i could do this every weekend

Last weekend was the infamous free trip weekend I won off the radio.

I was a little worried while checking in at the airport that the confirmation number I was typing into the kiosk would be bogus. A huge flashing message would pop up saying "INVALID ENTRY." But no, it was real. We got on the plane, flew to LA via Phoenix, and had an amazing time.




We stayed at one of the original Hiltons--the Hilton Checkers. It was adorable. It had an old school feel to it and the people who work there are super nice. After checking into our hotel, we tromped around the city. We ate lunch at a little deli, saw the Walt Disney Concert Hall, rode on the shortest railway in the world, went to an outdoor market and had ice cream.


If you squint really hard, you can see the Hollywood sign




Does anyone want a sugar cookie the size of a dinner plate?


Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the concert. We arrived at the Staples Center and realized we were the only adult people there without a star struck preteen girl and felt a bit out of place. We also realized that the screams coming from these said preteen girls would be at such high decibles that the ringing in our ears would not be gone for days. We had amazing tickets on the front row and didn't want to be standing there like our middle aged-selves and not be singing along or really knowing any of the words. So, we sold them to a cute couple that loved Taylor and we went to dinner at Wolfgang Puck's across the street. My two qualifications for the restaurant we ate at were Diet Coke and an amazing dessert menu. This far exceeded expectations. We sat outside on comfy couches and ate amazing food and it was a perfect people watching spot. We agreed that we totally made the right choice by not going to the concert.




The next day we headed to the beach. We drove along Santa Monica Boulevard and saw Beverly Hills. Justin saw the sign to Rodeo Drive and I wanted to go and to walk along the famous street. Our little rented Pontiac looked very out of place next to the Bentleys, Ferraris, Range Rovers, Mercedes, and Rolls Royces that were all over the place. I am sure that my old hoodie, my unpedicured feet, my bushy eyebrows and our flip flops didn't make a great impression either but we were just keeping it real. We didn't see anyone famous, but did see a local Utah DJ there eating breakfast at a hotel.






After seeing all of that superficial commercial stuff, we saw the beautiful Los Angeles Temple while driving toward the beach. It is absolutely stunning.



Then we made it to the beach. Oh, I love the beach. We walked along the pier, rode the ferris wheel, ate Hot Dog on a Stick, and just sat on the warm sand and listened to the waves come in.








Off again to the airport where I taught Justin how to play gin rummy while we waited for our flight to leave. My plan is to enter as many contests as I can so we can do this again soon...maybe next time we will actually go to the concert.

And, thank you mom and dad for watching the boys...they had a fabulous time as well!