Holly's Big Day Out

I would like to believe that Holly's birthday did not disappoint in terms of fun, celebration and general good times. The morning started off nicely as reported in the last post, and continued at an unhurried pace (Holly's favorite speed) through the afternoon. There was a pedicure, some shopping, a little frozen yogurt snack and then the real celebrating began.

Dinner was at Ruth's Chris Steak House - we went to the one in Woodland Hills - because the Schnoogs rather enjoys their steaks, especially since they are served sizzling in butter. Rachel went with the lobster bisque and I opted for the veggie-friendly portobello mushroom. The unsung heroes on the menu (in my humble opinion) are the sides...the sweet potatoes are to die for and the shoe string potatoes addictive! Full and borderline bloated thanks to all of the fine food, we rolled out at 6:45 to cruise on over to the Ahmanson Theatre (in Los Angeles, about 20 miles away).

The funny (although I am not laughing) thing about driving in LA is you never know what you are in for. A drive that should have taken 30 minutes took us an hour and a half and then we were routed through the deepest bowels of the city to a parking place that ended up being across the street and down about 3 blocks from our destination. It was hard to not be frustrated and irritable with the slow traffic, indecisive drivers and parking attendants that kept directing us further and further away from our target, but cool heads prevailed and we made it inside the doors of the Ahmanson at 8:30. They had started the show late (very nice of them to hold it for us), and took us into our seats after the 3rd song, so while we did miss some of the show, it wasn't too bad and we were not alone in our tardy arrival (I'm telling you, the traffic situation is out of control!)

The play that we saw was called Spring Awakening and it has won 8 Tony Awards. I am not sure that I can adequately describe the content of this play and still maintain my self-described G-rating on this blog, so let's leave it at a "coming of age story of a very confused and curious group of students in 20th century Germany." Check out this review for a little more detail and flavor of the entertainment. Holly had mentioned to me that she heard that there were portions of the play that were (in her words) 'awkward', so I bought tickets for her and Rachel together and then tickets for myself and a friend (David opted out) to sit in a different area - I think that it was a good move!

Once the play was over, we had plenty to talk about on the ride home, which we were all happy to see went much faster than the ride to the theater. Once we dropped off Rachel and made it into the house, the clock struck midnight and it was official - the Schnoogs is now in her full adulthood. Good job! Here are a few photos of our historic day.