Troy and Melanie (dot com)

This isn’t going to be a long post because it’s been a long day and we’re tired. We checked out of our hotel at noon today and headed over to Chez Nous to grab some brunch before beginning the drive to San Diego. At the restaurant we saw Cedric the Entertainer and Joey Lawrence (no they weren’t having lunch together). So to recap the star sightings we had during our stay in LA:

• Chris Harrison…host of the Bachelor (@ Hollywood & Highland Center)
• Jimmy Kimmel (@ Jimmy Kimmel Live)
• Justin Timberlake (@ Jimmy Kimmel Live)
• Eliza Coupe (@ Jimmy Kimmel Live)
• The Whip…musical group (@ Jimmy Kimmel Live)
• Angie Everhart (@ The Grove)
• Joshua Malina (@ iFly Hollywood)
• Cedric the Entertainer (@ Chez Nous)
• Joey Lawrence (@ Chez Nous)

The drive to San Diego wasn’t fun… traffic traffic traffic… nearly the entire way. What should have taken us about 2.5 hours took us about 4 hours. We stopped in Oceanside to stretch our legs and drove by the house that was used in Top Gun, but it wasn’t anything spectacular (read run down, fenced in, and generally not worth looking at). If you are interested in seeing the scene it’s in check out this YouTube video (right around 42 seconds): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKyEo-P4zik.

We did survive the traffic and made it to San Diego around 5pm and headed down to Seaport Village where we met Jay, Nicole, Todd, and Katie for dinner and drinks. We had a good time with them and now it’s time for us to get some sleep.

Before we go here are a few photos from San Diego.

Heya!  So, we were tired last night and didn’t blog.  Yesterday was fun though.  We left our hotel in Santa Monica and drove into Universal City.  We opted not to go into Universal Studios as it seemed it was a whole bunch of rides, most of which I’m not able to enjoy right now.  But, we did explore Universal’s CityWalk area…a cool enclosed area of shops, restaurants, and random entertainment like arcades, bowling alleys, and indoor skydiving.  Troy actually did the indoor skydiving and enjoyed that very much…again, not something I can try right now, but I had fun watching him.  CityWalk also has a theater and we saw 17 Again.  Good film.  :-)

After CityWalk, we drove to our hotel, the Hollywood Orchid Suites.  We relaxed a bit before heading around the corner to the Jimmy Kimmel show.  Justin Timberlake was the main guest and we got to enjoy both the green room and the studio (we went in just for Justin’s segment and another one).  Thanks, Dyan!  Glad you enjoyed receiving your wedding album – your whole wedding experience was a blast and it was fun to hand-deliver the album to you!

After Kimmel, we walked down Hollywood Blvd. and had a late dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Loteria.  Then, back to the hotel to watch Kimmel on tv and re-enjoy the experience and then crash.

Today, we got a later start (first day we didn’t actually have a check out time) and headed out to the Hollywood & Highland shopping center next to us…right by the Kodak Theater.  Troy bought a fedora, which looks good on him, and we took photos of the Hollywood sign, as there are views from the shopping area.  Then, we walked next door to the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to take in the famous site.

We next drove along Sunset Drive and then drove through the Hollywood Hills into Studio City, where we ate lunch at Art’s Delicatessen.  We shopped a little over there and then grabbed a drink at the Aroma Cafe before leaving Studio City to drive into Toluca Lake and Burbank.  We saw where the WB studios are in Burbank.  We were going to drive by where Leno films on Alameda Ave, but there was construction and detours so we didn’t.

We met up with friends Audrey and Dee for dinner at Paty’s Diner and then we all went over to The Grove in downtown L.A.  We walked around just enjoying the atmosphere and also grabbed some dessert at the famous Farmer’s Market there.  Parting with A & D, we came back to the hotel and then walked out to Hollywood Blvd again for a few nighttime photos.  Now, we’re just relaxing and will be hitting the sack eventually.  On to San Diego tomorrow!

Hola readers. This is going to be a short post because I am beat and need to get some sleep. Today we started in Santa Barbara where we had lunch with Amy and Emily from Albumesque (fantastic album design shop in SB). After that we hit the road and drove through Summerland and Ventura on our way to Santa Monica. We made good time and got into our hotel early so we relaxed for a bit before heading down to the Santa Monica Pier. We rode the ferris wheel, grabbed a funnel cake, and had some dinner at Mariasol’s at the end of the pier. After we got back from the Pier we changed into more comfortable clothes and then headed a few blocks up to the 3rd street promenade where we grabbed some Pinkberry frozen yogurt (well, I did) and played some pool at Yankee Doodle’s. Overall it was another good day… temps were somewhat normal and the sun was shining. Tomorrow looks to be just as good. Here are a few photos from the day. Enjoy!

