A Weekend With Kim

My friend Kim arrived at LAX on Friday morning for a fun weekend visit. After picking her up, we went right to Santa Monica, where we window shopped and ate at the 3rd Street Promenade Mall. Then we walked a couple of blocks down to the ocean front, where we saw the biggest beach we'd ever seen. We wanted to dip our toes in the water, so we began walking towards the ocean ... and a few minutes later, we felt like we weren't any closer than when we'd begun, that's how big it was! We finally made it, and then made our way to the Santa Monica Pier/Boardwalk, where there were rides, games, restaurants, charicaturists (sp?), and shops. It was such a beautiful sight!

After that, we drove down Santa Monica Boulevard all the way to Beverly Hills. Luckily for us, we stumbled upon Rodeo Drive. Practically every car we saw was out of our price range! It was amazing to see the super expensive shops in Beverly Hills. From Tiffany's to Louis Vuitton (where we saw a $355 belt), we were a bit overwhelmed. But we didn't see anyone famous, so we were bummed. We drove around trying to find their houses, but no luck. After that, we drove to Hollywood to see the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood sign, but we didn't get out and walk around -- by that time, we were starting to tire out!

On Saturday, we hung out with some of my friends and then attempted to lay out at Pismo Beach, but it was really cold and overcast! So we came home and relaxed, which included a dip in the hot tub. Then on Sunday, we went wine tasting. Not so much me, since I can't stand the taste of wine, but Jason and Kim wound up getting plenty of wine in their stomachs and even some free wine glasses as a memento of their experience at each winery -- 4 in total. Cambria, Fess Parker, Firestone (yes, the same one as Andrew "The Bachelor" Firestone), and Rideau. We also passed a couple wineries that were featured in the movie Sideways. Talk about a beautiful area! The views were breathtaking, but unfortunately I don't think a photograph can do it justice.

On the way back to Santa Maria, we took 2 detours -- one to check out the gated entrance to MJ's Neverland Ranch. You couldn't really see anything, but it was cool just to say we were there. The other detour was to Main Street Beach in Guadalupe, about 15 minutes west of us. Apparently, parts of The Ten Commandments and G.I. Jane were filmed there (among other movies), and I guess Johnny Depp will be coming in October to shoot some scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean 3 there. Such a cool experience overall. I'm glad Kim could come out so we could both see these sights! I can't believe that Jason and I will be leaving California for good in 2 weeks!!!!