Brian & Jill's Excellent (mis)Adventure

Have you ever wondered what it would really be like to be stuck in an elevator...a very small (4' X 6'), not air conditioned, in the heat, in the middle of the day, with seven people elevator? Have you ever wondered if all those 'emergency call' and 'emergency bell' and 'emergency alarm' buttons really do anything (They don't. Except the emergency call button did go to a voice mail box that was full so no message could be left.)? Have you ever wondered how we survived before cell phones - literally? Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be stuck between floors of a building and be told that the elevator would have to be 'lowered manually'? Have you ever wondered how you would react when the firemen can only get the stuck elevator door open six inches (Push yourself nearest the crack and suck in all the available fresh air for yourself.)? Have you ever wondered what you would do when the power has to be shut down because the elevator 'reset' doesn't work? Have you ever wondered how many minutes it takes for basic survival instincts to kick in (Exactly 4 minutes for me - the half bottle of water, the power bar and three sticks of gum were mine no matter what.)? Have you ever wondered how sweet the sounds of sirens coming toward you could be?

Besides myself, Paul, Brian & Jill, the other three people in the very, very small elevator were the new *hot* chicks from down the hall - (according to Paul who had already met them (really?), and according to Brian who didn't seem to mind at all offering support & comfort. Whatever.).

I'm just saying...those firemen were also *hot*!!!

I had never, ever wondered about any of those things. And now I don't have to because now I know. And knowledge is power.

Brian & Jill's Excellent Adventure

Brian & Jill came to Los Angeles to visit for a few days. Their visit began with good food, we ate a lot of good food throughout their visit, and we ended with good food. In between all of the eating, we did manage to squeeze in some fun adventures as well!

Howards Hamburgers

Venice Beach

La Brea Tar Pits

Trader Joes

Farmers Market

Bobs Donuts

Pollo a la Brasa

Santa Monica Pier

Cirque du Soleil

Hollywood

Kodak Theatre

In-N-Out

Jay Leno Show

Baby Blues BB-Q

Pinks Hot Dogs

Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Thththtaaat's all, folks!!

It Never Rains in California *People Notes*

Rain? What rain?! Not here.

Hard to believe our four months in Los Angeles is coming to an end. And it really doesn't ever rain here. Ever. We have been taking advantage of the cool mornings, low altitude and flat streets to get in plenty of runs. We bravely participated in the Long Beach half marathon (no, not brave enough for the full marathon!) and we both survived.

Paul absolutely had a phenomenal performance coming in at 2:02 (yes, that is two HOURS!!) and I was only mildly deflated to see the first, second and third place marathon finishers cross the finish line right in front of me. For a moment I thought all those people were cheering for me! Not too bad at 2:17, but how on earth did those marathoners run 26.2 miles in the time it took me to go 13.1 miles?

It was a great course along the beach, the waterfront villages, the Queen Mary and the Long Beach harbor areas. There were over 20,000 participants and it was incredibly crowded. Best part (other than finishing alive) was the free cupcakes and beer after the race. Sounds disgusting now, but trust me - it was the best beer & cupcake I have ever had!

Of course, we have also taken advantage of the nice weather to enjoy the beautiful beaches here as well. Manhattan Beach is spectacular, Venice Beach is crazy, Long Beach is exciting, Santa Monica Beach is fun, and the Malibu beaches along the Pacific Coast Highway are gorgeous. Odie is not fond of the big waves here on the Pacific Ocean, but he does love chasing the seagulls and playing in the sand. His most recent beach adventure was at Leo Carrillo State Beach north of Malibu.

Ahhhhh...love these beaches!

It Never Rains in California...

...at least it hasn't rained in all the months we have been here. One day it drizzled and it made the whole city smell like a wet dog. I liked that.

I have been busy walking the city streets and going on training runs with my people. Always plenty of new streets and smells and sights and sounds to explore. I still don't like the big city busses or the street-sweepers or the trash trucks or the utility trucks or the fed-ex truck or the motorcycles or the trailers or the moving trucks or the UPS truck...other than that, I think I have adapted just fine to city living.

Uncle Brian and Aunt Jill came for a visit all the way from Texas. I like them a lot, but I don't like their cats Simba and Nala and I was glad the cats didn't come with them. I remember those cats from when we visited them before and the cats locked me in the backyard and wouldn't let me inside. Stupid cats. Simba weighs 24 pounds - that is exactly twice as much as me! Yikes!

We went to the dog beach in Malibu for a day of fun in the surf, sand & sun. It was great, but I don't understand why I always have to take a bath after spending the whole day rolling in the saltwater and sand and seaweed. Don't these people understand that it is hard work to smell like a dog?!

I have been noticing boxes and suitcases appearing again...does this mean there is another road trip in our future? Hooray! I love road trips!! I will keep you posted (haha - get it...'posted'? Like 'posting' on a blog? Like a blog 'post'! haha - I crack me up).