Four Days in Los Angeles

It was a strange experience being back in Los Angeles for this quick four day trip. It felt familiar, and yet it didn't feel like my home. It looked similar, and in some ways the house felt like a time capsule from when I'd left it 2 months earlier. My office in particular had all of the boxes that I'd packed still neatly packed, and even some of the postit notes were still stuck to the desk just as I'd left them.

It was great seeing Tony, he looked very good, and that made me feel good to see that he was doing okay. He had me sneak up on the dogs to see how they'd react, and at first they barked at me as I came through the back door, but then they came running up to me and they licked me A Lot. They were very happy to see me, and that made me feel great. Pepper followed me around a lot and kept me in eyeshot for the next couple hours.

I went to see my apple tree, and it was LOADED with beautiful Fuji apples. I picked two and planned to make apple pancakes the next morning with them. (BTW- I've tried lots of apples: Honey Crisp, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Red Delicious, and after extensive research, I've decided that most definitely Fuji Apples are the best.) I've managed to find some Fuji apples in London, but for the most part, Braeburn are the apples most commonly found there. One regret I have is that I didn't bring any of the apples back with me.

Tony and I went to Paco's Tacos that night to celebrate my safe return, and it was a really nice time. By far the best Mexican food I'd had in 2 months, and the best tortillas on the planet. I had a combination plate with a Tamale and a Chile Relleno - two items I haven't been able to find yet in London. A couple Margaritas later, and I was feeling much more relaxed.

Sunday was a challenging day. After walking the dogs for the first time in 2 months, and a breakfast of apple pancakes with the apples from my tree, We started on the work of sorting what items would be going to London, and what items would be staying in LA and going into storage. I'd hoped that we could avoid having to pay for storage while away in London, but the more I've seen the space that we have to work with in London, the clearer it is that we will never be able to take everything over and keep it in our small apartment. It's a challenge determining how much of ones life gets to go, and how much gets to stay. I think we did a pretty good job however sorting out the few items that would be going. One look at the piles of stuff that I've accumulated, and it's clear that I'm your typical hording, materialistic American.

I got to have the pleasure of surprising a few of my friends with my surprise visit, and that made for a lot of fun. We also had a nice BBQ one night out back on my beautiful BBQ that I built that someone else will now get to enjoy. . .

Mostly, the visit revolved around doing a laser scan of the star from John Carter of Mars out at a scanning facility in Burbank called Gentle Giant. They had a full size version of Ray Harryhausen's medusa. As he was one of the main inspirations of my career, I had to have a picture taken with her. VERY GEEKY, but very cool too. Ray Harryhausen lives in London. I'll have to make sure I visit him at some point when I get back to London.