Is It A Portal?

Our first day began with me waking up before everyone, per usual. I walked out onto the porch where I encountered a small brightly colored bird that was trapped on the porch. Since Joe was finally awake, he helped me usher it back through the sliding glass doors & off to freedom. As I watched I fly off I thought, "Damn, there went my chance at another pet." I'm sure Joe was wondering why I was trying to free it instead of trying to tame it, but he opted not to vocalize any thoughts he was having.

I really wanted to show Joe the Venice Beach area. So Rusty came by mid-morning to take us to the body building grounds of the "govenator". I hadn't been there since my first time out here in 1995, when mom & I went there with her cousin Patty. The most memorable moment from that day was when we saw a guy who looked like he was wearing a mohair body suit was walking down the beach in a speedo. Mental note: never put Joe in a speedo.

We walked from the Santa Monica pier down the Venice Beach pier. Joe decided that there was a portal that kept the Venice type separated from the Santa Monica type. We watched a machete juggler for a little while. Joe saw a Samoan guy in a speedo, now he has his own traumatic speedo memory. Then we walked down to the water for most of the walk back to Santa Monica. Joe was really surprised by how cold the water was. What do you expect from water that flows down from Alaska?

After that hefty walk we went to Ye Olde Kings Head Pub for a late lunch. Since Joe is more adventurous with food, he ate fish & chips for the first time. He also tried scotch eggs, which is a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage. He loved it & wants that when we get home.

Shortly after that we drove through downtown Hollywood. It was getting dark, so we planned for the walking tour of it tomorrow. We may get lucky & tour the Warner Brother studios too. If Joe sees a celebrity, like anyone from "24", I may have to call people to get some bail money together. Be ready to answer your phones...

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry