Besides figuring out suit complications, and it being wedding eve for Joel and Kat, today hasn’t been super eventful for us. Waking early again from the click, click, click of doggy nails on the floor above, I breakfasted earlier than yesterday even though our meal last night was large. Cinnamon toast with butter, plus an over easy egg. Regretfully, I didn’t make Cobalt breakfast, but he grabbed some Thai leftovers before we left the house.

While Cobalt ran some groomsmen errands and bachelor activities with Joel, Lizzie and I ventured in Santa Monica for a couple hours. First, we ate at this cute icecream store called Beachy Cream, which serves organic and vegan ice cream, hotdogs and chili. Having eaten a big breakfast, Lizzie and I only ordered cream; she chose mint chocolate chip and I toasted coconut. (I wanted Coffee ice cream, but I thought coconut was different because it’s not sold in TN.)

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If you look really close you can see the coconut flecks!

Me and Lizzie

I was very impressed with the ice cream’s flavors and textures! They were gentle, pure and…well… REAL.  Lizzie and I discussed this in the car on the way home and decided to make homemade icecream tomorrow. :)

Having only put 30 minutes in the parking meter, and parked in a 40 minute spot, we walked back to the car and drove to a 2 hour parking spot. I wasn’t sure how long we’d be gone, so I swiped (because the meters here accept cards) 45 minutes of “quarters.” At this point, Lizzie suggested visiting 3rd street promenade, a very “authentically Los Angeles” street. Though we would need to walk eight blocks, I hoped three quarters was enough.

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On our way, I observed the weather, outdoor décor, people, restaurants, car and cycle manners and other differences between LA and Chattanooga –

1. I still couldn’t believe how lovely the weather is here. ALL THE TIME. Regarding this, I explained to Lizzie that I can’t wear my hair down in TN because a) it gets puffy from humidity and b) my neck sweats. But here I’ve worn my hair down nearly every day and have been perfectly comfortable. The ocean breeze really cools things off. And the night air invites me to cozy up under blankets.

2. Because the weather is so mild year round, flowers grow EVERYWHERE! On street corners, along sidewalks, in the medians of roads….it’s so attractive to the eye that I can’t help but just smile when walking down the street. Lizzie says it’s not as pretty in downtown LA so I guess I shouldn’t keep my hopes up for that yet! We’ll see…hopefully Cobalt and I can spend time down their sometime this weekend.

3. The people aren’t as busy as I thought they’d be. I rather expected LA to be like New York: Everyone has a place to be and there’s no time to waste. But on the contrary, most people seem quite relaxed, comfortable and happy. At least, on this side of down they do. This side of town is more green because of the mountains and beach, so perhaps that encourages the residents to take a breather instead of being stressed?

4. The restaurants I have yet to figure out. Lizzie says the most prominent food is hamburgers but I’ve yet to actually find a burger place. I counted more Italian pizza places (on the same street, I might add) than any other restaurant. The others seemed fancier and romantic because they may have outdoor sort of patio areas so that customers could enjoy the weather while they’re eating and talking. Also, I saw several customers drinking wine with their meals.

5. Car manners are slightly different than TN but all traffic laws are pretty much the same. The ones the differ are: a) Cyclists (of all sorts) are allowed to “lane split,” meaning they can drive in between lanes that are going the same direction. This is a bit scary at times but I suppose it forces us to be more aware of our surroundings when we drive. b) Drivers are more aggressive here because of the traffic (e.g. if you don’t move over now, you won’t have a chance later), so we’ve had to be aware of that both defensively and offensively. c) Rush hour traffic isn’t 24/7 as it is in Chattanooga. It’s twice a day; otherwise the road is pretty clear. Makes driving less stressful because if you time your day right, you won’t get frustrated!

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Once we arrived at 3rd street, we walked down what I mentioned as 3rd Street Promenade (pronounciation: prah-mah-nahd). It kind of felt like an outdoor mall but more charming. Since I can’t think of anything like it, I’ve looked up the description on their website:

This three-block, pedestrian-only stretch boasts a vibrant street scene with outdoor dining, throngs of local and out-of-town visitors, street performers and terrific shopping along both sides of the street.

While Lizzie and I were there, we saw a few street performers, but she said there are usually much more. What stood out to me the most though was just how happy everyone looked walking down the street. Maybe it was just me smiling but I think everyone was enjoying the lovely day. When I asked Lizzie why that is she replied that most people come to 3rd Street Promenade on their days off, so they’re more prone to enjoying it than if they’re just “passing through” on their way to somewhere.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay longer because my meter was going to run out. So after walking for 10 minutes down 3rd, we turned back around to walk back to 11th. I think I got lucky because my meter was blinking red when we returned but no ticket was on my windshield. :)

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Welp, tonight is the rehearsal dinner, which I have graciously been invited to. So once Cobalt rings me I’ll be headed that way! Talk to y’all tomorrow! Thanks so much to all of you who have been reading our blog! It’s been a pleasure to share this with all of you:)

Love, Hope and Cobalt