Visiting Nick in LA

Lizy and I took a trip to Los Angeles to visit my cousin Nick, who was dog-sitting for his friends. We stayed with him for a few days and visited the sights of LA.

Getting to LA

Introduction We were supposed to visit our friend Kasia in Mammoth Lakes, California, for a mini road trip and spend a day in LA as well. Kasia ended up getting sick, so we decided not to go to Mammoth as it seemed too risky with Lizy being pregnant. I had already booked time off work, and we started the week with a staycation in Mountain View. I was trying to get work done on the game I was working on, but Lizy said it didn’t feel like a vacation if we were at home, so we decided to just do the LA part of the trip. ...

Getty Villa

Getty Villa In the morning, Lizy and I drove to the Getty Villa. LA drivers seemed to honk more than Northern California drivers. To get to the parking lot of the Getty Villa, you drive along a sort of faux-Roman road, setting the tone for the classical inspiration of the museum. As we walked on the path from the parking lot to the museum, the Getty Villa seemed to be slowly revealing its grandeur to us. The hallways widened and we began to catch glimpses of grand gardens with reproductions of Roman and Greek statues, manicured hedges, and ornate fountains. ...

Speed Bumps

Morning Walk We took Dusty, the dog, for a morning walk. We walked up out of the valley, mostly on neighborhood streets, but near the top of the hill we walked on a hiking trail. We got pretty sweaty as the hike was steep. At the top of the hill, there was a lookout over the freeway and part of the Glendale valley. Lizy and Nick talked about social media. Lizy had gotten into an argument with someone she didn’t know very well on Facebook over something she had posted. The person had wanted to have a debate with her about what she had posted, and she was not interested in that. Nick said he got that. It’s not the point of Facebook to have debates. You want to have some fun, post a little, and scroll through some photos. ...

Reminded of Jesse

The Galleria The next morning we went to the Galleria, a mall in Glendale, mostly to eat an early lunch at Din Tai Fung. Din Tai Fung is a chain of Taiwanese dim sum restaurants. There’s one near our house in the Bay Area at the Westfield Valley Fair mall, but it’s always too busy to get a reservation. I think they have so many locations in LA that it’s easier to get in. ...