UPDATE ALERT! The First Two Days in the City of Angels...

Well, here we are on day 3 of our 5 day stay and I can't believe I'm just now finding the time to write. We've been a lot busier than I thought we'd be and our internal time clocks are TOTALLY screwed up. Hard to believe a 2 hour time change could make such a huge difference, but it has. Here's the most amazing thing of all.... the HU has been staying up with me every night until like 2 or 3 in the morning, which would actually be 4 or 5 in Texas time. I keep wondering who this guy is & what has he done with my husband? The HU has been a blast this trip and I'm really enjoying his company. He did, however, remind me not to get too used to it because he plans to return to normal when we get home, LOL! Although, I can tell you he's worried that he'll never get back to normal. I told him to relax. Really. Five days cannot possibly have changed a way of life that has been observed for 30 years. Really.

The day of arrival (Wednesday), we checked in to our hotel (which is great!). Our darling DU had delivered a huge basket of healthy snacks, 10 bottles of Dasani, a good bottle of vodka (she knows us too well), and a beautiful arrangement of yellow tulips before our arrival, so it was waiting for us when we checked in. What a treat that was!

After getting unpacked we drove over to see the DU's office/studio in Hollywood. The recording company she works for has dozens & dozens of framed gold & silver records for every great band you can think of and Clio Awards out the wazoo. It was fun seeing all the recording studios, especially the very same ones that Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles & the Rolling Stones used to record in. Those bands were all my musical heroes in the 60's & 70's; some into the 1980's. It was a real thrill for me, although I think the DU takes it all in stride. She didn't grow up listening to them day & night when there were maybe a handful of bands compared to today. These bands were like our gurus in the old days, so I was very reverent during my brief visit. I felt like I was wandering around in a temple and wanted to start softly chanting Oooohhhhhmmmmmmmmm. It was damn near a mind-altering experience of sorts, only I didn't have to swallow funny colored pieces of paper made by my old buddy David Oslee, to get there this time. Is that called a flashback. LOL?. Oh my! How the times have changed. Obviously, when we weren't paying attention. Hmmmmm... Wonder why.

When we left there, we came back to the hotel to get cleaned up, then met the DU, MC (the roomate) and one of their guy friends for dinner @ The Pink Taco, which had the absolute best margaritas and the most delightful chilles rellenos I've ever eaten. They were very lightly filled with grilled skirts of beef, mixed cheeses, diced peppers & onions and the batter was as light & puffy as a cloud. They were served atop an arbol salsa & guacamole on the side and included their delicious house rice, which made it all even better. It was absolutely mouth-watering-delicious, even though the service was not the best at the bar. Okay, it was crowded, but I've yet to see any really good place in L.A. that isn't crowded. Otherwise, our server for dinner was very pleasant, yet not overly attentive, but hey - she did bring the margaritas whenever they were needed. I found that at sea level, I was barely even affected by any of it. That was an unexpected & most welcome treat.

Okay, here's what I did that first night. I made the mistake of wearing my adorable new wedge sandals because I didn't know we had to walk so far to & from the restaurant (that would be the small-town-girl-goes-to-the-big-city part of me that was thinking at the moment I put them on). By the time we arrived back at the hotel, I had a festering blister on the left foot * little piggy that went wee wee weeee weeeeee all the way home*. Oh yes, it's a beauty, so I chose to overdose on Advil and ignore it, aside from putting a little antibiotic cream & an attractive band-aid on. In addition, my feet chose this very same time (conspiring with my poor ankles) to swell up to what I'd refer to as *stump size*. Sounds lovely & fun, doesn't it? I can't begin to describe to you how horrified I was to have discovered I'd forgotten to pack my herbal diuretics, so I slept with like eight huge pillows under my feet & legs all night. It did provide a smidgeon of relief, but I was still in pocession of puffy ankles the next morning. What a day...

Thursday, we slept late, took our time getting cleaned up, had room service for breakfast, then went to the historical downtown area called The Olvera District, where we had to pay $10 to park for an hour. A lot of Olvera was under renovation, but we were still able to see a great deal of it. Gorgeous architecture and a great Mexican Bazaar, where you can buy all the same *turista* items that you can get in Mexico. They were also celebrating "The Blessing of the Animals" with some music by the Indians of the Andes, which has been some of my favorite music for years with soothing wind instruments and soft drumming to the rythyms. I was so excited & surprised & could probably have stayed longer, but I felt the HU had been patient with me long enough. We ate lunch @ a little Mexican food place called Dona Anita's that had the most amazing avacado sauce and flautas, with Mariachis to entertain us as we dined. They also made the guacamole right at your table (although it wasn't anything even resembling fancy, just the type of thing their people do for humble dining guests) and I tried with all I had in me to finish all of it, but I was certain I'd regurgitate if I ate the rest. I had to most reluctantly leave about half of it. It was a really painful thing for me to do, because guacamole is my favorite appetizer/sidedish ever. Final Answer. But we needed to move on with our plans for the rest of the day.

Next, we went to Hollywood Boulevard and parked at yet another $10 parking lot. We spent a couple of hours there and walked from one end of Hollywood Blvd, to the other, spending like 20 minutes at Mann's Chinese Theatre while I took pictures of my favorite star's handprints & footprints and gold stars in the sidewalk. By then, we were both starting to drag our aging asses at an alarmingly slower rate, but were able to have an additional TWO memorable experiences before we reached our car.

