Before leaving LA, my husband and I spent the afternoon in Santa Monica. My real goal was to make sure I visited Montana Avenue, home to Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic home furnishing store. I have been such a fan of her’s since she opened her first store years ago. Montana Ave. is a great place to walk around and has some great little shops. It was such a beautiful day out, I figured I had plenty of time to make my way to Shabby Chic. Not paying attention to my watch, I took my time and bought some beautiful jewelry at a store that was actually getting ready to move to another location. Stopped in some other really cool clothing stores and eventually made my way to Shabby Chic. At 5 minutes past 6pm. Guess what time the store closed?! What a bummer!
We made it out of LA safe and sound and drove straight to our hotel in La Jolla. Now, if you have not been to this area of California – put it on your list of places to visit. We settled in, had dinner early and went to bed. I had to get up early and meet my publicist at the Fox 5 tv station. Had to be there by 8am.
What a treat – having my hair and make-up done for me! Thank you Plush Salon, San Diego.
I was very happy to see my publicist, Kelly Moran – she had come out a few days before me and had contacted these 2 lovely young ladies to come in to the TV studio and make me look presentable.
Met the very talented Lee MacDougall, on tour promoting his new CD. Nice guy – Great acoustic guitar player/songwriter. Check out his web site, Lee MacDougallmusic.com
Thank you Fox 5!
I always get very nervous right before I go on a TV show, especially when it is live, as the local morning shows tend to be. The lovely anchor interviewing me was great. We chatted a minute before we went on the air and she seemed really interested in the subject of sex addiction. Asked me some good questions. That is a good sign, considering they interview so many different people, talking about different subjects, every day. The segment went by very fast, before I knew it, I was being led back to the green room. And that officially ended my book duties for my west coast trip.
Chris and Me – downtown La Jolla
A few of my husband’s cousins live in California. This handsome motorcycle dude is Chris, who met us for lunch. He roared into town on his giant black motorcycle to meet us for lunch in downtown La Jolla. Too funny. He is a kindergarten teacher at a public school in San Diego. He is passionate about his career, loves his students. All I can say is, those kids are so lucky to have such a great male role model so early in their lives. The next day, had lunch in Del Mar, another beautiful spot.
The Plaza in Del Mar
View of the ocean from the balcony of the Pacifica Restaurant
Calamari at the Pacifica – love this restaurant, always have a great meal there.
Had a great rest of the day and night. Had dinner with Chris and met his lovely girlfriend, Erin, and Chris’s brother Jeff for a good time at the Brewery restaurant. Just as we walked in the door, someone yelled out “we need a doctor or medic in the bar”. Brian made his way through the crowd to find a young man lying on the floor, passed out. His wife was frantic and trying to get him to wake up. He had just fallen off his bar stool and collapsed. It became apparent very quickly to my husband that he had just passed out, not because of alcohol. Low blood sugar. He instructed people what to do until the medic’s came and took control. The poor guy was awake and doing fine when they finally wheeled him out. The manager was very appreciative and gave our table a round of drinks – never a dull moment. One of the good things about being married to a doctor – they are very calm in a medical crisis.
The last 2 days were spent at Jeff and Kathy’s home in Encinitas. I always make it a point to never stay in someone’s house when I travel. I much prefer my privacy and hotel living. Jeff and Kathy’s house is a happy exception. We always have a great time with them and we stay on separate floor’s so we don’t intrude on each other. Love this area – so much to do and see. Great restaurants, shopping, recreation, not to mention, the weather.
Encinitas
Breakfast with Jeff and Kathy
Kathy, Erin and Chris – Love them!
Looking down on Swami Beach – a very popular surfing spot.
Our final days of our West Coast trip ended with hanging out with our extended family. (I unfortunately missed out on seeing my Aunt and Uncle who live on the coast – due to time and traffic constraints) All in all, it was a great trip. All the wonderful people I met, the different experiences I had discussing my book, re-connecting with old friends, traveling on my own, visiting with family. I am just so grateful, especially now, as I have been home for a few months and am looking at these photos for the first time in a while and have had time to reflect about this special leg of my book tour. Life is good. I am very fortunate.