Days 318/365

Said goodbye to Lizze and headed to Tujunga to stay with Chris and Andrea. Had a lovely day in Pasadena, followed by a great night hanging at their house. Chris made an amazing dinner and we sat around and talked and laughed and ate a strange brownie-like dessert in which Andrea tried to substitute egg with banana. It wasn't right, but it was oh so good.

Days 317/365

LA has a all you can eat vegan brunch. That's what I said. As any vegan will tell you, breakfast is the HARDEST meal to eat out when you don't eat eggs or drink the milk out of a cow. So this was a true joy. And really fantastic. After that, we picked up Eva and headed to Temecula to meet Chris and Andrea in wine country. Had a fantastical time, as Eva would say! For dinner, we stopped at the Counter, for amazing veggie burgers and fries. Just what the doctor ordered after all that wine.

Days 316/365

Day two of LA. Woke up and found a vegan restaurant that had an amazing vegan breakfast. I had pancakes with a tofu scramble that was crunchy on top. Really good. Drove down to Venice beach and walked on the beach and the boardwalk. Such a fun, weird, wacky place. Then drove down Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. Then we drove thru Topanga Canyon, stopping at the overlook at the top. It was so beautiful. Met Shanna for lunch at a cool vegetarian joint. Have I mentioned that LA is a vegan's dream?? Went home, really tired and stuffed. Hung around Liz's apartment. She wasn't feeling very well. Finally, about 8pm, we had to either get up and out or go to bed. She really wanted to take a hot bath and lie down, so we went to the Big Foot Lodge. It's a cool log cabin bar that John hipped us to. Fun, but we were so tired, we went home early and went to bed.

Days 315/365

Finally on vacation! Day one of our LA trip. Woke up at the crack of dawn. Actually, before that, at 4am. Landed in Long Beach at 10am. Went to Liz's office to get the key to her apt. Googled vegan lunch in Santa Monica and found many options. Settled on the Golden Mean, just by chance. Well, let me tell you. It was A-MA-ZING. Best veggie burger I've ever had. I have been thinking about it since then! After lunch, we walked all over the Santa Monica Pier and the Promenade. So beautiful there. From there, we headed to the Tiki-Ti, the world's smallest Tiki bar, thanks to a heads up from my friend John. We had fun, but were sooo tired. It was rush hour by then, so our trip to Liz's was a long one. She met us there and we headed out to dinner. Was so great to see her and spend time with her. After dinner, we went home, where we fell asleep, exhausted.

Days 313-314/365

So busy getting ready for my trip that I didn't get a picture taken. Blog fail. My apologies! Instead, here is a cool pic we took in Mexico at my brother's wedding of a circular rainbow in the sky. Steve had to block the sun with his hand.

Days 312/365

Mmmmm, my new favorite recipe. Black bean vegan chili. Sooooo gooooood! The picture does it no justice.

Days 311/365

So crazy at work, trying to get ready for vacation. Didn't take a picture today. Here is a picture of my grandma, Mimi. Today, 2/23, would have been her birthday (although today is actually not day 311, I am behind in my blogging). Wasn't she cute?