be sure to rollover ‘notes’ to see photo captions!
November 2–7
Mom flew into LAX Tuesday night, so I picked her up after class. The next day we went to brunch at Bea Bea’s, hung out for awhile at Maria and Clayton’s, then went to Warner Brothers to wait in line for the Ellen Show. The show was so much fun and we got Portia de Rossi’s book (her segment was pre-taped but we got to see it) and a 3M Shoot ‘n Share—a little digital camcorder and projector in one! We also got to be there for the pre-taping of Mario Lopez’s segment. Dinner at Gindi Thai with Maria, Clayton, and Megan.
Went directly from class to Maria and Clayton’s so I could hang out with Mom. Took her to Sweetsalt for lunch and hung out in the afternoon.
Friday morning class was cancelled, so picked up mom and drove to the Huntington. Had the English tea buffet by the Rose Garden and it was completely delightful. Finger sandwiches, scones, pastries, salads, cheeses, fruits, teas! Wpent the next three hours wandering the grounds—the Japanese and Chinese gardens were gorgeous and the Desert Garden was shockingly vast. There were so many hidden little places, complete with a little bench to read/nap on. Hit the gift shop, then drove to the Griffith Observatory for sunset. I showed Mom the highlights of the observatory (seismograph, vapor chamber, Foucault pendulum, periodic table, Tesla coil) and we got to see the city lit up at night. I have her a quick tour of my apartment, then we met Maria and Clayton at Malbec in Toluca Lake for Argentinian steaks! Back to their apartment and tried to watch a movie, but U-verse died a slow terrible death before our eyes. Probably should’ve been a boring, disappointing night, but between the AT&T customer service guy and Clayton and Mom’s jokes, it was actually really fun and entertaining.
Saturday Mom and I took a quick day trip to Santa Barbara. We ate on the wharf, saw the Old Mission, and walked along State Street. Mom had her first Yogurtland! Back to Burbank for Diwali dinner at Sid and Deepti’s. Deepti’s parents are in town, and Deepti and her mom made a CRAZY DELICIOUS feast for us. Afterwards, we looked at some photos of Deepti when she was little, and photos and videos of Sid and Deepti’s wedding…and they announced that Deepti is pregnant! A lovely evening.
On Sunday Mom and I had breakfast, then before I took her to the airport, went to Trader Joe’s so she could smuggle some contraband back to the QC.