First, we got to see L.A.'s finest bust & arrest two groups of gang members. I thought they were called gang bangers, but the DU gave me the one-eyebrow-arched-high-in-suspicion-of-my-sanity-look, so I relinquished to the fact that in spite of all my efforts, I suck @ staying up with the times. I'm fairly certain that we were both standing & watching with our mouths gaping & wide open. Then, to be sure there was no one in the vicinity who had any doubts that we were tourists, the HU attempted to impersonate the paparazzi in an effort to get up close & personal digital shots of the arrests. Stellar shots, Dear Husband Unit.

Secondly, after turning off Hollywood Blvd. to go to our car parked at a lot on Vine, a man of about 25 to 30 years old came from behind us, running. The HU heard a commotion and turned to look & see that the young man was stark raving naked and I'm pretty sure he was totally BONKERS. I unfortunately missed his ying-yang swinging freely in the breeze, but HU was fairly traumatized by it. However, I did get to see his butt and it was a very nice one indeed, albeit a crazy bonkers butt. (Frankly, I haven't seen a butt that tight in 20 years.) The HU's comment was "If this had been in Austin, there would have been 10 guys running naked as a prank". I replied "Yes, but this proves that *Hollywood is still Hollyweird*, just as I suspected". At that moment, the cops came screeching around the corner with lights flashing & sirens howling. They arrested his naked ass with a fair amount of force, because the nutcake was gyrating & shaking his head. We're not absolutely certain, but we believe he's probably in a kuckoo ward somewhere, under heavy medication. (Oh Dear... that wasn't very politically correct was it? GOOD! I've never been known for my tact anyway, lol) Or perhaps a drug rehab. Who knows? Maybe he was a friend of Brittany Spears, on his way to her Beverly Hills home for a meeting of great minds. Uh-Huh. Anyway, we were simply thrilled that something so crazy had happened & it didn't involve us to any great extent. Unfortunately, my camera was out of juice by this time.

The traffic being what it is in L.A. (aka: INSANITY), it took us like 45 minutes to get back to the hotel, which just barely gave us enough time to get ready for dinner & the theatre. Thirty minutes after arriving back @ the hotel, we were off again to meet the DU @ Katsuya (on Hollywood Blvd., AGAIN... paying ANOTHER $10 for parking... we're up to $60 now, including the daily hotel valet parking fee of $30). All that out of mind immediately... Katsuya Hollywood was a very upscale (meaning $$$$)Sushi establishment and we were not disappointed in any way. We started out with the most divine martinis called "Burning Mandarin" that were really spicy hot with the outside rim of the glass coated with sugar, to cut the burn of the hot serrano peppers. I had several. (hiccup!)

For appetizers we had the Sashimi Sampler and the Sushi Sampler, both of which helped me to achieve a *180* in my attitude regarding Sushi. Both dishes were so fresh, beautifully prepared and presented, that I was a total convert before the main course even had time to arrive. Next, we had a delicious Miso Soup, followed by Salmon Sashimi w/ Oestra Caviar and Kobe Filet w/ Foie Gras & Plum Wine Soy Sauce. I was close to a total food orgasm at this point. That is, until the DU's *Lady Boss* had so kindly called ahead to have a Creme Brulee' prepared for us, which she had already paid for. It has sadly been eons since I had truly wonderful & perfect creme brulee', complete with a caramelized crispy sugar topping and fresh raspberries & blueberries & whipped cream as its crown. I tell you, the HU, DU and I were in *High Cuisine Dessert Nirvhana*. The brulee' was so incredibly rich & silky, though not too sweet, which was totally enhanced by the fresh raspberries & whipped cream.

BUT WAIT! Our evening wasn't over yet. Our next stop on the agenda was seeing the musical "WICKED" at the Pantages Theatre. Even after reading the reviews about the production & the history of the Pantages Theatre, we were totally unprepared for what we experienced. It was a totally wonderful, witty, hilarious frolick in the Land of Oz, as well as a delve into the heartbreak of the loneliness in being sensitive and *different* than everyone else. The sets were the most elaborate I've ever seen and THE COSTUMES were wild & wonderful beyond description. It was colorful at times and dark and foreboding at other times, but always a spectacular feast for the eyes & the mind & the soul. The most spectacular part of all was the music. The songs & those who sang them were suddenly transported to an entirely new level of theatre, with a production that tugged at your heart strings with no mercy, while at the same time delivering performances equal to any on Broadway. It all boils down to the indelible bond of true friendship. The highs and lows of this show were completely reflected in its music and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SHOW to anyone who is going to be in L.A. or anywhere else you might be fortunate enough to see it. My husband hates theatre productions, but was in total awe of this show. That, my friends, is really something, for sure!

Besides, you won't want to miss the extremely well maintained interior of the 1920's Pentages Theatre, which looks like something straight out of a Theda Bara-I'm-Such-A-Bad-Girl-Secret-Agent movie. The entire interior of the theatre looks like someone just cracked open King Tut's Sacred Tomb with an amazing amount of marble, bronze, and gold filigree on Egyptian statues, busts and wall mounts. It's almost overwhelming and difficult to concentrate on the musical at first. I'll tell more tomorrow, along with pictures of the Pantages Theatre, where we saw "Wicked".

As soon as my DU sends the pictures she took, I'll post them. I had forgotten my camera that night.