SoCal-Style Thanksgiving

I don't think I will ever get used to sunshine, warm days, beaches, and palm trees for the holidays but this year we did get the pleasure of celebrating Thanksgiving with my sister in Los Angeles. After hearing horror stories of 11 hour drives on the I-15 during holiday weekends, we decided to leave early on Wednesday and make the drive early in the morning. I drank a little too much coffee and needed a pit stop, which isn't really as easy as it sounds when you are driving through the Mojave Desert. We finally pulled over somewhere about 40 miles past Baker at a desolate-looking mini-mart. It turns out that this isnot just a clean bathroom, but some kind of official Ron Paul mini mart. There was a sign in the bathroom asking people to please buy something, so I ended up perusing the sodas, only to discover that they specialized in vintage soda. Yay for Dad's root beer. Not much else was available, so we also bought a Ron Paul marketing kit and hit the road. Some interesting reading material, including: "Why Methamphetamine Should be Legal"!

Once in LA, we navigated the maze of freeways and made it to Woodland Hills. This is a northwestern suburb that is really close to Topanga Canyon and then over the mountains, the Pacific Ocean. We drove through the canyon checking out camping at Topanga State Park and then drove south to Santa Monica on the Pacific Coast Highway. We got trapped in a crazy traffic jam and reversed to go north to Malibu. There was a fabulous park across the highway from what's got to be one of the mosst beautiful campuses in the world belonging to Pepperdine University with views of the beach. Pocky enjoyed a walk on the bluffs and we got to experience the wacky California doggie-poop bags (amazingly complex!) After Malibu, we met my sister and went out for a fabulous dinner in the canyon at Abuelita's and I got to FINALLY PLAY Wii!!!!

On Thanksgiving, we all got up early and had bagels and coffee to get us ready for the big day of cooking. We then proceeded to inventory whether or not my sister actually had enough pots, pans, and dishes to cook a turkey and numerous side dishes. It is hard to believe that three people, two cats (hi Honu and Velzy!), and a dog in a one-bedroom LA apartment were able to pull off an organized, well-timed feast, but we did! The turkey was really great and we had my Mom's oyster stuffing, my Nana's blueberry Jello salad, and Aaron's family's Eastern European cucumbers. There were two kinds of pie for desert and plenty of wine and beer. We played a friendly game of Texas Hold-em while the bird cooked and I got my first four of a kind! After dinner we drank more, and played the strangely addictive game Taboo. (Where else can you ponder which beast your relative considers to be the "yin and yang of animals"? That would be the panda.) My sister even updated her Facebook page and verified that we really are siblings.

On Friday, we had breakfast in the canyon at a great dog-friendly place and then took a trip to Muscle Beach in Venice. It was amazing. I have definitely seen some freaky people on the Lower East Side, in Vegas, and across the country- but Venice certainly has an inordinate amount of weirdos. We saw this super-tanned troll-like bodybuilder with nary a piece of clothing on jogging to the workout pen, several folks conversing with themselves, and a rich guy with a herd of dogs. Aaron got his fortune done and we invested in a few well-chosen bumper stickers as souvenirs. After picking Andy up from the house we headed to Ventura to check out their favorite break, Surfer's Point and to get my national park passport stamped at Channel Islands National Park. We couldn't leave without sampling some of the local microbrews at Anacapa Brewing Company who had an awesome nut brown ale and fabulous asiago cheese dip with beer bread that we noshed on. We even called one of our favorite uncles to spread the Thanksgiving cheer. A great night even though some us drank more than others!!

Saturday, we needed to head back to Vegas, but what is life without a little disc golf? We couldn't leave without getting out butts kicked at the Sylmar Disc Golf Course where we played 18 holes. I am still the worst driver on the planet- but I think my putting has improved. With a little exercise under our belts we left for Vegas and made it back to the I-15. We were SO glad we were driving the opposite way from LA because from Barstow to Baker (about 100 miles) it was nearly bumper-to-bumper traffic. What a mess. With a full moon rising over the desert we headed back into Nevada and into the neon of Vegas. Home from a great weekend.