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As you might recall from a few weeks ago, I met a new friend Helen when she merged her white Mustang into my car. Well, today, I met Helen’s daughter, who TRIED to merge her white Scion in my car as she cut over abruptly to make a turn. There were TWO right turn lanes, but Helen Jr. decided that my lane was the shortest route. So I sounded my horn as I broke hurriedly. Helen Jr.’s response was to laugh uncontrollably with her passenger, who even threw her outstretched arms through the sunroof in victorious ‘woo hoooo!!’ fashion.

So, with drivers getting dumber each day as we lower the intellectual bar for operating a moving weapon, WHY is it that we allow our out-of-town tourists to rent THESE death mobiles?

Could we leave these folks more exposed to the impatient and clueless? Is this how we plan to thin the herd?

LA is a town of excess. Endless freeways to whisk you away to your next indulgence. Eyecandy for every taste. Food for every palate. All delightfully packaged in artificiality.

Jeff and Chris and I traveled to LA this weekend to meet up with friends for the long weekend. We stayed in West Hollywood, and enjoyed decadent meals and amazing drinks.

We had gooey fried plantains at the Bossa Nova, fiery huevos rancheros from the Beverly Hilton, blackberry mojitos at the Voo Doo Room, 2-for-1 margaritas at the Fiesta Cantina, piled-high pastrami and crispy fried chicken at Jerry’s Famous Deli, mozzarella-stuffed meatloaf from Cafe d’ Etoile, and a silky chocolate cream pie at the House of Pies.

And I left the best for last: the undisputed BEST mojitos from the Abbey.

So yes, this week is about salads and water and rest 🙂 Three days in LA is PLENTY…and I’m sure the whole gang will agree.

So, here are a few of the fun shots from this weekend. I’ll start with my top-two billboards. First is for the local CBS weatherman…gotta love the name!! The next is an add for Joe’s Jeans…uh huh…Joe seems to have misplaced his jeans.

Then its onto the Beverly Hilton, that classic hotel for the stars where they host the Golden Globes. We sat on their roof-top terrace and had a sunny Beverly Hills brunch.

Lastly…a fun photo from the Voo Doo Room. This is a restaurant and bar in the heart of West Hollywood. Very inventive dishes some VERY yummy drinks. Perhaps that’s why this photo is so blurry 🙂

Yesterday MUST have been a special day, because we spotted not one but TWO celebrities in our rounds around LA. Not two A-listers by any stretch, but recognizable enough that we all pointed and wispered under our breath.

So, at the Grove–a trendy little shopping complex near Hollywood–we spotted Josh Cooke, who played the lead guy on the now-cancelled Four Kings sitcom on NBC. Josh was shopping at Banana Republic with us.

Later that evening, at a fun nightspot in West Hollywood, we had a table near Jai Rodriquez from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. I found it amusing that Jai had to wait for a table just like we did. (Side note: this restaurant made a killer blackberry mojito!!)

So anyhow…stop snickering…these are real stars!!

So read an LA Times headline today!

Thank goodness I’m eating a healthy salad for lunch today!! (And a VERY yummy one at that–a Niman Ranch Carne Asada salad with a fresh cilantro lime vinaigrette from Sellers Market in the Financial District–TRY IT.)

But yes, apparently Hurricane John is causing a ruckus in Mexico. Personally, I’m steering clear of Baja this weekend 🙂

I was able to upload a couple of photos from my stroll along the San Diego waterfront. This is probably the absolute best time of day to appreciate San Diego…if a coastal fog hasn’t rolled in. But in this case, the fog was safely off shore for the evening.