LA – Day 5 (Ira and Venice)

Last Saturday in LA was a lot of fun. It was really sunny and warm, so we wanted to play outside! We met up with a couple of Mine's friends for another 7AM walk by the ocean. We got some coffee and walked the same 4 mile loop that we did on Wednesday. I seriously loved this. And it got me thinking...if I like this so much, why don't I get up early and walk when I'm at home, too? I mean, I love to sleep and I'm definitely not known as a morning person (my family loves to tell stories about how they'd fight over who had to wake me up in the morning because I was so mean!) But I live close to my work and the weather is getting much nicer here in Omaha. I decided to start walking to work again, and it was a great start to my day today!

Ok, back to LA. After our walk, we decided to go to Venice Beach for a bike ride! Apparently lots of people in LA thought this was a good idea because the traffic was horrible on our way down there (even for LA's standards). We got a bit restless while waiting in traffic and things like this occurred

We rented some sweet beach cruisers and rode down the boardwalk to Santa Monica.

(Notice the ferris wheel and roller coaster on the Santa Monica pier!)

Once in Santa Monica, we made our way to Pinkberry!! This was a first for Katie and I. Katie loves frozen yogurt, so the fact that LA is overrun with fro-yo places was great for us!

I got a passion fruit yogurt with strawberries, kiwi, raspberries, and pineapple. Yum, yum, yum. I ate every bite.

Next we rode to the canals (this is why it's called Venice). It would be so cool to have a house on a canal! They have little docks and boats to paddle around on. We saw a couple of houses for sale - only $2 million!

Apparently this bridge was in a scene in the movie "Valentine's Day" (I didn't see it).

Along the way, I noticed these signs in the sidewalks next to the rain gutters. Protect Flipper!

That evening we met up with Mine's friends for dinner. We tried to get sushi, but after 45 minutes of them telling us "just 5-10 minutes" we went next door to a place called gr/eats. It was a cute little place with a very interesting menu. I rarely have to choose between yummy-sounding vegetarian Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and American food...they had meat and fish options, too! I decided that since we had planned on getting sushi that I'd stick with Japanese. One of Mine's friends said the tofu meatballs were good, so I got the curry with tofu meatballs. This was my first time having Japanese curry, and it was good! It was a pretty thick sauce (kind of like gravy??) that was flavored with curry powder and ginger. There were potatoes, carrots, and a few peas along with the tofu meatballs. I wish there had been more/different veggies, but this was a ton of food - I could barely eat half.

Katie got a 'hot pot' with seafood and noodles. It looked really good! Apparently they were very generous with the seafood. (I love Brigid's 'surprised face' in the background!)

After dinner, Mine, Colin, Katie and I headed to UCLA's campus...

...for this special event!:

I love Ira Glass!! He is the host (and creator) of the radio show This American Life. If you have never heard it, download a podcast immediately. It will change your life.

This was not a taping of his regular show. Instead, Ira talked about the storytelling process and how he comes across inspiration and story ideas. Although it was late (we didn't get out until midnight!), the show did not disappoint. Ira was intelligent, funny, and captivating - as usual.

That pretty much sums up Day 5 of our trip. I'll continue with Day 6 tomorrow. Until then, I'll leave you with these pics from playing with my family at the park tonight!