Los Angeles California

After years of anticipation we have finally started our round the world journey. First stop, Los Angeles, California. Luckily we arrived at the airport early. Who knew that Craig would not only be selected for a Nexus secondary examination, but an enhanced security search? Was it his new shirt? His new haircut? Or should he just have listened to Irene who told him it was bad luck to change his shirt when he was wearing it inside out the day before? Oh well, it was all good as we still had time for a Starbuck's coffee before our plane departed.

Kathy and Glenn met us upon our arrival at LAX. Within seconds of leaving the terminal, we had our first Hollywood experience. Walking beside us was a very petite young lady wearing a floppy hat. She looked like any other traveller, but the paparazzi wasn't fooled. They followed her all the way to her waiting SUV. Who was it? Who knows? We checked out people.com and tmz.com to no avail. Her identity remains a mystery.

More importantly, it was a beautiful sunny day and we were off to lunch at a French cafe in Venice. The rest of the afternoon was spent touring around Santa Monica and later we stopped to quench our thirst on a patio in Marina del Rey before heading home for dinner.

On Monday we braved the big hills and cycled down to the beach and along an excellent bike path through Playa del Rey and Marina del Rey to Venice beach. It took us several hours, but we were entertained by the scenery and all the interesting characters we saw along the way. On Tuesday, Glenn arranged a city tour for us during the day. After many hours sitting on a bus we were thrilled to have an opportunity to get some exercise that night. Kathy took Lynda to her workout class at "Easy Fitness" in Venice beach. There was nothing easy about it. Who knew that Kathy's trainer, Kevin, would be as evil as our trainer, Judith? Glenn took Craig on a 45 minute run up and down the hills of Playa del Rey, along the beach, and back up and down those hills. Wow, you can certainly build up a sweat in this climate.

On Wednesday, we hopped on the Disneyland Express Bus at the airport and made the journey to the "happiest place on earth." What more can we say? Another hot, sunny day in California. Note to self: next time we go on Splash Mountain, ask for the seats in the back of the ride. It isn't called "Splash Mountain" for nothing.

There have been a few bumps along the way. Somehow one of us deleted all of our pictures from the first two days here. Very disappointing, but we can always take some more. Maybe not. The charger with the extra battery is in Vancouver. Many thanks to Peggy as both items are on their way here via UPS courier. Good thing we found this out before we left North America.

We are very grateful to our hosts and wonderful friends, Kathy and Glenn. With so many years of hotel and hospitality experience between them, they really know how to make their guests feel welcome. Our own floor of the house, flowers in the room, a fridge full of food, maps of the area and use of their bicycles. We also have the company of "the girls," better known as E.T. and Speckles. Although we are leaving on Friday, our visit has been too short and we wish we were staying longer. Our goal now is to convince them to come and visit us somewhere along this journey so we can all be on holiday together.

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