane landed……good thing too as the connecting flight was at the other end of the Cincinnati airport and I had less than 30 minutes to make it!!!  Gosh the airlines should pay us to fly.

Great flight Captain…..you earned your wings.

Someone asked if WKRP was playing.  I thought that was quite clever.

Still on Delta (love them) and on my way to Richmond Virginia.

You’ll love this one.  (I’m laughing so much I don’t know if I can type.)  The stewardess asked me if I could manage the steps or if I wanted a ramp.  I didn’t know what she was talking about but said yes to the ramp as I usually say yes to everything & anything.  So……they pulled the ramp up to the plane just for me!…..Can you see the stairs????

Finally at about 10:00 P.M.

My temporary nest.

But to get there I had to walk down this corridor……………….

………turn and go down this way to the very end…….

Ahhhhhhh……………………….made it.

Plenty of room for those ‘cosmetic bags’………

11:00 P.M. dinner…….cobb salad…….

……to be continued.