California Dreaming

I woke up in the middle of the night last night with no idea where I was. This has been happening a lot to me lately, a sign of two things: I'm not getting enough sleep, and I'm traveling too much.

The whole family just got back from Los Angeles, where we stayed at the fancy-pants Shutters on the Beach resort. It's a great hotel, right on the beach in Santa Monica, walking distance to the pier. The kids loved it. And Michelle and I were reminded that vacationing with kids is not much like a vacation at all. That said, we all had a good time and caught up with lots of old friends. L.A. is an amazing, compelling place. You can just feel the youth and energy of a million hopes and dreams. It's packed with elements of "the good life" all tainted by smog and traffic. People from the East Coast commonly use the pollution and congestion of L.A. to justify why they don't live there. But the truth is, life is better in California, and anyone who says different is selling something.

Before that we were in St. Louis for my cousin Mike Mahowald's wedding. St. Louis was hot, but the wedding was good fun, and the reception was in Tilles Park under the Gloria Rodgers shelter, which kept us a little cooler.  The entire  Briody clan from the Rockaways made it out, and the Ridgefield Briody's were represented by John and Lori, L.P., and  us chickens.

Comments

[Eolande]

Good words.