Vising: Olivia -- a friend I used to work with
Emily -- a friend from Costa Rica

Saturday – Just a bit hungover. Nothing like Charleston, but needless to say – we’re old. Olivia and I Ubered back to the restaurant to get my car, and then drove over to the CBS Studios to pick up hers. I met Emily at Porto’s – an amazing Cuban restaurant/bakery – in Pasadena for brunch, where we had these fried potato balls (I forget now what she called them), turkey sandwiches on croissants, and delicious, rich, chocolate cake. Oh yeah, my stomach was feeling that afterwards.

Our plan had been to then meet Olivia at the dance studio for Level 1 Salsa at 12:30 – except that when we got there, we found that they didn’t have level 1 class going on that day. Just level 1.5 at 1:30. So, we walked across the street to Starbucks, ordered some drinks, and waited out the hour. Olivia met us there and got herself some food. Since Em helps with the class, she was able to get me my class for free. Olivia had to pay for hers, but it was $10 and I think she was okay with it. We had a good time, and the guys in class made for interesting partners. They were a mixture of ethnicities, and a range of different skill levels. I mean, they were all advanced, but some were more graceful on their feet than others. The 5 of them would rotate between the 4 of us girls, so you had a different partner every couple of minutes. By the end of the hour, we had definitely worked up a sweat! Made me want to look into taking salsa classes back at home.

We got some pictures with Em and hugged goodbye before she ran out for yoga. Headed back to Olivia’s to shower and change, before meeting some friends for dinner in Santa Monica. The restaurant we went to – Seasons 52 – was beautiful and overlooks the beach. We sat on the back patio with a view of the street and ocean behind us. Our waitress was awesome and took good care of us. One of the girls had just come back from…Taiwan, maybe?...and spent a good majority of the evening telling us all about her trip and showing us pictures. She even had little goody-bags full of candies for us. :)

Olivia and the other girls shared a few different plates of shrimp and I don’t remember what else, while I had a delicious chicken flatbread. Then came the dessert shooters – oh my. They were BEAUTIFUL. The waitress showed us a variety of flavors, ranging from s’mores to carrot cake. While I definitely stared and took pictures, I’m pretty damn proud to say that I didn’t actually indulge in one. Hellll yeah, take THAT, inner fat kid! Pretty sure they were too pretty to eat, anyway. Our bellies full, the 5 of us walked down along the street to a look-out point over the beach and watched the sunset. Pictures don’t show how gorgeous it is, although that didn’t stop me from taking a few.

Olivia and I drove the others back to their cars and decided to head for Sunset Blvd. Not necessarily to stop anywhere – God knows we both agreed we had had enough drinking the night before – but just to see it. We did stop for frozen yogurt, though. A place just like TCBY where you create your own sundae. Sat inside at a table against the wall and talked about my nervousness of going to Ketchikan. Not because Alaska scares me, but because Ryan does.
(Ry.an
/rye-an/
noun
1.) a 5’6”, dark-haired hottie from Malvern, Ohio.
2.) adventurous, spontaneous, sexy as all hell.
3.) one with whom I share some history, though his affections are taken by another at the moment)
It felt good to sit and get everything out with another female – someone who understands just how difficult the opposite sex can be. [Ladies, you feel me. ;-)] After our yogurt, we hopped in the car, drove home to Sherman Oaks, and put ourselves to bed.

Sunday – Woke up and headed to the Farmer’s Market for breakfast. Olivia bought some good produce, but considering that I was leaving in 2 days, I didn’t buy much of anything. EXCEPT a gluten-free, chocolate-chip muffin – which turned out to be much more delicious than I would have expected. After the market, we decided to get mani(both of us)/pedis(her) -- which turned out to be a terrible idea because apparently, Alaska didn’t like mine and it was destroyed within 2 days of me getting there. Did some shopping along the avenue, and Olivia bought herself a romper. Found a little Italian place and ordered lunch to go – raviolis for me, and a sandwich of some sort for her.

After food and showers, we drove into town to Olvera Street – a big Latino market that reminded me of the one in San José. We both bought a few things; I found myself a bracelet that says OLVERA STREET and hand-painted coasters for Sarah. Olivia really wanted some Churros, and so we ventured into a place called Mr. Churro, where she was able to find just what she wanted -- churros stuffed with chocolate. Yum! I had a strawberry smoothie. One of the girls we had dinner with in Santa Monica had told us to take a tour of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, but because of timing, we ended up just driving past it on our way out of town. It’s pretty cool looking – a huge building with metal walls that are shaped and pointed in all different directions. (Ok, not the best description, but you can Google it. Also, I was driving – so, you know. It was a little harder to see.) Stopped to get gas and almost cried. That guy at the rental place was right – I paid $5 a gallon. Ouch. Definitely did not fill up the entire tank.

Per Olivia’s suggestion, we spent Sunday evening in Malibu. Driving through the canyons feels dangerous (not that I would actually know; Olivia drove) but is absolutely gorgeous. You just zip along these windy roads, surrounded on all sides by mountains. But like we told mom-mom – not Pennsylvania mountains, California mountains. Dirt and rock, not greenery. Then suddenly, you come out along the coast…and all you see is water out your window. Again, pictures on my phone do not even begin to describe. She took me to this cool restaurant on the beach where you can sit inside and eat, or you can buy beer&wine from a little stand outside and enjoy your drink with your toes in the sand. We chose the latter. Bud light limes, girl talk, and watching the sun set over the ocean. Can’t complain about that. Unfortunately, though, our night got cut a bit short. Olivia works in the entertainment industry, and when news of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s passing hit her email, she immediately jumped up and announced that she was going to have to stop by her office to do some work. Which, actually, was pretty cool, because I got to go with her and sit in the office chair of a girl who actually appears in The Insider propos. Hailey, I think was her name. Or Hadley. Something with an “H”. By the time we left and got back to the apartment, it was definitely time for bed.