What I've Been Up To

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I returned from my trip to Hollywood and Lake Tahoe.  We had a fantastic time seeing all of the sights and going to see Phish.  It never ceases to amaze me how restorative music can be.  My sweetie and I were stressed when we left on our trip.  Sometimes getting ready to leave the office almost makes it seem like it isn't worth it to take the time off.  But after seeing one of our favorite bands and listening to some good music we were rested, relaxed, and ready to enjoy the rest of our time off.  Here's a few photos I thought I would share with you.

Excuse the fuzzy picture but I took this one from our room on the 29th floor of the Rennaisance Hollywood.  Isn't that cool how we could see the Hollywood sign from our window?  We had a great view of downtown Los Angeles too.

While staying in Hollywood we had to do all the tourist things like the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Grauman's Chinese Theater where we saw cool footprints like these.  Can you believe how tiny Judy Garland's feet and hands were?

There were so many stars I wanted to see but given that we were in town to see a concert I thought it only fitting that I spotted this star for The Doors.  Also, I have to admit I have an enduring crush on Jim Morrison.

Here are Tom and I standing under the sign at the Hollywood Bowl.  This was a concert venue that has been on my bucket list so it was really great to check it off.  It was really cool to know that my mom, who spent some years of her childhood in Huntington Park, used to ride her bike up to the Hollywood Bowl with her friends in the 1940's!

We had a incredible day at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) where we were lucky enough to see the Tim Burton exhibition.  I love his movies and had no idea that he started as an animator with Disney Studios and was born in Burbank, California.  What a twisted, creative, dark, fantastic mind he has and his drawings and journal entries will stay with me a long time.  If you are anywhere in the Los Angeles area or plan a visit there soon I would encourage you to see this exhibit.  The museum has a great regular collection too!

After the concert and the museum and the sightseeing we really needed some rest and relaxation.  We spent 4 wonderful days in Lake Tahoe.  We hiked, sunned ourselves on the beach, drove around the lake, and just had fun!  I even had some fun playing the penny slots!

Since I've been back I have been catching up on reading blogs and have been reading several books including Stephen King's On Writing which I am almost finished with.  This is a reread for me but I swear it feels like I am reading it for the first time.  He has so many nuggets about writing in this book.  You don't have to be a King fan to enjoy his take on his process and how we can all be better writers.

Hope you are all looking forward to the weekend.  I'm off to Sacramento, California for a charity golf tournament and then home and off work on Monday.  I hope to spend a few hours reading (at least) this weekend.