Decadent gluten free waffles and pancakes, a worship service with old friends in Burbank, and an afternoon of beach volleyball ~ that’s what the Sunday after my brother’s wedding held. We knew that our church-planting friends, Robby and Kim, had, in the last few years, moved from Burlington, VT to Burbank, CA to plant a church there. Since we were only a few miles from Burbank, and didn’t have to join up with family until noon, we decided to just show up at their worship service that morning. It’s called
Fellowship Church of Burbank, and it was fun to surprise Robby, but sadly Kim was away with their two girls!
We decided to leave extra early and eat breakfast out on the way to church. Robert found a restaurant in Burbank called BeaBea’s that claimed to serve gluten free pancakes, etc. ~ and boy did they! Not only pancakes, but big Belgian waffles and even gluten free toast if you opted for an egg and bacon dish. It was SUCH a treat! {a very expensive one, but it certainly doesn’t happen often!} Kory had the “Chocolate Fantasy” pancake stack complete with Nutella, whipped cream, and chocolate chips. Kayla got waffles with bananas and chocolate chips, Coop got plain pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon, Robert got the full-of-gluten “Apple Cobbler” pancakes, and I decided on the egg scramble with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan cheese with a side of GF toast. {Don’t worry. I ate about half of Kayla’s waffles. She was still feeling lousy, despite the smile.}
After breakfast and church, we headed back to Santa Monica for an afternoon at the beach with the bride and groom, friends, and family…
…where Kory ended up eating some sand in an intense round of beach volleyball, and Rachel {the bride} showed off her back-bend set. Stu and Rachel actually met for the very first time on the volleyball court, and they are both amazing players. I think it may actually be a requirement for living in SoCal. ☺
Next up was football throwing between the siblings and nephews. Even I got in on the action a bit, and I think I’m glad there are no pictures of that. Sweet, sickly Kayla was lying face-down on a towel on the sand growing more feverish and miserable as the afternoon went on ~ which was day #3 of fever for her. We kept thinking it would break, but THAT wouldn’t happen for FOUR MORE DAYS! Poor girl…
My son, my bro, and one little sis. Don’t they look the part?
Sunday late afternoon was spent on the phone with our pediatrician back in MA getting advice on what to do with Kayla while we are 3,000 miles from home, and then looking up local urgent care facilities as was suggested by him. We got up early Monday morning and took her to the urgent care that opened at 8am to discover that they didn’t “do” pediatrics! Crazy. Then we called “Doctors on Demand,” and learned that they only offer services from 6-10pm. What? We happened to be driving past a CVS pharmacy, so I called and asked the pharmacist what she would suggest, and after naming the two places we had just tried, she said to just take Kayla to the UCLA Medical Center ER.
I was picturing a waiting room full of drug addicts and gunshot wounds, but what I found was a new and sparkling facility full of smiling receptionists and kind and gentle nurses who immediately took Kayla’s vitals and discovered a temperature of 103 degrees. {she hadn’t had any Tylenol since the night before} This got immediate attention, and she was quickly whisked off to a room. I actually have a picture of Kayla lying on the bed in the ER room {shocking, huh? Actually Robert took it with his phone.}, but she has forbidden me from posting it. I think it’s pretty cute, but she doesn’t.
It wasn’t strep throat as I suspected, just a really nasty virus of some sort. She got a dose of Tylenol and a steroid to help with the throat pain and swelling, and was feeling a tiny bit better by the time we got back to the hotel room just in time to check out.
Next stops Malibu, Pepperdine University, and finally…Palm Springs. {or Palm Desert, to be exact.}
We had been taking in the view toward Malibu, CA all weekend while on the pier and beach in Santa Monica, and have always wanted to see the Pepperdine campus, so we took a little drive north before heading south to the desert. Wow ~ it is so beautiful. Can’t imagine going to college with a view of the Pacific from almost anywhere on campus! We had fun sending text messages to our friends Austin and Sara who met while students there, and I think Austin mentioned something about “suffering for Jesus” while there in Malibu. Ha!
Our church-planting friend, Robby, suggested that we try and eat lunch at Neptune’s Net just north of Pepperdine. It’s an old and iconic place with great people watching from pierced and leather-clad bikers to the chic LA crowd to the surfers coming up from the beach below. We gluten free folks enjoyed some yummy grilled fish tacos, and Robert had fish and chips.
And after dropping Melinda off back in LA, we headed 100 miles south to the desert, cruising along “the 10” {Interstate 10} and through the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, which is the second windiest place in the US. There are thousands of these wind turbines there generating electricity to thousands of households. Kinda eerie driving through there…
Stu and Rachel live in Palm Desert, so we stayed at their new place while they were on their honeymoon, and even got to help out with a little dog and house sitting. We also did some really ridiculous sightseeing…
This is the view to the parking lot from the Palm Springs Aerial Tram, which takes you to the top of Mt. San Jacinto ~ where Stu proposed to Rachel. Those two must be real daredevils, because I can almost 100% assure you that I will never go up there again. It’s sort of like the Willy Wonka Glass Elevator, which is another contraption in which I would never want to ride. I was scared to death and could not bring myself to enjoy the beautiful views, because I was too focused on gripping the hand rail. {As if that would prevent falling to my death.} We packed a picnic and ate on the deck of the visitor center once safely at the top. Kayla was still pretty puny, so we sent the boys hiking while she laid her head on a table inside. {so sad} I went to look at postcards and thought the visitor center was shaking, vibrating a bit. Minor earthquake? We are in California after all. It was a little bit disconcerting, but then I realized it was my legs STILL SHAKING from the terror of the ride up. My palms were still sweaty, too. I am getting too old for dangling from a virtually vertical cable while ascending 6,000 feet or so in 15 minutes. {And it certainly didn’t help that I have vivid memories from watching
this 1979 movie when I was just nine years old.}
Beautiful, beautiful views and trails ~ 10,000 acres of them!
The tram that supposedly holds up to 80 people! Oh my.
See what I mean? Vertical. Straight up. Who’s crazy idea was this? Actually, I could tell you the answer, because I did bring myself to watch the movie about the history and brainchild of the tram. {Cool, dark theater where Kayla could still rest!}
And after that way-too-thrilling adventure, we just stayed with our feet firmly on the ground in the condo and did things like check the mail, take sweet Trax for walks {and runs!}, swim in the big, gorgeous pool, and cook meals using all of Stu and Rachel’s new and super-cool wedding gifts! ☺ And poor Kayla, spent most of her time on this couch with an ice pack and cool cloth on her head still trying to fight off that nasty virus. She didn’t get relief until we were back home. The poor thing sobbed her way through the airplane take-offs and landings which hurt her ears severely. Unfortunately, her SoCal experience wasn’t as fun as ours. Trax gave her lots of kisses, though, and stayed close by her side which helped her spirits. Thankfully, she’s all better now!
So thankful for the beautiful wedding, the amazing couple, and a few down days in Cali. {109 degrees, but dry and wonderful! Loved the perpetual sunshine and warmth!}
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Hi Mel…You mentioned how hard it would be to study with the view of the ocean from anywhere on campus. When I attended UCSB I had that same kind of view…and I think that's the reason I did so well in school there. Absolutely gorgeous! Hope Kayla is feeling 100% better. Love, K&J
Not hard to study, just hard to believe the constant beauty of it all! Was UCSB for a Master's? Can't rememeber!
{*remember}
And YES! Kayla is SO much better!
Yes, for the M.A. Glad to hear Kayla is better. Love you!