The Journey Begins

We began today with an exciting visit to Subway near Lorie and Elizabeth's home. We walked in and the sandwich maker was on the phone in the back of the store. A woman was standing a the counter and she looked like she had alreay been waiting for some time. As we looked at the menu, a policeman came in and went right to the back of the store. A second policeman pulled up and began walking the perimeter of the strip mall. We looked at each other and decided that it would be wise to chose another Subway for our morning meal. We speculated on what we happening, but we still don't know what was really going on.

Lorie standing by the See's Candies sign.

We went down the street to another Subway and enjoyed a quick breakfast. Then it was onto the 405 freeway for a drive to the American Girl Place in Los Angeles. We exited the freeway on La Cienega and were driving down the road when Lorie exclaimed, "Look!" There was a large white building with the words "Home of See's Candies". We turned around and went in. This is one of two Sees Candies factories - the other is in San Francisco. They did not have a factory tour, but they had a large store, several different types of candies for sale that are being tested and we were given four samples each. (I had five samples...I guess they liked me best - Elizabeth) That is enough to make anyone have a good day.

We continued down the street to The Grove - a beautiful shopping center in Beverly Hills. It was gorgeous with fountains, a trolley, brick lanes, and a large variety of stores. We were there to visit the American Girl Place so we went right to that store. It was amazing - 2 stories of dramatically displayed dolls, clothes, and accessories. Each doll is displayed in an area that highlights her time era and the events that were happening in the United States at that time. I called it the "museum" because it felt like museum dioramas. Every time you turned around, you felt like you saw something new.

We met a fantastic store employee, Miss Marie, and she just added to our enjoyment. She explained to us about the differences in the dolls depending on when they were made and changes that had been made over time. We learned so much and she was so nice. She introduced us to anther employee and we had a great time discussing doll collecting.

Elizabeth was having a hard time deciding what she wanted to purchase, so we left the store and went to eat some lunch. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. We sat outside on a balcony overlooking the road below. It felt to us like we think eating in New Orleans would feel. The shopping center is so relaxed - you feel as if you are somewhere other than the middle of Los Angeles. We shared appetizers and piece of Red Velvet Cheescake. The cheesecake was almost as good as the red velvet cake at California Pizza Kitchen, but not quite. Our waitress was from back east and she shared that she and her mom had driven out here last year. She said, "I don't think I was quite as excited about my road trip as you are about yours."

After lunch, we went to Barnes and Noble. It was a three story store with the middle opening up right to the ceiling. It was lovely. We then walked around the center and the Farmers' Market that was next door.

We returned to the American Girl Place. Elizabeth made her decision and purchased a new doll, Lanie, with her graduation money from Nana and Bub. (I changed her name to Eleanor Joi Quimby, Eleanor after Eleanor Roosevelt, Joi after my Aunt Tiffanie and Quimby after Robin Lee Graham's daughter - Elizabeth) The doll is the American Girl doll of the year. It is a beautiful doll.

We got back in the care and drove down the road to Barstow. The trip took about 2.5 hours. There was some traffic in Los Angeles, but we were glad we were going out of town and not into town. The other side of the freeway looked like it was going to be still for hours.

We are staying by the Barstow outlets. It was 95 degrees here at 6:30 pm. Lorie and Elizabeth went swimming and Christie rested. We had a great first day!