Celebrating Dead Presidents - Part II

On Sunday morning Chantal and I slept in a little bit and opted for a later church start time.  When the church building is two blocks away and there are 4 daily options, that happens on occasion.

That afternoon we jumped over to the Annenberg Space for Photography (not space photography, as Chantal thought I said) to see their free Digital Darkroom exhibit, with artists who combine photography and technology.  A few pieces were a little mind-bending, in a good way.

The parking garage had a great orange wall.  We each did a photo shoot.

That evening, we attended a fireside to hear Tamara Johnson speak about her dating adventure of 31 Dates in 31 Days, which, although it landed her a husband and a book, she learned some other things along the way about looking for the best in people and not worrying so much about what the end results of dating might be.  Chantal was so inspired that she's starting her own dating project.  Go read and see if you can help her out!

We made the social rounds for a few minutes afterward, grabbed a Diddy Riese cookie, and sped over to Union Station to pick up Corey, who'd taken the train up from San Diego. He was in CA for a law school competition and even though we just saw each other at Christmas, we're always up for a reunion.  He's my bodyguard.

Surprise, surprise we were all hungry, so we jumped into the eternal line at Pink's for some hot dogs.  An LA staple that I still hadn't tried.

I made Corey order the Bacon Burrito Dog - 2 hot dogs, 2 cheese slices, 3 bacon slices, with chili and onions, in a tortilla.  Blech.  He loved it.  Or he's a good liar.

We drove by LACMA on the way home.  

And then we ate donuts.  SK's is my new favorite donut place, open 24 hours a day in a little tiny corner strip mall.  A little Asian man came out from the back, I assumed he was sleeping on a cot when we walked in at midnight.  And he was there when I went back, two days later.  I made Corey get the maple bacon donut, which smells of delicious pork and syrup.  Blech.  He loved it.  Original glazed - fluffy and delicious!  Bad news for my diet.  

We had a slumber party in my room that night, Corey on the air mattress that deflated in the middle of the night, Chantal and I laughing at his poor state.  I should have more slumber parties.  Late night humor with lots of people in a room always makes for a good time.

We got up in time for lunch on Monday, and it was time to explore Santa Monica.  I defaulted to The Misfit for lunch, as usual. On the top right is a new dish I tried - baked goat cheese in a tomato gravy on garlic toast.  The flavors are all familiar, but the format was not.   I want to kiss the darling soul that put that together.  I almost drank straight from the bowl.

Time to go to the pier!

But first we stopped at a little British store down the street.  Chantal's mum is British, and she grew up visiting her relatives in merry ole England.  We had to see if this store had her favorite candies from childhood, and we were in luck!  I had my first curly wurly.

Corey tested it out first and deemed it safe to eat. 

Okay, pier time.  I should go to trapeze school one of these days.  When I was a little girl, I couldn't understand why it was called a trapeze if there was just one of them.  Shouldn't it be trapee? I was confused for a few years until I learned to spell.  

This was Chantal's first experience at a carnival.  Corey and I were the jaded grownups who told her she was just wasting her money and would never win anything, but she was determined to play.  We felt like parents, watching the joy of a child as she throws a ping pong ball into a hole.  None of us won that game.  

Next up, darts.  Whoever did the pricing can't do math, so getting 4 darts had a much lower cost per dart than the other options.  Chantal did her best, but was unsuccessful.  I, on the other hand, miraculously managed to hit 3 of 4 balloons, and I won a teal seal.

To her first ferris wheel ride!  Always scarier than it looks, especially on windy days.  

Corey and the seal.  

When our cash was gone, it was time to head back to LACMA for free holiday Mondays.  Except the special exhibit on The Surrealist Adventures of Women wasn't free, and Chantal is obsessed with Frida, so we went.

I hope Chantal doesn't have any dates like these during her project.  

I don't get it. 

Quick jaunt up to the Observatory, which was closed for the day, but we still had a nice view.  

Then, some slippery shrimp and other good stuff in Chinatown at Yang Chow,

And dessert downtown at Syrup.  

Then it was time for another late night slumber party, since Corey decided to stay another night.  We had a mad commute in the morning, getting him to the train station so he could get back to San Diego and catch his flight back to Utah, then another taxi run to get Chantal to LAX so she could get back to work.  LA morning traffic didn't beat us completely.

Thanks for visiting, friends!  My place is always open for you.  I even had leftover Chinese on the air mattress for lunch in your honor, including a toast with the Dr Pepper that Corey left in the fridge.