Dion & Christy's Travels: The tiny town of LA

Our two days/three nights in LA were centered on spending time with friends/family. Several of Christy’s friends from home live there. Priya, Christy’s oldest childhood friend from age 6, hosted us in Marina Del Ray for two nights. It felt good to go for a jog around the waterfront and Venice Beach, near her place. Marissa, Christy’s friend from home, and her husband Kevin cooked up a feast for us Wednesday night when we stayed with them. Their spread, which included a decadent cheese plate, paired with California wines and a tilapia dinner stemming from Marissa’s trip to the farmer’s market, was the perfect backdrop for the night. Katie and Julie, other friends from Christy’s high school joined as well. It was a fun reunion and opportunity to finally introduce Dion and C’s friends to one another.

Thursday afternoon was another “reunion” of sorts- with family. Dion’s Aunt Claudine and Uncle Juan had us over for lunch in West Covina, in eastern LA. Dion’s mom is one of 9 children and 3 of her other siblings were able to make it to Aunt Claudine’s that afternoon: Aunt Doreen, Aunt Virginia, and Uncle Larry, and cousins Steve, Eddie, Sierra, Robert and Noah. Dion, who hadn’t seen some of these relatives in over 10 years, was very appreciative they set aside quality time to see us on while we were in LA.

Driving out of the city that Friday, we jumped in the ocean near Malibu, and scanned the roadside for In-N-Out Burgers (the freshest fast food burger joint) and Pinkberrys (amazing frozen yogurt), knowing they would be hard, if not impossible, to enjoy again the rest of our trip.