Winter in LA

The thermostat in my office has been broken the last couple days, so we've been freezing all day at work while we're waiting for someone to come fix it.  Not that I expect much sympathy, but in my defense, does anyone in the colder regions of the world actually work all day inside with the thermostat set at 55?  I actually was blowing on my hands to stay warm.  I got a cup of hot water from the coffee machine (seriously, how do people drink stuff that hot?) and just held it in my hands until all the heat from the water had seeped out of the cup and into my hands - and I was still cold.  With all this in mind, I've been inspired to talk about other things I've done this winter, besides freeze in my office...

I've gone running at sunset at the beach.  In short sleeves.  Every weekend.



I've gone to Disneyland and (FINALLY) California Adventure with Sarah-Dawn for her birthday.

I highly recommend CA Adventure.  I've been wanting to go there for a long time, but I only venture down that way when visitors are here, and visitors always seem to favor Disneyland.  Give it a chance, people.  I'm just saying.

Maybe it's just because everything was so new to me and Disneyland is full of things I've done lots of times already, but I loved everything about it.  There are plenty of exciting rides and some really amazing themed streets modeled after various parts of California, and if you know how to work the Fast Passes, the lines are totally manageable.  You get to see all the Pixar characters, and the fountain show at the end of the night is like the Bellagio show on steroids.  With color.

AND, as if this place weren't already cool enough, there is a Mad T Party every night after dark, which is basically a giant dance party, complete with your DJ, the White Rabbit. (You'd think that after a full day of wandering around the Magic Kingdom, one wouldn't have any energy for dancing.  But if the music is good enough - which it was - you'd be wrong.)

I even loved the Tower of Terror, which I was 100% positive I would hate.


We got to do lunch at the Blue Bayou restaurant - something I've also never done because it requires advance planning and I needed S-D to make that one happen.  This is the restaurant that you see from inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  The ambiance is amazing. And to complete the mood, you can top off your meal with - wait for it - glow-in-the-dark mint juleps.


This pretty much sums up how the whole day went for us:


Also this winter, we took the train downtown with the Thiots (first time I've used the train since we moved here - made me nostalgic for my old DC metro commute) to catch a quality show.  We almost missed the whole thing because we left half of the tickets at home, but that's another story for another day.  Suffice it to say, we entered the venue at the exact perfect time: just as Muse took the stage.

I'm borrowing a vid from a different concert to show you one of the more surprising (yet very cool!) parts of the night with the band...

Thank you, Muse.  I'm always in awe of your musical talent.  And you sure know how to put on a killer show!