Day 1 Recap (Tues Feb 8)

[Scott] We had a good trip to LA (which is a relief after some of the troubles we had last year). We got up at 5am and Melinda's airport shuttle provided us great service. We picked up our little Chevy Aveo rental (TINY but brand new with 6 miles on it) and headed for the coast. We drove north on the Pacific Coast Highway all the way to Ventura. The views on this ocean drive are really nice. We walked out on some rocks and saw an abundance of star fish, sponge, and anemones (we think that's what they were). We took a quick drive through the Pepperdine Univ. campus -- beautiful campus ideally situated on the hillside overlooking the ocean. We had a nice pizza lunch at a small Italian cafe. The highlight of the day was the sunset we saw at Point Dume in Malibu. The colors of the sunset were spectacular. We met a local there who is a professional journalist for the USA Today and NY Times, and she pointed out the dolphins playing a short distance out in the water. There must have been at least ten of them. One of them jumped completely out of the water, which was pretty cool. She said sometimes she sees whales from this point. There were also pelican-like birds that were exciting to watch as they vertically dive-bombed into the water at high speed to catch fish. The local said there must have been an unusually large school of fish circling in the cove to attract all of these dolphins and birds of prey. We just sort of stumbled upon this spot and felt really lucky that we did. There was also a Native American Indian Chief there performing a sunset ritual (don't worry Dad, he had nothing on you!). They were filming a documentary that this journalist was working on with him. This chief was a really spiritual and friendly person and gave us both a big hug, which certainly caught me off guard! After all this we headed for our hotel in Hollywood. The traffic on Sunset Blvd. was ridiculous and it took forever. Stef was in awe of the homes (more like compounds) in Beverly Hills. We had dinner at my old favorite In-N-Out Burger. We checked into the Holiday Inn. My experience has beent that this hotel chain is usually decent to nice for the money. This place is definitely not! The decor is circa 1973, and while it's nice to see how people lived back when I was born, it could use a serious upgrade! Stef cut her foot on the chair when she sat down on it Indian Style. Turns out there was a nail sticking up through the chair.... She has had her tetanus shot, and it wasn't very deep, but we'll keep a close eye on it. I ran about three miles on the outdated treadmill in the fitness room. The bed is maybe the least comfortable bed I've ever been on and Stef says so too, reminded us of the concrete floor in our basement. We're taking it all in stride and having a good time making fun of this place, and singing Sugarhill Gang's song "Rapper's Delight"..."Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn...i said a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, a you dont stop the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat...."