Last weekend, Dan and I went to Visalia for our second wedding reception, but we first stopped in Los Angeles for a half-day. The visit, I have since figured out, seemed innocent enough, but it was actually a giant propaganda plan formulated by our west coast friends to make Dan and me want to move to the West Coast.
They did a good job. Pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty good.
First Ara and Sandy picked us up at the airport and took us to their adorable home (wait, not everyone lives in a cramped one bedroom apartment?) and proceeded us to feed us "meat pop-ems" made by Ara's mom especially for us. Well, especially for Dan. Considering he came up with the name. Meat pop-ems are essentially ground beef wrapped in fried tortillas. Once you start, you just can't stop, and we had quite a few as a midnight snack.
The next morning, we met up with Brett who, with Emily, is moving from Switzerland to Los Angeles!!! If that is not incentive to move out west, I don't know what is. We had a lovely breakfast in Silverlake and then we helped him look for apartments. (Emily is still in Switzerland wrapping things up). Wait, you can get a spacious place with multiple rooms, two baths and with outdoor space for $1,400? Oh, we see how it goes.
The Kunkas joined us for "lunch" at Diddy Riese, a place that Dan has been telling me about, oh, since the moment we've met. Every time we've been to LA, he always forgot to take me. This time I wouldn't let him forget. And yes, it was worth the ten year wait. At Diddy Riese, you make your own ice cream sandwiches. That's right, you pick the freshly baked cookie (chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, peanut butter, whatever) and your choice of ice cream flavor and you have your own piece of heaven for a buck fifty! Seriously, why isn't there a place like this EVERYWHERE, like my backyard? (Oh yeah, I don't have a backyard). It's brilliant!
Waiting in line at Diddy Riese.
Jacey convinced me to go "classic:" chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream.
I was not disappointed.
The Kunkas couldn't make it to V-town because they are expecting a baby in a matter of weeks! We don't know if it is a boy or girl.
Only in LA: Multi-tasking goes to a new level.
After filling up on ice cream, Ara, Sandy, Brett, Dan and I drove three hours to get to Visalia and see my in-laws and our west coast fam.
Michela got so big!
Dan had a wish list of what he wanted to eat in Visalia, so our first night, the whole family had dinner at Colima.
The Italian cousins are visiting Visalia for a month and got a kick of the Mexican food.
Ara and Sandy, our LA hosts and chauffeurs. Thanks guys!
Brett, Dan and Ara on Main St., Visalia.
1 comment:
looks like you had an amazing time. I've always been a fan of "the land of california" it wouldn't take much to convince me to move. That cookie creation would do it....and the promise of an ice machine.
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