Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

This morning we were treated to some fabulous smoothies for breakfast at Louise and Brian’s place. You know, I think I could really get used to this kind of treatment. Unfortunately for us, we would be bidding farewell to our Orange County friends as we were heading to another part of LA for the day and then returning to the mother ship in San Diego to continue our tour down there. So the plan for today was simple. head to the beaches and bike along the boardwalk and just enjoy the scenery. I wanted the kids to see what life is like along the Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach area in LA. I also wanted to make it all the way to Venice Beach as Brian and Louise told us it is quite a crazy place, but unfortunately our time did not allow that. We were also planning to meet up with a friend of mine, Ted, whom I met through work way back in 1992. Ted is a real wag. He and Pamela live in the incredibly gorgeous Palos Verdes area which is just a little south of the beaches that we were planning to cruise. When we got to the beaches I think the kids were surprised to see that people have their houses RIGHT beside the boardwalk on the beach. And these are not just houses as we know them, they are mini-castles. Some of the architecture is quite amazing however. Not surprisingly, the weather was fabulous. It was sunny and warm, but not so warm that you got hot … rough life I tell ya. After a couple of hours of biking (and taking pictures) it was off to Ted’s place. Earlier I mentioned that Palos Verdes is a nice place. Well, just to give you a flavour for what this neighbourhood is like, we actually saw a woman riding her horse down the palm tree-lined median of one of the streets. Not to shabby, eh? Ted and Pamela are animal lovers and between the two of them they have 9 dogs! Of course if you are going to have that many dogs you want them to be a manageable size, which is why 8 of them are Newfoundlands and one is a Golden Retriever. You really have to experience them to in person to see what this is like. Andre-Paul and Morgan loved it and were reveling in having these huge, furry animals wagging their tales and pushing over each other to get some pats. They also have a couple of cats, some turtles, and many rabbits for good measure. We spent the evening with them and enjoyed a wonderful dinner out while catching up as best we could. I It felt like we needed about another week to touch on all the different subjects we wanted to discuss but we had to go too soon. I remembered Ted as a very smooth operator so I knew it was going to be a challenge to participate in the paying of the bill. Earlier in the evening I had notified the maitre d' to address the situation but when it came time for the bill, somehow Ted had already scooped it. I gratefully accepted his generousity and decided that I should have expected no less. It was wonderful to be able to visit with Ted and Pamela after such a long time. After bidding another set of friends adieu today, it was time to head home. We then drove all the way back to San Diego and rejoined our MoHo after our LA weekend.

Today’s word:

wag \WAG\, noun:
A humorous person; a wit; a joker.