Los Angeles

Oh, hello....remember me? I used to blog ;)

I'm committed to keeping this as not only something fun for family & friends to read but as a sort of journal for us to look back on. So basically, what that means is - I've got some catching up to do!

Earlier this spring we headed down to LA for a quick weekend trip. It started out as a random trip to see cousins and try out the new Mega Bus service (only $3 per person!!) from the Bay Area down to LA. Due to weather the standard route was closed and our bus driver had NO idea where he was going and even pulled out a PAPER map - I didn't even know they still made those things. The trip is supposed to take 6 hours; 9 hours later we were finally taking a cab at 2:30am to Laura's apartment. I have a real understand of the old saying " you get what you pay for" now. Uff da!

We slept in a bit on Saturday before heading over to an amazing little place, Food Lab, in West Hollywood for some tasty grub.

Couldn't resist this photo op along the way

I was so happy when this delicious latte came my way.

And the boys were pretty excited about brunch. I bet your mouth is watering now - and you can't even smell how delicious this was!

This was the only sightseeing we did (on accident) while on a walk around Laura's neighborhood. You  might be able to just make out Kermit up there - this is Jim Henson Company in LA.

The timing of our quick trip ended up coinciding perfectly with the big farewell bash some of our other cousins were putting on for Laura (Laura shortly thereafter moved to Chicago to pursue an opportunity at a new startup company and is loving it!).

Galloway and Lizzi hosted at their incredible oasis in the middle of LA, but these two were clearly the stars of the night.

Max is such a big boy now - tons of fun and TONS of work to watch haha

Laura's friends were all really sweet.

Galloway really outdid himself with the deep fried turkey. It was divine. And seeing the newlyweds-to-be (at that time - they got hitched in April, an event which deserves its own post, or two!) with Max was hilarious. This couple will have you doubled over in laughter in record time.

Andrew and Randy (cousin-in-law and Max's dad) were taking advantage of the 'activities' and we were all excited about s'mores in the backyard once the sun went down and it started to get a bit chilly. That's right, Gway and Lizzi have a HUGE backyard that includes a great fire pit -- I honestly didn't know little oasis like this existed in LA.

These pics are a bit dark but give you a sense of the 'cabin in the city' type of feel this place has.

The lush yard and cute lights strung on the front porch make it feel like you're walking into a secret clubhouse in the forest or something. It's really neat :)

We didn't have all of the Allbright cousins but it was a pretty good showing.

Before having to get on the torturous bus again for the ride home we were for a quick hike up in Runyon Canyon Park.

The view over LA was great and we all felt the need to get some exercise in before sitting on the bus for 6+ hours. To be fair, the ride home was much quicker and less painful. However, we learned (the hard way) that we'll be driving or flying down to LA from now on. No more Mega Bus for us!!

We're down one cousin in LA but now we've got another person to see in Chicago. I think we need to get a windy city trip on the calendar.