I just returned home from my first "Girls Weekend" as a mom of 3! Steve has taken off on "Guys Trips" a couple times a year for the past 10 years, and last spring, he announced to me that it was high time I did the same. So I called up my longest, bestest friend Amy and asked what she wanted to do! We've been friends since age 3, but due to distance, we see each other only once a year or so.
After a bit of discussion, we decided on Los Angeles, and seeing the Broadway Musical "Wicked". Steve had a couple of flight passes on SW Airlines, which he generously offered to us. So we went about booking hotel, car & planning activities!
I think the most fun part of the whole trip was the airplane ride! Amy boarded the plane in Seattle, which then stopped in San Jose to pick me up! I picked up Starbucks hot chocolate and Cinnabon rolls in the airport prior to boarding, and hopped on the plane...I was so excited I could hardly stand still! It was so fun to see her grinning back at me - we were just like little kids!
When we arrived in LA, we picked up our rental car...a bright red Mustang convertible!
We stayed in Manhattan Beach - or rather, we slept there. We had a beautiful hotel, just 1/2 mile from the beach, but we were only there long enough to drop off our suitcases and then fall into bed late at night.
We did what everyone should do while in Los Angeles - act like paparrazzi! We took a tour of the Movie Stars Homes, and didn't see a single star! But we did see Tom Cruise's house, Jack Nicholsen, Paris Hilton, George Marciano (founder of Guess Jeans) and his 14 red & yellow Ferrarri's, as well as the homes of several movie shoots.
We spent a whole day shopping in Beverly Hills...we drove down Rodeo Drive, but figured we wouldn't waste any time going into the stores since there wasn't even a keychain in our price range. But a couple blocks over, Banana Republic hit it big with my purchase of a new fall wardrobe!
Saturday night, we drove into Hollywood to see "Wicked" - the second time for both of us. We were giggling with excitement and singing all the songs in our heads - total dorks, I know. But it was so fun to watch this beautiful story of love and friendship with each other. When it was over, we both wanted to cry. But instead, we started looking for something to eat...not an easy task at midnight. We ended up buying some strawberries, watermelon and crackers at Ralph's and eating them in our room, while watching bad late night TV and laughing.
Sunday, we headed up to the Getty Center Museum, what an amazing place. Incredible architecture and beautiful art on display. Then, we headed to Santa Monica for a peak at the beach before heading back to LAX.
We shared our flight to San Jose, then Amy continued on to Seattle. We were both so sad to say goodbye, and not quite ready to get back to reality!
Steve and the kids did fine without me, and I came home to a cleaner house than I left. Steve did say that he doesn't want to be a single parent any time soon...good thing! I think we both appreciate each other a little more, him knowing what taking care of 3 kids 24/7 entails, and me because I got a break from it! I wouldn't trade my life for anything, but it was nice to be more than a mom for just a couple of days. Thanks Amy!!!
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