Bluejake

8am Woke up- feeling pretty good. Stomach a little fritzy from all the steak, but on the whole alright. Did fifty crunches- according to the book I found in E's bathroom, more than fifty is counterproductive. Blogged and did a little work.

11am Drove out to Brentwood and stopped at the Coffee Bean. K had a coffee- I tried another variety of jasmine tea. It had a name like "poisonous nightshade" or something but tasted pretty good.

12pm Drove down San Vicente to Ocean and then down to Pico to Shutters. Took a tour- first of Casa Del Mar across the street, and then of Shutters itself. Both places were nice- right on the beach- but a maybe not exactly what K was thinking in terms of weddings. I didn't like Casa Del Mar- it seemed too dark and there was no outdoor area, but Shutters is always beautiful. The ceremony area is on the pool deck, and the hoopa would face the Pacific.

1pm We walked on the beach and took some pictures of the seagulls, and then came back to the hotel for lunch. I had a shrimp cocktail because my stomach still hurt. We talked about the wedding and K told me not to worry about it, which was a relief, because I definitely was.

2pm K drove us up PCH to Sunset, and after some searching around we found the Los Liones trailhead in the Topanga Canyon park. It was a wonderful hike- a huge range of plants and lots of animals- lizards, bunnies, birds, even a fairly menacing snake. We passed one or two people on the 1.5 mile path to the summit. At the top you could see the entire city laid out- all the way to downtown. We hung out up there for twenty minutes and then came back down.

5pm Stopped by to visit K's grandmother in Brentwood. She hadn't been feeling well but seemed much improved during our visit. We talked about celebrities and the engagement. She was very sweet about the whole thing.

7pm Quick stop at the apartment to shower and change, and then a fast drive through Beverly Hills to Opaline and drinks with A. He was his usual charming self- wearing a bowtie and looking every inch the museum director type. We talked about art and the museums and all of his interesting work. We couldn't stay long because of the 8:30 reservation at Patina, so we said our goodbyes on the curb and took off again.

8:45pm Dinner at Patina. Very classy. Champagne at the bar and then dinner in a beautiful dining room. All the waiters wearing full suits, and very formal French in their presentations. I had tuna tartare and braised beef- K had an asparagas pudding and skate. It was all wonderful and I felt very calm- but I had to stop drinking after the second drink.

11pm Chatting with the waiter- the dining room now empty. Lots of nice deserts- he wrote "congratulations" in chocolate on the main plate. Afterwards I felt like passing out, so K had to take the wheel and get us home.

Travelogue