Sporadic Ruminations: Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, had to get away.

What better excuse to head to CA than your one brother is running a marathon (Elmo hadn't been to CA yet...), the Olympic marathon trials were happening, and you have another brother who lives there who you don't get to see much?

Flight went over New Mexico...so now I can check seeing Wheeler Peak off the high point list...

Landing in LA...I thought that other plane was close and traveling fast...later learned it was an emergency landing...glad it wasn't my plane.

Spent Thursday afternoon in familiar territory with a relaxing walk on the beach in Santa Monica...great start to any vacation

(the water was a bit too cold to go in much further than this)

stayed until sunset...

Friday LA sites...traffic heading downtown

this will be the new tallest building in the west when done

Pasadena City Hall (look familiar anyone...Pawnee...)

40th bday party for a friend of my brother...bowling!

unfortunately, I got a split in my favorite skirt when I got a split bowling :-(

RIP

Saturday it was hot, and the poor Olympic marathon trials competitors didn't start until 10 am!

Future Olympians - the winner and runner-up: Galen Rupp and Meb Keflezighi

Meb is my age and this will be his 4th Olympics!

This was Galen's first marathon ever!

Jared Ward got 3rd

(I "ran" with him at the 12k National Championship last fall)

And the ladies...

Amy Cragg and Shalane Flanagan ran stride for stride almost the entire way (you can tell they train together, can't you?)

to the point where Amy was encouraging Shalane to stick with her when she began to pull away

Amy ended up in 1st, and Shalane in 3rd...because Desiree Linden caught Shalane in the last mile

Sunday was the LA marathon...

Elmo was there to cheer! (but I managed not to take any other pictures!)

Monday, my brother was able to walk a bit, so we went to Barnsdall Park

to see the Hollyhock House (a Frank Lloyd Wright house), which was just recently renovated

guest house which they were still working on

nice views from there of Griffith Observatory and the Hollywoodland sign

Then headed south to visit a greyhound friend of my brother's...his hound Bean was adorable!

Then another beautiful sunset at Point Vicente

Tuesday we drove Mulholland Drive, and then I headed to Warner Brothers studios after dropping my brother at the airport

Look familiar...anyone see Hail, Caesar yet?

Ellen was supposed to be heading to her studio soon, but didn't happen to emerge when we drove by...darn

Filming the new Gilmore Girls (not sure I was supposed to take the photo...oops)

The rest of the photos are from near my brother's house...the sunrises were fabulous (glad I was still on east coast time so I was awake to enjoy them)