Monday, August 26, 2013

One Night Dream



Those two girls (because we decided we prefer the term to ladies) came to my house yesterday afternoon, picked me up and drove me down to Manhattan Beach. We checked into a swanky hipster hotel with a rooftop jacuzzi.



We sat there for a few hours, drinking champagne and then beer and nibbling on calamari. When the sun started going down we went back to our room and changed for dinner. Here's our room:


Can you believe?

We walked into town and down charming little beach streets.





Although a tad on the precious side, here's the house I chose to buy for my alternative life:


We walked down to the beach and then along the beach until the sun set:






Then we walked back up to a wonderful restaurant, were seated and champagne was presented, a bottle of Dom Perignon from a friend who couldn't be there. The view of the ocean was spectacular:



We ate mussels and french fries, burrata and heirloom tomatoes, and I had wild sea bass for a main course. We drank champagne and had tiny sugared donut holes dipped in butter and jam for dessert. We then walked -- or rolled -- back to the hotel. The girls got into bed, and I took a bath. I think you need to see a photo of that, right?


Ha!

Seriously, though, that bath was awesome. I sprinkled in some bath salts and waited for the tub to fill up. You can't see it in the photo, but the tub was rigged for what the hipsters called Chromotherapy.  Evidently the pulsating lights -- both in the tub and overhead -- triggered certain feelings. Pink for romance, blue for tranquility, yellow for creativity, green for whatever, red for passion.We got a kick out of it -- at one point I slid the panel open and peered out at my friends who were reading in that bed. I told them that I was feeling POWER (that was the purple light). I settled for blue and relaxed for nearly an hour.

This morning, we woke up, ate a small breakfast and then I went PADDLEBOARDING! The instructor was about as cute as I could have imagined -- a dark-haired, dark-skinned surfer boy -- and he patiently instructed us (mainly me, because I'd never done it) on how to kneel, paddle a bit and then stand up. The first time I stood up, I kind of freaked out a little bit and had to go back to the kneeling position, but when we paddled out to a glassier area, he made me stand up and from then on to the end of the hour, I DID IT! There were sea lions barking and moaning on the buoys, we saw sting rays below us, the sky was hazy and peaceful, and I did it. Despite my feet going numb, I felt good and think I might be hooked to do it again. I wish I had a photo to show you, but then again, maybe I'm glad that I don't. I'd prefer you think of me looking like this:


I'm back home, rested, relaxed and energized. I'm still 49 years old but very much looking forward to being 50.

Next, mermaid tattoo?

25 comments:

  1. God, yes. Yes to everything, the champagne, the beach, the cute instructor. I hope it's not patronizing to say I feel proud of you for the paddle boarding. Very proud and also inspired. Happy Birthday Eve, Elizabeth!

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  2. Chromotherapy? I love it! Glad you got to get out LA for a bit. Cheers to relaxing blue!

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  3. Perfection.
    Oh, Elizabeth- it makes me so happy to see these pictures, to think of you in that beautiful place with your loving friends (and what a loving friend you must be to them), taking in all of that glory and then PADDLE-BOARDING IN THE ACTUAL OCEAN!
    What a fantastic birthday celebration and you deserve it and I'm so glad you had it and then came home and shared it with us.
    Now go get that tattoo!

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  4. Do it, get the tattoo. Sounds like you had a great time.

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  5. Love it! And love that alternative house. Perfection.

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  6. I am so thrilled that you are grabbing this birthday by the horns and driving it to give you every bit of juice it has. I hope it continues for a while past tomorrow as well.

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  7. Wow you know how to BIRTHDAY right! I'm so excited for you. I can't wait for you to scout out and get your tattoo. A celebration a way to mark an important occasion and a symbol that lives inside you already! And this photos. Oh so so so lovely. Little Surfer Girl.
    love,
    Rebecca

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  8. My god, Elizabeth. What a glorious pre-birthday celebration. And girl (not lady, which is weirdly creepy), you are one of the most beautiful people I have ever met, hands down. And I'm so glad to have met you--it was like meeting a celebrity, only better. And wish you every best birthday ever. And I can't wait to see that mermaid tattoo.

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  9. oh, I am green with envy! The tub alone makes me squeal with delight. What a great little hotel. What great friends. And bravo to you for standing UP! I don't know that I could have done that.

    Wishing you a very happy (continued) birthday, Elizabeth.

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  10. I love that you had this beautiful weekend. I simply love it. Happy Birthday to you, beautiful Elizabeth.

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  11. Fantastic day! I am Jealous. Of all of it. Even turning 50. (I am looking back at that)

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  12. I am in total support of the mermaid tattoo! Can't wait to see it.

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  13. Thank you for sharing your visit to this little sliver of heaven.

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  14. I can't figure out what's my favorite part! Although that bath looks like a dream, indeed. So glad you got to do this! Have a wonderful birthday, my friend.

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  15. You have wonderful friends. Please tell them my birthday is next month. Also, I like that little bungalow. You and I must have the same alternative life.

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  16. I'm giving you an A- in celebration. The minus can be brought up to a solid A if you continue that celebration long enough. Enjoy!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  17. oh what i'd have given to be there with you. sounds like the perfect evening. i miss california so very much. xoxo

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  18. I, too, would have chosen that house for my alternative life. You have good friends, and that can mean only one thing, you are a good friend. Your celebration sounds perfect from beginning to end!

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  19. Yes! What a perfect gift from loving, generous friends - and you deserve it.
    We've heard about SUP from people who have tried it; a lot of what I hear is that it's addictive. I wonder. Keep us posted!
    Happy, happy birthday dear friend. Wishing you a year with many days like the one you describe here, days that nourish your soul. Lots of love from here.

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  20. Happy, happy Birthday.
    And in my mind you are always standing.

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  21. Ah. . . fifty. I remember fifty. The fifties were a good decade. Your photos of Manhattan Beach are scrumptious. I especially love the one where you are in the restaurant and look almost caught by the camera -- kind of a skipping school and loving it look.

    Happy Birthday, beautiful girl, and many, many more.

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  22. Awesome! You surfed! (Well, more or less.) And the time away sounds terrific. I am more convinced of the therapeutic power of Dom Perignon than of chromotherapy, but what do I know?

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  23. I am so happy for you! love that you are out celebrating the big birthday in style :)

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