Paddle Up

Early last Saturday morning, I dragged myself out of bed and trudged over to Marina del Rey to watch my friend Amanda race with Marina Outrigger.

When we got there at 7:30 the beach already completely overrun with tents, paddles, boats, and sculpted arms. There was a brief opening ceremony where a Hawaiian man sang a chant to the sea and requested permission of the water spirit, Kamohoali'i, to enter the water. Once permission was granted (the wind stopped blowing and they took this as a sign.), all the paddlers got their boats and pushed out into the marina. After all the racers took off, Amanda's other supporters and I walked to a mid-point of the race and watched everyone paddle by. These people are amazing. I can't imagine paddling for an hour straight!

When we returned to the beach I was convinced by Amanda and her sister to try some Spam Musubi, which they told me is really typical in Hawaii. Both Amanda and her sister grew up in Hawaii so I took their recommendation seriously. Rice, spam and sea weed... not too bad.

Marsupials

Long Beach Pride Parade

FINALLY, after living 6 years in the LA area (4 of those in Long Beach), I was able to go to the parade and show my support. It was fabulous. Enough said.

Hasta Luego Annie y Coco

Annie and Jorge had a free day in CA between honeymooning and returning to Peru, so Jorge's uncle Enzo and his girlfriend Gaio threw them a Going Away Party. Gaio made an amazing array of delicious Vietnamese dishes, and Jorge made Pisco Sours for everyone as well. Goodbyes are never easy, but it was an afternoon of good food, good drinks, and good company. Miss you Annie.

Jorge making Pisco Sours. By the looks of it, he could probably do this blindfolded...

Peruvian Beer

Pisco sours!

Our lovely hosts

A Wedding

Photo by Samantha Hall

Allow me to take a moment to share the fabulously beautiful love story of my dear friend Annie. While on vacation in Peru several years ago, Annie met a pilot named Jorge (aka Coco) who quickly stole her heart. Through the wonders of the internet the two of them kept in touch and developed their relationship despite being worlds apart. About a year after they met, Annie came to a crossroads in her life and decided to throw caution to the wind and move to Peru to see if there could be a future for them. Sure enough, a few months later the two of them were engaged.

Annie and I have been friends since I moved to Oakhurst in 3rd grade. We were practically inseparable in High School and together ventured beyond the constrains of our small town for college, so it was an honor to be asked to be a part of her wedding.

The wedding took place at a place called Paradise Springs in our hometown, and the entire weekend was a beautiful mix of small town USA and Peruvian tradition. For starters, the rehearsal dinner was held at Danny's Pizza Factory, our local pizza place. Then the ceremony itself was outdoors in the mountains at Paradise Springs and we were surrounded by Pine trees, wildlife, and... snow! The Peruvian influence was quite evident as well. Jorge wore his airforce uniform, and the majority of the ceremony was done in both English and Spanish, including Jorge's vows. Jorge's mother also made a traditional Peruvian wedding cake to honor their roots. The decorations were lovely and Annie created centerpieces with an array of chotchkies of both cultural influences. Those of us in the wedding party did a sword salute (with plastic swords...) for the newly wed couple as they arrived to the reception. Annie told us that this was the one Peruvian Air Force wedding tradition that Jorge had said he would miss by not having their wedding in Peru. (Annie, you're so thoughtful.) After the touching speeches, Jorge led us all in a Peruvian dance called Sacaronchas, which was similar to the macarena, and an amazing time. The Sacaroncha dance led us into "Hora Loca," another Peruvian tradition where people wear masks and clown noses and run around like crazy with noisemakers. Well, I don't know how they do it in Peru, but that's what we did anyway. It was tons of fun.

Jenn was also at the wedding and did a lovely post about the ceremony as well!

Danny's Pizza Factory: "We Toss 'em They're awesome."

The Happy Couple

Jenn, Lexie, and me fully participating in the "Hora Loca"

The Last Dance

I think most of you who read this already know that my dancing days are over, well, at least as a member of the LA Dance Company. For those of you who don't know, there was some drama that resulted in our Venezuelan coach leaving the team. His departure changed the entire structure and direction of the company, and as a result, I left the team as well. Unfortunately, it seems like Liz Lira loves creating drama and I'm still dealing with my own drama now in the aftermath.

Anyway, event promoter Albert Torres came to the last practice I attended. He wanted to see our routine in order to decide if we were polished enough to have a good time slot to preform at the LA Salsa Congress. I later learned that he is kind of a big deal in the Salsa world and has been in multiple movies and on a number of TV shows. He's the guy with the hat in the middle of the picture.

Los Lakers

Upon returning from DC, I realized that I had tickets to see the Lakers in 4 days, and no date. Life is hard sometimes. :) I did what I imagine any girl in my situation would do, and invited my Venezuelan Salsa Coach to go with me. He happily accepted the invitation to see Los Lakers and we saw an amazing match against the Portland Trail Blazers. Neil Diamond and David Beckham where also among the thousands that packed into the Staples Center that day.

Airplanes

J-Tree - LADC - DC: Day 6

My flight home was at 3pm on Tuesday so I had to use my time wisely. I decided to do breakfast at Kramerbooks which is a bookstore/cafe/bar near Dupont Circle that I'd heard good things about. I arrived at 9am and discovered that my good luck in the city had run out because the cafe didn't open until 10am. All was not a loss though because the bookstore was open and I think bookstores are better than Disneyland. I think I just labeled myself a nerd with that last sentence... :) I browsed a bit and lusted after all the interesting books while continually reminding myself that it would be impossible to fit anything else in my already overstuffed bags.

I reluctantly left Kramerbooks empty handed and saw another Motorcade while on my way to the White House Museum! I don't think the president was in this one though because the van with the machine gun man (I'm sure there's a term for him; machine gunner?) sticking out of the top wasn't in the line up. After the White House Museum I spent as much time as possible in the Air and Space Museum before heading to the airport. The Apollo exhibit and airplanes were fascinating, but I will always and forever be drawn to the humanities which was very evident on this day in particular because of all the things in the museum I was most interested in learning about the lives, family history and relationship of the Wright brothers!

I loved the buzz of excitement about the city and was truly impacted by the amazing wealth of history and information that reside there. I can't wait to go back!

Kramerbooks

White House

Air and Space Museum

Apollo 13

Museums, Memorials, and Motorcades

J- Tree - LADC - DC: Day 5

Most of Monday consisted pretty typical touristy things; Tidal Basin, Roosevelt Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, war memorials, Holocaust Museum... but I won't bore you with the intricate details. :)

One highlight of the day was a private tour of the Capitol Building! My friend's roommate works for a congressman and when he heard that I wasn't able to schedule a tour he offered to get me in and show me around. I met him at his office, got a special ID badge, and walked with him through the underground tunnels to the Capitol Building. I've never felt more like a VIP in my life! Most of what he showed me was also part of the official tour (which he was also able to get me a ticket for.), but he took me to the old Supreme Court Room, the Speakers Balcony, and the House Chamber, which are typically to be visited for "Official Business Only." It was amazing, and a little mind boggling, to be in these places where such important people gather and where such significant decisions are made regarding our nation.

The absolute highlight of the day was seeing Obama drive by in the presidential motorcade!! It was a total fluke too because I just happened to be on my way to the Holocaust Museum while he was making his way to throw the first pitch at the Caps game that afternoon. Ahhh! It was so amazing!

Roosevelt Memorial

Roosevelt Memorial

Roosevelt Memorial

Linclon (Sorry, I had issues uploading...)

OBAMA!!!!

Capitol Building

Part of my VIP tour of the Capitol

Speaker's Balcony!!

Old Supreme Court

Center of the City