Our Weekend of Healing

Our Weekend of Healing

Nineteen ninety eight was not a very good year for our family. My mom was dying, and the company I worked for was going through a merger, causing me to work a lot of crazy hours. In April, we planned a July get-away weekend to Los Angeles so we could dry out our soggy Seattle feet. We made reservations for a hotel in Pasadena, bought Dodger tickets, and planned to soak up some sun.

Two weeks before our mini-break, my mother finally gave up her battle against her many illnesses. Even though we expected it, her death was a shock. We decided to carry through with our trip, hoping that it would help bring us peace.

We had one of the smoothest flights ever, landing early at LAX. Getting our rental car from Thrifty was a piece of cake, and for a Friday in Los Angeles, traffic was a breeze. We pulled into Hilton's driveway and a stretch limo pulled in behind us. We didn't recognize him, but rapper Master P and his entourage were staying in the same hotel. We were seated next to his group each morning for breakfast and were quite impressed with their loving family and professional business breakfast meetings. Here is a view from our balcony.

We checked into our room and headed to Dodger Stadium. We got there early enough for the Sensational Son to get a stuffed Dodger dog beanie. The game was wonderful and it felt great to sit in the LA heat. A weird practice of Dodger fans is to show up during the 4^th inning, spend the next three innings getting up and down for hot dogs, beer, pretzels and pretzels, then leave during the 7^th inning stretch so they can beat the traffic home.

We spent the next day at our favorite place in the LA area-The Huntington Library and Museum in nearby San Marino. This is a shot of one of my favorite paintings by John Singer Sargent.

We explored the grounds, taking lots of time to play with the statues.

We had dinner at one of my favorite LA fast food restaurants-El Pollo Loco. I just can't get enough of their chili lime chicken. The Sensational Son and I swam in the rooftop swimming pool until bed.

The next day we were set to go home. We were all feeling a lot better; definitely more refreshed. On our way back to LAX, The Househusband took us to the LaBrea Tar Pits as a surprise. The oozing, stinking goo smell assaulted our senses as soon as we got close to the tar pits and even inside the Page Museum, the aroma lingered.

I can bring up the memory of it just by seeing a photo. Here are some of the animal remains that have been recovered from the tar pits.

We returned home after another smooth flight and were so glad we'd decided to take our trip afterall.