Livin' La Vida So Cal

Having a soon-to-be-high-school-senior in the house (school starts next Wednesday) keeps us on our toes and there is always something going on that I can, want to or should be doing. The latest and greatest this week was Holly and her friends (Rachel and Karina, they go 'way' back from the 1st grade!) decided that they wanted to visit Holly's godmother (and one of my oldest as in length of time known, not age friends) Katsy at a restaurant (Reel Inn - I highly suggest it) in Malibu. This was an easy enough task, but with Rachel's permit, Holly's provisional license and Karina's full-blown driver's license, there were logistics around driving that have to be coordinated.

It was going to be easy enough - initially. Rachel would come to our house and Karina would swing by to pick the girls up so they could make the trek out to Malibu. But drama soon unfolded - Karina's car was in the shop for some unknown minor repair and the status of the trip hung in the balance! The quick-thinking Schnoogs decided to invite me to lunch and since I was going, I could drive too! Not one to pass up a good meal, I accepted and all was well.

But wait - the car was OK after all and Karina CAN drive. Now we have the awkward moment of UN-inviting (or whatever the grammatically correct term might be) me since the girls really want the freedom of driving themselves. Holly was genuinely conflicted, I will give her that. She wasn't too object to my presence (after all, my weekend wear today as she puts it, 'almost matches') and I can be something of entertainment when needed. She and the girls invited me, despite the fact that it would muddy up the plans to cruise PCH because they are good like that.

Not being one to be the total kill-joy AND wanting to offer a win-win for all, I agreed to go if I could drive my own car (a HUGE sacrifice on my part for anyone who knows my propensity to cram as many people in one car at a time as possible to avoid too many cars on the road). Big smiles all around accepted this deal, and we set off for the 15-mile or so journey to Malibu.

This is where the So Cal adoration comes in. After we wound through the Santa Monica Mountains on Old Topanga Canyon Road, we dropped down onto Pacific Coast Highway to what I would describe as the perfect, quintessential summer day. Sunshine, blue sky, aqua water and shimmers so bright across the waves and currents that it almost blinds you. It was so striking that I actually called Holly on her cell phone to state simply, "This is why I live in Southern California." Living the dream, baby!!!