Jeanine’s Bakery… our lunch venue

Random shot in downtown Santa Barbara… I thought the tall palms looked cool

Santa Monica beach

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Quick photo post before we pack up and leave the hotel. Yesterday was a fun day filled with beaches, ostriches, windmills, and beautiful sunsets. Enjoy the photos!

The bathroom in our room at the Madonna Inn was quite ornate

Don’t eat the soap!

The view outside at the Madonna Inn

Pismo Beach

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Okay, this will be quick as  sleep sounds so appealing.  :-)  Today, we did a little shopping in San Luis Obispo (SLO).  Troy did not think he’d need to pack any shorts for some reason and decided, given the 95 degree temperature at 11am, that he did indeed need some.  So, we hit up the Gap between Higuera and Marsh Streets and got him some.  :-)  I, in the meantime, made myself not give in to the temptation to buy up some really cute baby gap outfits (given that we do have Gap in Texas as well!).  Hee!

Anyway, we left SLO and drove into Pismo Beach, stopped there for a while to take in the pier and the beach, then left and drove through Arroyo Grande and then through Buellton to Solvang (Danish Capitol of the U.S.).  We saw ostriches in Buellton…random…and Solvang was a cute little town…different, supposed to be like a mini-Denmark.  Then, we drove to Santa Barbara and checked in at our hotel…Hotel Mar Monte across from East Beach.  We took a walk on the beach and saw the end of sunset and then went to get some dinner at Deano’s Pizzarama, a local establishment that’s been around since 1960.  Good stuff.  Then, back to the hotel to rest a bit, enjoy some ice cream from the Rite Aid we stopped at near the pizza place, and get a post up here on the blog.  ;-)  So, off to bed now.  Night!

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to post these last night. We’re staying at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo and they charge for room internet access (booooo). So I’m uploading these now while we’re checking out (the lobby has free wifi). Enjoy the photos.

I’ve always enjoyed watching jellyfish swim

The sea horse exhibit was very impressive

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Troy: “I like seeing cows on hills. Do you think these are the happy cows that make the good cheese?”
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Melanie: “This side trip to Solvang was worth it for the ostriches alone.”
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Troy: “We should name our son Solvang.”
Melanie: “No.”
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Troy: Santa Barbara drivers are inconsiderate. When entering the freeway you should put your blinker on and actually try to merge… not just run out the on-ramp and make traffic just accept your entry (seriously, 3 drivers did that to me today)

Day 3 was a blast! Melanie may disagree with me and this statement could very well prove to be untrue, but I think it could be the best day of the trip. We started off in Monterey and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Aside from getting a preview of what our life is about to become (there were babies and toddlers galore there) we got to see jellyfish, sea otters, sharks, sea horses, and other undersea creatures. Mel and I both agree that the MBA is the perfect size for an aquarium. We got to see everything in about 2 hours.

After the aquarium we stopped by Austino’s to grab some lunch and then we hit the road. Today was the longest duration of driving we’ll have on the trip… partly due to the distance, but mostly due to the incredible views and constant stopping. We started out on 17 Mile Drive through Pebble Beach. I have no idea how the pro golfers are able to concentrate on golf while playing there. The views are amazing. We didn’t drive the entire 17 mile loop because we only went about 12 miles in 90 minutes!

After leaving 17 Mile Drive we hit route 1 south and there really aren’t words to describe how beautiful the area is. We passed through the Carmel and Big Sur areas with our jaws agape. Some photos will be shared in the next post, but I will say that while the views are spectacular the drive is a bit hairy… lots and lots of curves. Nothing really scary, but after a while you do crave a straight stretch of road so you can go faster than 40 mph.

Just north of Morro Bay we got a surprise… definitely hundreds, maybe thousands, of elephant seals lounging on the beach. It was a wow moment indeed.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. We arrived at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo around 8pm, went out to grab some dinner and ended up eating at a local place called Laguna Grille. Afterwards we crashed at the room… happy to be able to rest.

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Today was another beautiful day and aside from some unexpected traffic on 17 south heading into Santa Cruz it was a near perfect day. Here are some photos from Cupertino (home of Apple), the Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk, and the Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey.

Meet little Ashley. She was asleep on her parents’ bed and just looked too cute.

I couldn’t visit Cupertino and not stop by the Apple campus

We had dinner at BJ’s with Jay and Peggy on Friday night

Fun little self portrait

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I managed to get my software updated this morning so here’s a selection of photos from our day in San Francisco.

This is the intersection of Lombard and the Hyde/Powell trolley line… I’ve never seen 3 trolleys stopped here before.

Melanie walking down Lombard (the crookedest street in country)

Lombard Street from the bottom

Jay grabbed this shot of me in Chinatown when I had picked up some fortune cookies… I didn’t know it was him initially so I tried to get out of the photographer’s shot and laughed when I saw it was him

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