California, elections, and home again!

Here we are on Election Day. First day back from the wonderful visit to San Diego. So, in a nutshell here is how it all went:

Thursday- flew in, went to downtown SD, had lunch at an awesome Chinese restaurant called The Panda. Drove around some to see sights. We went back to Sylvia's so Chris could take a shower before we headed out again. Sylvia had secured three invites to the Chuck Jones Gallery for a function there. It was pretty cool. Chris and I already have a couple pieces of art by Chuck Jones that we love, but since he passed away (Jones, not Chris) it is much harder to come by and more expensive. I did fall in love with several pieces of art that were Winnie The Pooh (not by Jones) and one that was a little oil painting of Bugs Bunny and the Orange Monster. The monster has curlers in his hair. It's from one of my favorite Looney Tunes. It was $78! I wish I had that money, even for such a small picture.

Friday- Went to California's Adventure (part of Disney) and spent ALL day there. Really neat. I've been to Orlando tons of times, but this was similar and different in many ways. Very much the California flavor to Disney and there was a ton to do that we never got to do. Tons of walking and eating and sight seeing. Good fun to be had my Sylvia, Chris and me! The best part was the parade at the end of the night. It was a parade I haven't seen in YEARS. I think it was my very first Disney Parade the first time I visited my uncle in Florida- THE ELECTRIC LIGHT PARADE!! I love this parade. I kept finding myself say to Chris: "TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT ONE!!" I was one big kid.

Saturday- Got a late start on the way to L.A. to see Karen, Joe (her husband) and Connie. Sylvia and Ving (the dog) were with us and we had a nice drive. Once we got to Karen's it was so good to see her! Syl and Ving headed up to Pasadena to scope out rooms for when she and some others will be there for the Rose Bowl. That left us to head on out to Marmalade Cafe, which is where Karen works in Santa Monica. We had brunch there and treated so well! The food was awesome- French Toast and eggs for me. YUM! Karen and Joe even managed to deliver on the promise of possibly seeing a star! Indeed, while we stood and waited for our table none other than Jane Seymour walked in! She is much shorter than I thought in real life.

After all the food there we decided to head to Santa Monica (the downtown shopping area) and walk around and explore. There is SO much to see there. Cool thing #2 (which more or less made the entire trip for me) was we saw another famous person! Yeah, I never thought I would get so darn excited, but I did. We were checking out this cool puzzle and game store. Joe was in line buying something and who should happen to step in behind him? Ready? Someone I find to be WAY WAY WAY cooler and impressive than Jane Seymour (sorry, Jane, but I never really got into your stuff).

STEVEN SPEILBERG!!! We actually saw him with his kids. When we walked outside we saw his wife, Kate Capshaw hanging out and waiting for the rest of the family. If only we had remembered the camera. I would have (discreetly) taken a picture. It wasn't much, but boy oh boy it was still cool!

Syl met us a little later and we all had dinner before going our separate ways- Karen, Joe and Connie back to LA and us back to San Diego.

Sunday- Zoo time! We went to the Balboa Park Zoo, which is the same thing as the San Diego Zoo. We saw almost everything, but never got to the rhinos or elephants. Coolest part of the day? The last thing we saw were the apes- orangutans to be exact. There was one who was down by the glass and Chris and I stood right there watched her as she intently watched us and then chewed on some nut. You had to be there, but it was cool. I'm really hoping that Sylvia's pictures of it come out.

Anyway, yesterday was a flying day and we got home late. I was up until around 1AM, and still slept like crap. Ah well. Today is voting day and it has both Chris and me on pins and needles. Looks like a close one. I have already been asked by my mom to reveal to her who I voted for. The answer is still no. :) She says that this is driving her and my brother nuts, but oh well to that too. We shall see who wins and then I might just say. But then again, maybe not. If I voted for who they did, then I will be fine. If I voted for the other candidate, then I will (most likely) never hear the end of it from my brother. :) I don't know- I think I would rather keep it to myself...