Santa Monica Stairs, 6.12.11

B and I had a long day yesterday.  So it was expected that we sleep in late on Sunday.  We did manage to move from the bedroom to the living room, and partly watch Netflix while B dozes off and on at the longer sofa, and Tico and I in the loveseat.  After eating leftover mish mash of leftover steak and pasta, mixed in with tofu, and spiced up ala Pad Thai, we bolted to Santa Monica for some much-needed workout.

I stand corrected - the yelpers noted that this has 186 steps.  It's mostly wood, and it really kicked our butts in gear.  My third and last try made my knees shaky and wobbly, so stretching is a must.  Tico kept wanting to drink water between breaks.  But he slept goooood in the night.  There was a girl with her little dog that was going to go down while we were resting after our third climb.  The dog was not too happy to get down, I have to say.  

Some of these guys are straight up hard core.  There was a guy that was puting his benches and weights back to his car when a cop pulled over to tell him he can not bring those things in the area.  That's how fanatic these people can get.  I was fascinated with one of the guys who had a jacket filled with weights, and then he took it off to do some jump ropes, and then he switched to one of those circular things you put on each of your hand to help you do push-ups.  And this, mind you; is in between his climbs.  But you can defintiely tell the people that come here often - they have zero body fat.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Of course, you're bound to see men and women of different ages, but for the most part, they are obviously fit, and drive ridiculously nice cars.  This is, Santa Monica after all.  

The houses along 4th and Adelaide, and on Adelaide specifically; are marvelous.  They are multi-million dollar homes with amazing city and ocean views.      

There is another set of stairs before the wooden one.  This one is made of steel, and is narrower.  I've never been on this one, so I can't vouch for it; but it is less crowded and less busy than the former. 

I completely forgot about Tico's new toy.  We found it in the car on our way home.  This donkey has the same color scheme as he does; so I really liked it.  It also made a funny noise like a duck's quack, instead of the usual squeaks.  His 'hooves', however; makes the usualy squeaks.  Tico got frustrated with me because he can't make the noises as often as he'd like all at the same time.  Talk about multi-tasking.      

"3 Days of Summer", Vista Hermosa Park, Downtown, LA; 05.28.11

It's Memorial Day weekend, and the Tico household are laying it low because of our fast and expensive trip to Chicago two weeks ago.  Because B has to get his oil change in downtown, and I came across a nice, downtown-located park in the recent issue of Sunset Magazine, I found this park called Vista Hermosa Park, with great views of the Downtown skyline.

Now the "500 Days of Summer" movie's park was called Angels Knoll Park, located on 4th and Olive Streets.  Vista Hermosa Natural Park on the other hand, is located more towards Echo Park area of LA.  The location is on 100 N. Toluca Street.  There are ample park and street parking, and the park itself is 10 acres, with waterfalls, stairs, benches and picnic tables, rolling hills, floras and faunas, children's play areas, about two restrooms, a soccer field, and it's best feature - downtown LA view.  The best bench to snag is the one closest to the learning center as shown to the bottom right of this map, and it's on your way down by the soccer field.  It offers a sweeping view of the dtla skyscrapers like the US Bank, Paul Hastings, Bank of America and Bonaventure to name a few. 

B and I had a great time taking pictures of the bees getting busy with the colorful flowers of purple, yellow, pink and whites.  The kids were having a great time with the adventure area, because there was a large structure of a snake all around this mini-park inside of the park.  

Later in the night, we were invited to our neighbor's Quinceanera party, and it was nice to see everyone we know dressed and made up for the night.  

Sunday was mellower, with us going to Culver City Dog Park on Duquesne and Jefferson in Culver city, CA once again to give Tico a chance to run around off-leash, as the Vista Hermosa Park is an on-leash family park.  We had a great time making Tico catch the tennis balls in the air, but he overshot it as his paws were overused at the end of the day.  The park had no grass, and it's ground is made of tough, reddish dirt.  Since he started walking around like an old man afterwards, we decided not to take him out on Monday, which is sad, because Monday we had no other family/friends plans and obligations other than running errands.           

Monday is running around and cleaning the house day for both B and I.  Afterwards, we took a quick drive to have a small work out session at the Santa Monica Stairs which is located north of San Vicente Blvd, on Adelaide, between 4th and 7th Streets in Santa Monica, CA.  The stairs kicked our butts!  After 3 tries, we were pooped.  Bryan's Herbalife's "Lift-Off" and "H3-0" mixed in with water really helped us hydrate.  The stairs have about 150 steps, on a steep hill, and the steps are made of wood.  You'll see lots of hardbodies and fitness buffs here, by the hundreds.  Don't try to keep up, and keep at your pace.  Stretching is key.  In-between rests, are necessary.

Afterwards, B wanted to 'eat a much-deserved burger'.  So I suggested The Counter which is on 29th and Ocean Park, just a few miles south of there.  We shared a greasy, goodness slab of beef with guyere, honey mustard, grilled onions, pickes, sprouts on multigrain bun, and a side of a single-order sweet potato fries, and washed them off with glasses of water.  It was good, but it was also baaad.  But sharing, means shared calories.  But next time, we'll try to remember our effort to lose weight, and vote towards fresh onions, no cheese, and a lighter sauce.  But we shall see.

The weekend was relatively uneventful, and low-key.  But fairly productive.  Mission accomplished.  It was a great 3 day start to a hopefully wonderful summer season ahead of us.    

This girl goes down the slide feet first, face-down.



A pretty girl twirling in a dress in the Quinceanera party



Frank showing Josie and B the reno outlays of the home 




B trying to make a 'peace' sign at The Counter