This is a new neighborhood for Alice too (It was actually her first night sleeping in this apartment) so the coffee shop was new to her as well. Between the 3 of us we had fruit smoothies, oatmeal with berries and a breakfast wrap, all pretty good. Zack joined us after a while and we discussed the day's options.
I was interested in meeting up with my other local kin, my cousin Brian, a lifelong Los Angeles resident whom I have only met sporadically throughout my life but with whom I've always liked and felt a connection. Alice, having just moved to her own apartment- no roommates or communal furniture- was clearly in need of some basic living tools. A chair for example. Dishes and flatware, for another. She moved out here with only the possessions she could fit in a tiny car and moved in with roommates who had things like sofas and kitchen tables. She had acquired a bed but otherwise the studio apartment was pretty bare. So an Ikea trip was prioritized and a dinner with Brian and his family arranged for the evening.
It was very enjoyable for me to transform from vacation mode to dad mode. We assesses the apartment for all its shortcomings, measured and recorded the dimensions of all the walls and under cupboard spaces and set off.
I was happy to have Alice be the driver. LA is a a unique driving experience with everything seeming more dense, higher speed and with special driving rules. The automobile owns this town.
Ikea is Ikea wherever you go. Cheap, well-designed living space tools laid out in such a way that you see everything they have. We had a list and we filled our cart. When we had all we would be able to fit in our little car, it was time for late lunch and after weighing options, we decided on In N Out Burger.
The legendary fast food chain is successful and popular for several reasons. It's fast, it's simple, it's friendly and the food is a cut above. It's only cheeseburgers and fries but the burgers are inexpensive and delicious and the fries are natural- just potatoes; no special formulation to may them crunchier or to glisten. The employees all wear uniforms with paper hats and seem very happy to be working there (the latter being my main criteria for eating out and another good reason for avoiding fast food). Bless Abby for indulging me in this experience because a vegetarian's only choice, beyond fries, is the cheeseburger, extra cheese, without the burger. Anyway it was almost surreal to have a fast food employee with a paper hat and a big smile come to our table more than once to make sure our dining experience was a pleasant one.
We unloaded our Ikea booty back at the apartment, assessed our "still needs" and rested up for our pizza dinner with Brian's family. We discovered that one of the kitchen drawers had a brown sludge at the bottom. Very gross but not smelly. The building manager advised that we dump it in the toilet.
At 6:00, we scooped up Zack and headed over to "Pitfire Pizza". Parking was a challenge and so Alice dropped off Abby and I to hold a table for 7. We all eventually convened for some great pizza, a plate of fresh roasted vegetables and a grain I have never heard of called "farro", and local ice cream; all delicious. It was a bit loud in there but I enjoyed catching up with Brian, getting to know his daughter Katy and his wife Lori. (Son Kyle was at a Boyscout camp out.) Alice was sitting across from Lori and remarked later that she really hit it off with her. Brian is obviously a great dad and I really enjoyed noticing family traits and personality quirks that bind us together despite the distance.
For our final "course" of the day, Alice took us up to the Griffith Park Observatory. It was very crowded and parking was an issue but we eventually hiked to the top and viewed Los Angeles lights spread out out before us. It really emphasized to me what a huge metropolitan area it is especially compared to the second largest city in Michigan. Abby spotted fireworks in the far distance and Alice and Zack surmised that it could be Disneyland. It was the right direction and what else could it be?
Back at the apartment, I once again crashed without the benefit of brushing teeth or taking of my clothes. It's morning and the girls are now awake, Mary has called and is missing me after experiencing Marlee's first prom by herself. It's Alice's 26th birthday today and we have a big day planned to celebrate. "Lugie Guy" is heard out the window once again, clearing his palette. We are learning the sounds of Alice's new neighborhood.
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