Los Angeles, California: We left a very dusty and windy Indio Friday afternoon and drove to Los Angeles to watch the grandkids while Lisa and Lenny volunteered for Leo’s school auction/fundraiser/party.
The wind was very strong Friday and our casita was coated in a thick film of sandy grit by the time we headed west towards LA. Though temperatures in the Coachella Valley were finally supposed to be in the 80s over the weekend, the weather was predicted to still be terrible in Los Angeles. Still not a day over 70 in 2019 in Los Angeles. Record-breaking rain fall.
We had time to check into our hotel (remember, our kids are temporarily in an apartment as they renovate their new house) before meeting up for pizza and car/kid exchange. We needed a car with car seats and they needed a SUV with a ton of cargo room to transport auction item to the party venue. After ice cream dessert at the hotel, baths, reading… the kids settled-in for a good night sleep.
Lisa and Lenny were up ’til the wee-hours printing-out bid sheets.
Leo (first grade) is reading hisownself before bedtime some nights these days
So sweet and innocent… until we played musical beds all night.
It was pouring rain Saturday morning, and 59 degrees. No hours spent by the hotel pool. Blissfully, Leo and Lucy slept until 7:30a and were happy to watch cartoons while DT and I exercised and showered. The kids also love the breakfast buffet at the hotel, so that activity kept them entertained for a while.
We brought Leo a new Moleskine journal. Seriously, the kid can fill-up a sketchbook or lined journal in a week. He loves to draw, sketch and write! Today, Leo started a book in the lined notebook:
Leo did not ask us how to spell any of the words in the first line of his latest novel. Leo is 7.
Our entertainment for the day was supposed to be a stroll around The Americana in Glendale, a movie, and dinner. We did these things, but we did them as drenched citizens. The rain was relentless. It was as if we were in Oregon.
Except with sales tax.
Leo has a new shirt. Lucy has new shoes.
We went to the new Lego 2 movie. It did not receive good reviews (on NPR), but we all enjoyed the flick, especially the adult-themed asides and out-takes.
Lucy and Leo made a photo booth selfie after the movie and it was emailed to DT. How modern!
After the movie, we spent quite a bit of time in a bookshop, and then enjoyed a nice dinner with two very tired kids.
Another night of musical beds awaited us… except we can’t remember because we were all stoned. Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but the smell of marijuana was so strong in the hallway and our room (in our totally non-smoking hotel) that I was wondering if it was unsafe for the kids (who were already asleep). The smell permeated our room! I’m not a prude – I went to college in the 70’s – but non-smoking means DO NOT SMOKE, and I truly did not appreciate another person infringing into our breathing space. A complaint to management resulted in our incidentals being removed from the tab, but still… smoking is smoking people!
We went to the apartment in the morning to switch cars/kids and learned the auction had been a total success and had earned much more than last year, and everyone had a marvelous time. Yeah, Lisa!
Leo’s Godmother, Angela, invited us all to the horse races at Santa Anita as her mother was visiting from Athens and her sister was visiting from New York. Wholesome Family Fun. It was the first time Angela’s mom had been to horse racing, so it was fun getting her involved in wagering (i.e. wagering $2 per race).
Someone was all dressed up!
Stormy day at the race track. 62 degrees, but it never rained. We had box seats under cover and had a great time, though no one was lucky at the ponies today.
Dave and I returned to Indio, only to find the same weather we left two days prior – wind and dust.
Sand was exfoliating our car and wind screen as we entered the Coachella Valley. I hate these sand storms! We arrived to find a thick coating of sand/dust on every square inch of our casita.
Leaving that until the morning…. we had dinner at the clubhouse.
Until my next update, I remain, your dusty-but-happy correspondent.