Please bare with me for a couple days while I put up my new layout. It’s not finished at this point so I apologise for any inconvenience this may lead to and I hope you’ll enjoy the new layout. Good luck and blessings, prana

Last Friday we drove out to Los Angeles for our ‘romantic weekend getaway’. The cats were sick and I was stressed out about some unexpected money troubles plus I was nervous because I get car sick and it’s a four hour drive to the city, so it didn’t start out well. It was unusually hot which made me sick, then we forgot our tickets behind so we had to turn around and drive a half hour back home and then back out. The drive was pretty miserable but eventually we got there and the hotel looked really great from outside and in the foyer. Our room wasn’t ready and we were starving so we went to the restaraunt in the hotel (Amber Waves inside the new Knottsberry Farms Hotel). The menu was really small so I had a choice of a salad or a salad so I got a salad. When we were done the room was ready so we went up to the 5th floor in the only elevator and walked the loooooong walk to the very back of the very large hotel to the last room in the hotel. You can imagine our shock when our room was the size of a utility closet, the floor was wet and there was an exposed light. This is a huge hotel that normally costs $170 a night but we got it for $60 through Expedia so I’m assuming we were given the worst possible room as a penalty for getting a better deal. I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels and paid much less that $170 for a better room.

We both got changed and all made up and headed out to dinner at Medieval Times. If you don’t know what that is then take a look at this. When Jessie and Patrick arrived we went in and waited around for the show to start. The place is very commercial, the servers and shop people are really pushy and try to get you buy everything and anything. I ended up buying a purple princess cap (because I’m a princess) and a drink (which was thriteen bucks for a small virgin daquiri in a plastic cup with a flashing light on the bottom). I didn’t want to pay so much for the drink (or anything really) but it was really hot, dark and crowded and I was dying of thirst. After about 45 minutes we were called in and were seated in the red and gold area of the arena since we paid extra for the royalty package. Again it was very dark, loud and crowded and the seats are theatre seats that fold down and are spring loaded not to mention made for tiny hineys.

The show started and was mostly fluff, a lot of talking about nothing and sending people around to sell us glow sticks, glowing headbands, glowing flowers, etc. It was very historically accurate is what I’m trying to say. Our wench showed up and gave us a choice of coke or beer (joy) so we got coke 9you get one whole refill!). Then we got bread and soup (which I passed on because I’m allergic) and then half a baked potato (undercooked so I gave it to Sean), a BBQ rib (no meat on it and the sauce was gross) and half of what I’m guessing was a large game hen or a very small chicken. The chicken was alright even though it was bland and fatty which was kind of awquard since you have to eat everything with your hands and in the dark and you’r tipped back in your theatre chair.

The show lasted a good two hours and I was bored most of the time. They finally got around to the meat of the show in the last fifteen minutes which is exactly when I had to be sick. The Metformin makes me barf so I climbed with much difficulty over our row of seats (that is the only way to exit the area) in the dark and kicking Sean in the head on my way over. I seriously almost kille dmyself getting over the seats. Then I walked all the way around the arena to the only exit and ran to the bathroom, barfed and then walked back around the arena in the dark searching for my chair. Then I climbed back over the seat which was pure misery. Sean and Jessie tried to help me back into my seat by pushing the seat down so I could step on it but what they didn’t know is that my feet were already in the space between the back of the chair and the seat. And because it was pitch black and deafeningly loud they couldn’t hear be begging for them to push the chair seat up instead of down. Finally Sean figured out the problem and and pulled my feet out and got into my chair. The last five minutes of the show was passingly interesting and then we left. We stood in the parking lot and talked with Patrick and Jessie for awhile which was more fun than anything else we did that day and then we left. My feet were killing me but we decided to go to a grocery store and pick up some snacks since we were both starving. Then we headed back to the hotel where the floor was still wet and we ate cracker jacks and watched the BBC. We wanted to rent a movie but all their movies (even those available for rent at the time) were almost $12.

It was hard to sleep because people in the hall were loud all night and the air conditioning was loud and the bed was like a brick while the pillows were so soft they were flat. The next morning we got up and drank a cup of orange juice and then got dressed and went out. First we went to the Wax Museum only to discover it was was closed down ages ago (would have been nice if they’d said that on thier website) so then we went to Ripleys Believe It Or Not. Ripleys was a total rip off (the one in St. Augustine FL is much better). The museum was very small and full of junk, nothing of interest so we were disappointed. After that we went to Ikea to buy some jars and lamps which was nice but we could stay long because we were both starving and my feet were killing me. After Ikea we went to Whole Foods but decided to get some lunch before shopping. We stopped at a Coco’s where Sean got a sandwhich as usual. I wanted chicken with a tomato cream sauce but the manager didn’t know if there was wheat in it or not so I got smoked chicken and some mixed fruit. We also shared totilla chips with spinache artichoke dip which was awesome.

The Whole Foods was totally packed so we tried to hurry and get what we wanted. I bought a bunch of gluten free bread, cereal and pasta. I also got some Burt’s Bees Lipstick because I love BB’s. Then we packed up and drove home. The return trip was a lot nicer, mostly because it was night so it was cool out and I was so exhausted that I slept half the way. We got to town about 9:30 and got a coffee at Starbucks and then came home. I never thought I’d miss this town so much bit were were exstatic to be home. All in all the trip was a disappointment but I still think it was worth it because I got to spend time with my hubby and it’s another adventure to tell our kids about. I do wish we’d have been able to go to the Pirate dinner theatre but they were sold out so maybe next time.

We had a nice Valentines at home. We made dinner (pasta, salads, garlic bread, sparkling cider) and watched some chick flicks Sean rented. Sean got me a box of Godiva chocolates plus chocolate covered strawberries, two cards, a purple rose (my favorite) and best of all a 120GB hard drive! Squeeeee!

I would post all the pictures I took on our vacation but this has been a rather long post so I think I’ll wait until tomorrow. I hope all of you had a spiffy Valentine’s Day. Good luck and blessings, Prana

A big happy V-Day to my snugglebear husband, Sean. And a happy V-Day to all of you as well. I hope, whether you’re single, commited or married, that your day is filled with love and friendship. I’ll post about our vacation and what we did today tomorrow.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Good luck and blessings, Prana