Belize Trip Begins

And I'm off! Another great adventure begins

It was all a rush getting last minute stuff done, fetching Ike and Adam from the ferry on Wednesday afternoon and making sure everything was in order before heading out the door yesterday morning.

Ike and Adam are such sweet guys, very calm and quiet which is exactly as I had imagined them, judging from the emails and calls we had prior to their arrival. Buddy, my scaredy cat cat even came down to meet them! So I know everything will be fine and I left there feeling much better about the whole thing!

Of course, the first part is always a schlepp - Ike took me to the Airporter shuttle and we made good time to the airport, arriving early so I had time to sit and relax over a glass of wine and some lunch and people watch! The flight to Burbank was absolutely jammed; not a spare seat anywhere and lots of yelling kids and mothers talking over them so it was pretty noisy. Fortunately it's a short flight!

There had been a slight hiccup in the plans with Ryan and we decided that rather than me stay at the house with all the roommates being present (as opposed to them being gone last time I was down) I would get an Airbnb just around the corner from him. Also, he was working late so Uber picked me up and deposited me at the new digs.

I was a little perturbed as we drove up. Lots of older cars parked around. A bag of trash on the doorstep and I wondered if I had the wrong address as I watched my ride leave. Knocking on the door (no porch light) I was greeted by a "who is there?" When I answered asking is this the Airbnb the women yells out to someone as she continues talking on her phone! But she opens the door and in very heavily accented English she says "come, come" gesturing with her hands! I followed her through a dark, rather sloven house to the back door where I was greeted by a large, dark-skinned man wearing a yarmulke so maybe he is Israeli?

Fortunately, the room is not in the house, but it does leave a lot to be desired! So I just remind myself that I am just sleeping here and won't be spending any time. The very extended family that appears to live in the main house is very noisy! Loud TV last night and noisy young kids and yelling women this morning.

A good breakfast at Aroma this morning with Ryan and Rascal. And will spend the day at the house catching up on stuff, posting more pix into EyeEm and maybe more will be chosen for Getty Images (which are not online yet!) That was very exciting to have three chosen! Heck, there might even be some money in it! What a concept.

Beginning of a Long Holiday

I've been lazy, just posting instagram pix and not writing posts! And it has been such a busy time, too. So I will break this down into several posts over the next few days.

With winter coming on strong in the PNW, I was extremely happy to be heading south to Southern California for the holidays. It's always a mission to get there - a lift to the shuttle, an hour and half bumping along with numerous stops, schlep to the ticketing to check in the expensive one bag carrying the gifts, security (yay Pre- check!) waiting... three hours on the flight... makes for a long day.

But being picked up at Burbank airport in a BMW convertible by Ryan, my darling son, made up for the tiring day.

Blast from the Past

The following day, we fulfilled one of the many items on my wish list!

Many, many years ago, there was a Bob's Big Boy hamburger joint in Costa Mesa, right up the street from where we (Ryan and Cody's dad and I) used to live. We used to go fairly often, and then progress (?) took it away. But in Burbank, Bob's has survived and flourished, and is a great example of the old diner. It was built in 1949 (so have a great affinity with it) and is considered a classic example of that era's architecture. I've wanted to go there for ages, so we did!

There is actually a bit of story about me wanting to go there. Last Christmas Eve, as there were just the two of us, Rye an and me, we thought it would be a good chance to go to Bob's for a Christmas Eve dinner - by the time we got there around 6pm, they were closed, and we ended up at a Thai restaurant - which we went to again this Christmas!

The enormous, neon sign is visible all the way down the street, the red glow glinting off the cars in the parking lot. The street lights lit the Jetson-styled sun-shades (I can't call them umbrellas) that hovered over the outdoor seating, lining the pavement. On this evening, everyone was inside, hiding from the cold and drizzle. Under the portico, there stood a life-sized Bob, checkered outfit and all. Obviously it was picture time before heading in to the classic diner. The curving counter, the leatherette booths and many of the waitresses who looked like they might have been there since the place opened!

Everything is basic - basic menu, basic condiments, just like it used to be before it became so cool to be cool.

I ordered the Original Bobs Big Boy combo with fries, the works! I didn't do the milkshake part, but we did have onion rings!

So in this time of "plated" food and weird pairing combinations, it was refreshing to see a hamburger in a bun, with simple lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise plonked on a plate alongside a mound of real French fries. Nothing pretentious, nothing fancy, just plain old Bob's!

[box type="info"]BOB's BIG BOY

4211 W Riverside Dr

Burbank, CA 91505

(818) 843-9334[/box]

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