New Adventures

Hello out there friends!

Since the last posting we have continued to go out, explore, and enjoy our new life together on the west coast. We have still been enjoying our hikes each weekend and getting better at them as well! I remembered to snap some pictures of Fryman Canyon since I didn't have any on the last posting. I even hiked Fryman this past weekend on my own. It was my first solo hike ever, felt pretty good. I know that I have mentioned the amazing views that you get from these hikes, but in solo hiking the other day I discovered another appreciation of them that I had never really paid attention too before. On these outings you get some quiet, calm, and serenity. The noises, sirens, people moving, buses, and everyday constant hustling and bustling of this major city simply fades away and disappears. You simply escape and only hear your thoughts, breaths (sometimes they feel and sound labored .. haha), and your footsteps. So, these hikes have become more than just something to do. They are great exercise for the body and a respite and rejuvenating center for your mind and soul. You can see why we enjoy them so much and actually don't hate that we set alarms to get up on the weekends and go hike before it gets too hot (hey, we can always nap later).

Me solo hiking in Fryman Canyon. 

This view from Runyon was particularly amazing. We haven't had a very clear day when hiking (yes, there is actually a lot of smog here and a marine layer that is heavy in the mornings) but on this day it was pretty clear. If you look at the background of this picture, the hazy bluish-gray color that looks like clouds in the distance is actually the Pacific Ocean. We could see all the way from downtown LA to the coast. It was quite amazing and breathtaking. 

Runyon Canyon view

 Coming down one of the steep trails of Runyon

Then, of course, you have to go back up! 

Runyon

Runyon 

Some of the intense stairs on the hike at Runyon. I very much have a love/hate relationship with these things! 

This is maybe about halfway up the stairs. Obviously, I was trailing behind at this point. As much as I love/hate these stairs they are luckily only on one side of this hike. The rest is dirt trails you see in the other pictures. 

Had to throw this picture in to show that this little southern girl can back her truck into the tightest of places. Made my dad proud. It was a bit tricky but I did it and hit nothing! (what you can't see in the metal poles and gates in front of me .. where David is standing taking this picture.) We waited out this spot because the parking patrol was on a tear this day ticketing and towing cars that were parked on the road. Eek! 

We also spent some time poolside hanging out with some friends the other weekend. It was great to just relax and not really have a worry but to keep cool and chill. This is where the infamous video of us doing our ALS Ice Bucket Challenge took place -- thanks Tonya Baker! ;) 

On the weekends, David has also been keeping true to his southern roots, making sweet tea ... in mason jars! How else?! I know this makes many of you proud, as it does me, but I wish I could fully appreciate and  enjoy some with him. However, I am that strange southerner who does not enjoy the southern staple, sweet tea. I know, insert audible gasp from every southern reader out there! Sorry y'all, there are plenty of other things I promise I hold true to out here. 

Hope Jan and Mary Plyler are proud of their boy and his skills in the kitchen! 

On the work front, David and I both have had some big developments. 

David first! He was offered, and accepted, an awesome opportunity to travel with John Legend's tour team for 5 days. He went on the road with the crew and live-recorded the shows that John Legend played in San Diego, Las Vegas, and Denver/Red Rocks. In preparation for the trip we had to run to a few of the bigger studios around LA and Santa Monica to pick up some gear for him and Jason, his coworker for the shows. These studios were amazing, even to me who really understands nothing about all those knobs, sliders, switches, control boards, etc. So, for those of you reading this that know music and understand the business you will truly appreciate these next few pictures. The experience was something new and exciting for David; he truly enjoyed it and definitely made some cool new memories. The night they were at Red Rocks was 50 year anniversary, to the day, of The Beatles' first performance at Red Rocks. So naturally, John Legend played a tribute song in their honor, "Sometimes." 

I've never been to any of the places he went and the Red Rocks has always been somewhere I wanted to go. After going, his first time there as well, David came back and said we absolutely need to go back ... added to the bucket list! 

Ocean Way Studio (located in Hollywood) 

Ocean Way Studio

Apogee Studios 

Jason and David, at Apogee, learning the gear they would be using for next few days on the road. 

The trip:

 John Legend at Red Rocks

David at the top of Red Rocks

David's credentials/pass

Red Rocks crowd ... SOLD OUT!!

Panoramic view from the top of Red Rocks

Panoramic view from the stage at Red Rocks

Denver, CO

driving into Red Rocks

The Chelsea Theatre in Las Vegas - preshow

John Legend in Vegas

Vegas marquee

San Diego coastline from the airplane

Downtown San Diego

Their recording rig.

