Beating the rain (almost!)

Although the day started with blue skies dotted with white fluffy clouds, pretty soon those clouds turned gray and then black and hung over us ominously as we tried to do the "beach thing."

James was working installing a floor in Hollywood, so Connie and I went down to Santa Monica. We parked at Santa Monica Place and then headed to the Santa Monica Pier. We hung out and looked out at the ocean for a while--but no dolphins in sight (except the one tattooed on my ankle!), so we headed off towards Venice.

I pointed out the Muscle Beach area as we passed. There were a few diehard guys braving the sprinkles. Can't really be a he-man if you melt when it drizzles, huh? We stopped at Hotel Casa Del Mar so I could show Connie the opulent decor. Resting on one of the plush couches in front of a faux fireplace, I warned her that we were only one third of the way to Venice. Plus we still had to walk BACK. She was game so we continued our trek.

The boardwalk was fairly deserted, but when we got to Venice we managed to find some kitschy t-shirts for souvenirs. Three for $9.99--you can't beat that! Then before we headed back, we stopped for a beer (Connie) and herbal tea (me). Back on the road (boardwalk) again, we reached the car about 5 pm and then slowly made our way through rush hour traffic back to West Los Angeles.

Back home, Connie and I headed to En Sushi for sushi happy hour. James promised to meet us at 6:30 pm. We ordered some drinks and and a couple orders of sushi rolls while we waited for James to arrive. He didn't make it until almost 7 pm (typical!), but when he showed up we had a pitcher of Kirin and an assortment of food (fried calamari, shrimp tempura roll, eggrolls and dumplings, sesame fried chicken, etc.) waiting for him.

Today we're off to Hollywood. Hopefully the rain will hold off until we've finished prowling along the Walk of Fame...