Visited by an Angel....now the City lives up to it's name.

(click this link to see why the Hollywood Sign doesn't look like the Hollywood Sign)

http://www.savehollywoodland.org/?gclid=CPy8-OP19Z8CFQMsawod-xymXQ

So...the wifey landed  L.A.X.  Airport on Friday the 12th. I swung in to pick her up about 2:30 p.m. and as soon as I pulled into the pick-up lane at Frontier Airlines I spotted her at baggage claim. I wasn't sure if she would be able to hear me, but I blew out our signature "Kugler Call!" It's a simple whistle that is trademarked to Charli and I....just trust me on that. Her ears caught notice of this attempt, and she turned towards it's origin to see a Husband that had been more than anxious to see his wife after 6 weeks apart.

It seemed to take forever for that peculiarly green suitcase to make it's way out of the turnstile curtain of hope. As in: "I sure hope they didn't lose my luggage." I would have gone right to her, but leaving the car parked in the pick-up only area and not expecting a wallet emptying, bank robbing ticket is ludicrous. The luggage arrived at last and my better half was finally closing our distance apart to feet instead of miles that measure over a thousand.

Almost tripping over our own smiles, we embraced each other in an long lasting air-tight hug. So long lasting in fact, that the couple in the truck thought it necessary to give us the "Get a room or get out of our way" honk.  We took this suggestion to heart and jetted right to the Hoke's place and got ready for some din-din-Morris. Yes, I said din-din-Morris.

We went to a BEAUTIFUL restaurant, "The Sky-Room," for an amazingly delicious 4 course meal.

http://www.theskyroom.com/new/theskyroom/

Our table was right next to a window that was in view of the Long Beach Harbor. We were treated to their Valentine's special which included a long-stem red rose and a small box of chocolates. It felt great to treat ourselves to a little slice of the high life. However, a place like this can remind us quickly why they are only graced with our patronage on a once a year at best basis. GULP!! 

After walking out with our palates satisfied and our pockets confused, we returned to the Hoke's for yet another wardrobe change. This time however, comfortable clothes were welcomed as Charli was anxious to break out the "Flippy-Floppies!" We successfully down-dressed and went to tie one on over at the Clawson's. Zach Clawson, his sister Jess, and girlfriend Andrea live just a few miles down the road here in Long Beach. Wait a sec, I might have offended a certain two little someones by lack of mention in the Clawson household. That would be Mr. Tucker (Malti-poo) and Ms. Tia (Min-Pin.) There, I threw back a Tecate Light and the Mrs. K was mingling with the crew. The 2 hour lapse in time was taking it's effect on the visiting beauty and we called it what seemed to be an early night, but for her it was well after mid-night. 

To start Saturday off, we went to take a peek at some apartments that we've been interested in. 

http://www.elcordovafountainapts.com/

They are located in Carson just off of the 405, which is key, and right next to a nice shopping center, which is dangerous. Dangerous because the lady doesn't need an excuse for more shoes!! Wait....am I the one that likes to have shoes?! Not in the way of "OMG Sally....I totally have to have that pair," but more in the "These shoes are for running…these shoes are for mowing the lawn…these shoes are for everyday wear...these shoes are for business attire...these shoes are....." okay, I think we've covered that subject. There are many different opportunities for living in Los Angeles, but renting with a 80lb Chocolate lab seemed to prove more difficult than expected. These particular apartments are EXTREMELY dog friendly and they provide for such a resort-like experience we should feel at home no problem!!  Also, if you looked at the site, you probably saw the fountains....and the POOL. It's a little hard to beat sun-tanning poolside in February!! 

Next we headed to Huntington Beach. There we pulled over to a little parking lot with a meter that accepts credit/debit cards...always nice. It was surprisingly only 1.50 for the hour and we used that time to trek along the beach to the pier and Charli was able to see "Surfers in 'Real Life'" for the first time. Also, she was introduced to the cool breeze that can make 75 turn cold real quick!!

Saturday evening I took Charli to the Groundlings Theatre in Hollywood to enjoy a night full of sketch comedy. The show was great, and she was able to see what I have hopes of someday becoming. It was a late show, so we didn't make it back to our car until midnight. We arrived back at the Hoke's about 1 a.m. and headed straight to bed.

Sunday was spent driving around just to see a few things in the Carson area to see if it would be a fit for us. We peeked into Ikea, and found that it is a store that can fit our designing needs to the t!! A person could spend all day at that store, so we had to peel away to get back to our day. 

The evening was spent at the Hotel Maya in Long beach, which is probably the nicest hotel that I've ever been in. We fell asleep pretty early after a weekend that seemed to wear us out!! The comforting atmosphere that this place provided us made it hard to resist a looming slumber.

http://jdvhotels8-px.trvlclick.com/hotels/maya

This morning we woke up ridiculously early to ensure an on-time arrival to Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. We packed up our gear and were out the door by 6:30 a.m.. Charli had an interview at 9:30 with an Accounting Placement Agency that represents employers who are in the market for a new hire. Of course we made it there with almost 2 HOURS to spare, so we took in breakfast at Denny's. It's funny to me how many different things that I showed my wife in Los Angeles, yet I'm not for sure if I saw her face light up like it did when I typed "Denny's" into the GPS!! We munched down our breakfast and then drove around the neighborhood just to oogle over what we found to be $2.5 million dollar homes. Charli had her interview and it went quite well. We'll be on stand-by as to the status of that...but if they have ANY clue as to who they have on the job-market the right employer will SNAG HER UP in a heartbeat!!

We tried to go to the Hollywood sign....and technically did....but if you read the article on the website I posted at the beginning of this blog, you'll understand our debacle. Regardless, we snapped a few pics that will actually end up being much more significant than many other people have ever been able to claim. I'm not sure if the sign has ever been covered like this in the history of it's existence. Also, the trip into the neighborhood surrounding the sign was well worth it. We were constantly blown away by the different construction types we were witnessing. There is such a change from house to house, mansion to mansion, estate to estate, that it makes the interest in viewing them that much greater.

After the sign, we knew that our time was coming to an end and we did all that was possible to slow the sands of time as to lengthen our stay together. Nonetheless, the minutes were ticking by and the flight time was drawing near. I reluctantly drove her back to the airport where I had to leave my gorgeous bride in the midst of the thousands of people that crowd it. I gave her a few extra kisses, to include the cheeks and the nose. I hopped back in my car and made my way back on the freeway. It was merely minutes before I had turned on the blue-tooth and made a call to tell her how much I missed her. She wasn't surprised one bit, and that assures me that she knows how much I Love her.

-Mr. K