California Dreamin'

So…..Jon had a business trip to Hong Kong (blog to follow) and I successfully dropped enough hints that I got a trip to California while he was away. (Christmas gift)  I apologize up front if I wasn’t able to see you while I was there.  It was a very short trip divided into Southern and Northern California.

It started out with Nikki and my "grand dog" Olivia picking me up at LAX.

I arrived (very happily) but my luggage did not. (Boo-Hiss)  Anyway, we celebrated my brother’s (Vandy/Wade) birthday at a sushi restaurant in Tarzana with him, Nikki, and Robyn and Joe, his daughter and son-in-law.

The next day was a luncheon put together by my friend Karen Brown and about twenty ladies from the Woodland Hills Woman’s Club.  Sadly no pictures to post, but a BIG thank you to all who attended and to Karen, who put it together and chauffeured me around all day.  Love you guys.

The following day Nikki and I had a leisurely mother/daughter day followed by a great BBQ dinner in Pasadena.

Wednesday, I had a short, but nice visit with my cousins, Kathleen and Jim and then back to the airport to fly up north. 

Shaun picked me up in Sacramento and back to his house where I had a very emotional “Mother and Dog(s) reunion (click here to view) --> Deb's Reunion with The Girls

I got to spend some quality time with them on Thursday and on Friday I got to see my baby boy Joey…….who is a 28 year old married man……whew!

Dee Dee and Jason Jaffee joined us Friday for a quick get together.  Wine, pizza, friends, family and dogs, does it get any better?

Then……back to the airport and a long flight to London.  A nice break for me filled with fun, laughter, and few tears but the best part…………….SUN !!!!!

A Brighton Start to 2011

We had a brilliant Christmas with our California Clan, The Jaffees and The Baker…also known as Guest bloggers.  All good things must come to an end so as they departed to cross the pond again, we decided to jump into the new year with a Brighton start.  Ok, so you’ve got the play on words now; we took a train trip to the coastal town of Brighton.  When we arrived it started to snow. Not to be deterred we forged ahead and thoroughly enjoyed all that Brighton has to offer.

We strolled down the streets to head to the beach.  Brighton is a great seaside town and also has a feel of a European city and a bit of Cosmopolitan flair.

 The beaches in England are not like those in Southern California or tropical locations.  They are covered with rocks.  Not too ideal for laying down your towel and sprawling out.  But they have loads of cafes that put out chairs and umbrellas when the weather is warmer.  Though rocky, we found the beach just beautiful and went all the way to the water (good thing we had shoes on!)

Apparently, some people come to the beach at Brighton and don’t have as much fun as we did

Next up was Brighton Pier.  The pier/boardwalk is pretty amazing and large.  We stopped for a quick photo shoot

and headed onto the pier.  Full of carnival rides, amusements, Fairy Fluff, waffle cones, ice cream, and a Tarot card reader, it is a lovely and lively pier.  Oddly enough, in the amusement area, they have video games for the kids and slot machines for the adults – right next to each other!   It is like “Santa Cruz meets Atlantic City somewhere in Europe”.

Back into town, we headed toward The Royal Pavillion.  It was a summer home built for King George IV between 1787 and 1823.  It has an exotic oriental appearance and today is a distinctive landmark for Brighton.  We planned to go on the tour, but part of the tour was to view the Royal Dining Room and its long long table that seated 40 for giant feasts. These feasts often encompassed as many as 63 courses.  After reading about that in the pamphlet, we realized just how hungry and thirsty we were, so we took pictures of the Pavillion from the outside and decided to tour it on another day.

With hunger now controlling our every move, we went on a search for traditional British fish and chips.  We made our way into the area of town called The Lanes and located the perfect pub, The Sussex.

It was delicious.  With full bellies we continued to explore The Lanes, a very quaint shopping area full of cobblestone streets and many high street vendors/shops. 

We cannot wait to go back in the spring and summer, especially since it is only a one hour train ride and £20 round trip fare.  And since you are still wondering what Fairy Fluff is – it is what our American readers call Cotton Candy.