Summer At Last

Well, this summer has been an unusually cold and gloomy one for those of us in LA. It is pretty typical to have primarily chilly, overcast, foggy days in May and June, the "June Gloom" as it is called, but usually by July the weather starts to turn around and we have a least a few weeks of very warm (if not sweltering) weather in August and September. This year, though, it seemed like summer was never going to come. The idea of the summer months passing us by without a season of hot days and warm breezy nights was just about to send me into my own state of gloom, and then finally, the heat wave came.

Over the past few days, LA has seen the hottest weather in all of the recorded weather in Los Angeles. On Monday, the temperature in downtown rose to 113 degrees and I heard reports of temperatures as high as 130 degrees east of LA out towards the desert. While many people have been complaining about the heat and praying for it to let off, I have been in pure heaven. I'm not exactly sure what it is. Maybe the weather reminds me of summertime as a little kid-definitely the most carefree time in your life, when you play outside long past dark and have nighttime pool parties. Maybe it is the way the heat just melts your body and makes it absolutely impossible to hold onto stress and body tension. For me, there are few things that give me more joy than simply driving around in the car, with all off the windows down and the music on, and warm air swishing around you or being able to go out at night in sandals and a sundress. It feels like pure freedom and it just makes me smile.

I know the heat won't last. It has already started to drop off into the 80s and by next week it will be back into the 70s, but for now, I will enjoy my little taste of summer at last.

Birthday in the Bay: The Eating Tour

I spent my 28th birthday on an eating tour of the Bay Area and I couldn't have had a better time. After a year away from my former home town, I was beginning to dream about meals that can only be found in Berkeley, Oakland, or SF. The destinations included B44 on the enchanting Belden Place Alley for Basque cuisine, Dona Tomas in the Temescal district of Oakland for the most delicious Mexican food (and Dona Coladas!) in the East Bay, Ici in Elmwood for yummy Italian ice cream (yes, Italian ice cream, and no, that is not the same as gelato), and Brazil Cafe in Berkeley for the best Tri-Tip sandwich EVER!

There was also wine tasting in Napa, a stop off at the cutest convenience store in wine country for their amazing sandwiches, and one bar in particular that seemed to provide an endless amount of amusement. The fact that I was able to visit all of these places with some of my favorite people in the world was the icing on the cake.

I am pretty sure I gained a few pounds on the trip but it was worth every bite.

:)

I just finished reading the last installment of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series. So good! Lisbeth Salander is my hero-in some totally twisted kind of way.

I had my second surf lesson today and I am officially hooked. Today my lesson was in Santa Monica and my friend, Wendy, joined me. It was another foggy day unfortunately, but the waves were nice and came in in even, rolling sets. I was able to stand up on about 50-70% of my attempts and I had one really good , long ride that pretty much sold me on getting a board and a wetsuit. Oh, and my instructor informed me that there is nothing wrong with the way I stand up on the board, and in fact, it is actually the way that non-beginners usually do it. I guess I am just a natural. :)