LA trip

Happy Halloween everyone! Last weekend it finally dipped below freezing here in Ames, but I was lucky enough to be in sunny LA for a few days. It was great to re-visit old friends and my old favorite haunts.
I flew out to LA Friday afternoon after my class. The beauty of flying out of a small airport like Des Moines is that you don't need a long lead time before your flight. My grad-school friend Katherine put me up for the night and the next day we drove around my old neighborhood, took a great hike and then went to my favorite LA eatery (Curry House). This was the same trail that we did several years ago for the 4th of July. It's fun to compare this year's photos to the photos from 2+ years ago.
Saturday afternoon my friend Jo-Ann Krohn and I went to a Halloween party hosted by my great friends Anne and Rick Lainhart. Anne and Rick always throw GREAT parties. It certainly helps that they have a hand-built pirate ship and pub in their backyard. I'm always amazed at how many people Anne and Rick know, because I am always meeting new people at these parties.
Sunday morning I re-visited the LA zoo, one of the things that I miss most about LA. Jo-Ann showed me the new gorilla exhibit and some of the other new zoo features. Sadly, we didn't have enough time to see everything and it was VERY crowded because of "Boo in the Zoo".
Sunday afternoon I had lunch with several zoo friends, although there were many people who were not able to join us. It was good to catch up with those who could make it. Then I drove down to Long Beach to visit with another good friend before heading back to LAX for my red-eye flight back to Des Moines. In Long Beach I was finally able to sample the new "Pinkberry" frozen yogurt craze. It was great! Very tangy, and great with fresh fruit, mochi and fruity pebbles! I wonder how long it will be before Pinkberry makes it to Iowa....
It was a great trip, but I was glad to come home and get back in the swing of things. Hopefully I'll be able to visit again next fall. There are more pictures here.