We just got back from visiting Paul and Joanna and their five cats and 2 dogs in Temecula. Paul and Joanna have a lovely home in a quiet, clean neighborhood. Both of them have very short commutes and good jobs. (Well, Joanna might argue with that point, but that’s a l-o-n-g story for another day.) Anyway, I gotta tell ya – I’m soooo happy to live in Northern California. Here in Oakland, Kelly and I can walk to dozens of cool destinations – shops, restaurants, bookstores, Jack London Square, etc. In Temecula, we had to drive everywhere. And everywhere, it seemed, was at least an hour or two away. It’s no wonder it’s so important to drive a nice car in Southern California – most people are in theirs a large part of the day.

Our first road trip was to Hollywood, where the girls did the obvious thing. They headed straight to the nearest oxygen bar for a tune up and a neck-rub before hobnobbing with Chucky and Jimi Hendrix in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Fab!