San Diego State University 

My job front news. I finally have a start date ... tomorrow!! Which, by the time most of you east coasters see this will be the same day. I am starting at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CHLA, on Thursday August 28 -- which just happens to be CAROLINA GAMEDAY!!! I will be supporting my Gamecocks from the west coast as best I can. And Cari Chandler, if you're reading this, that includes me using my Gamecock tervis tumbler! I am very excited and a little nervous. I am ready and looking forward to starting this new chapter. Palmetto Health Children's Hospital will always be my home and truly made me into the person and Child Life Specialist that I am. So, starting this adventure without that family around is going to be something strange and incredible. It will be strange to be doing something I've been doing for seven and a half years without the amazing team that molded me. I know I'll find my new niche and will make new friends and be molded into ways I never thought possible. I keep seeing all the pictures on Facebook of everyone sending their kids off to school for their first day of a new year, or a new school, or first day ever at school; and I feel like I should have David take a picture of me holding a sign saying "First Day at CHLA" with my book bag on and my new clothes. Yes, I even got to go "back to work" shopping. The child life team out here does not wear scrubs like back home so I got to go splurge, just a little. That, too, feels a little funny. To not be wearing scrub pants and to have to buy "real" pants almost feels like I'm back in my student teaching days when that's all I ever wore (wish I could still fit in those pants ... oh just a little dream). Needless to say, tomorrow is a big day - I start building my new work family and my Gamecock family back home starts on their next (winning) chapter!  

In honor of finally landing a job out here my friend Erin and I went out to celebrate with a low-key girls night. Erin moved back out to LA a couple of weeks before me and started her job about a week ago. While David was gone we decided to have a night and just celebrate our success and future successes. It was a much needed and much appreciated night together. 

As for now, we will continue to march on with settling in, turning this apartment into a home, and doing our best with the new jobs and projects ahead of us! Until next time friends ... 

GO COCKS!!! 

One Month In

Hello again!

Since the last posting we have had some fun doing various different things. First being, we hosted our first overnight guests in our modest little apartment. It was fun catching up and being the first stop on a fun summer trip for our friend David Reed and Rachel. We had fun despite not having much furniture to offer them. We hung out, caught up on new things, relived the old, and heard all about the fun journey they were embarking on. Tomas and Janine came by for a while too to hang out and catch up. So, there were 2/3 of the CLOSER boys and their producer hanging out reliving the "old days". Nathan wish you could've been a part of the fun. Old pictures even made their way out for show and tell. It was a great night -- fun and spontaneity always make for a good night. 

Here is just another fun picture .... this one of Meg visiting David at work one night! David is going strong in his work and is constantly adding new projects to his list of things going on. So, Meg and I went by the studio one night to visit and check out what is happening. Lots of things for Meg to explore and get into (per her usual). 

Hiking has become our new weekend routine. We enjoy getting up on Saturday or Sunday and going on a hike to either a canyon we've done many times or exploring new ones - like we did this past weekend. These hikes are a great way to get in some exercise but be out of the house doing something new and different that we haven't always been able to do. The new hike this past weekend took us right up to the infamous HOLLYWOOD sign. It was a great view once we got there; however, we weren't quite prepared for the intense hike leading to it. It was a little brutal at some points but so worth it and such a great way to start a day here in LaLaLand. Round trip this hike was 6.5 miles (usually we average about 2.5-3mi round trip on the other paths) and took us not only to the sign but to the actual, original Batcave from Batman! It's not that big of a cave but really pretty cool to walk through it and see the iconic location and to envision the Batmobile pulling in and out of there as Batman and Robin took off to go save lives! Once we work up our stamina a little more we plan on doing this hike again. Next time we want to do the full hike that takes you up to the backside of the sign; it's a total of 6.4 miles one way. Here are some links to the various canyons we have hiked and like to hike. The views from each of these are absolutely amazing no matter how many times you hike them. It takes you out of the city and allows you to have a little peace and look down on the busy city below.
Fryman Canyon (this one is closest to us)

Runyon Canyon (this one is one of the more famous ones and has amazing views of downtown LA, Hollywood, and more)

Yep, that's right, beware of Rattlesnakes!! This sign is at pretty much every canyon and the dog park. (Brush Canyon even had one to beware of possible mountain lions!)

Conquering the massive incline ... always a little tricky coming down this thing.

 I made it down. These pictures don't quite do justice to extreme incline and difficulty - made more complex by the sliding dirt and rocks. 

One of the really amazing views from Runyon Canyon. 

Brush Canyon (this one is the longest hike we've done ... we didn't go all the way to the sign but hiked the majority of the trail ... we combined over half of this one with the Bronson Cave hike)

Holding the sign! 

Bronson Cave (the original Batcave from Batman!)

Going in to the Batcave! 

The Batcave

The view of the Hollywood sign from the base of the cave. 

A panoramic view from the base/entrance of the Batcave.

We haven't been back to a beach since the previous post, but since then I did learn that Zuma Beach where we were last is the same beach where all the Baywatch episodes were filmed. There's a little piece of west coast trivia for ya! ;) 
The weather out here has been a little hot lately. It's such a different kind of hot that when it was actually humid for a few days I felt like I was back home and wasn't real sure how to handle the humidity. One thing that almost never happens out here is rain!! It's so weird but I actually really really miss the rain. The other night we went to a friend's for dinner and it had been very overcast all day. No rain though. We got home and went to walk Meg for the night and it started raining!!! I turned into a little school girl. I was so giddy. We walked Meg in the rain with no umbrella or raincoat and I truly enjoyed it! Of course, it's not the same as back home. The rain was light and not even loud enough to hear inside when I left the windows and sliding doors open to hear it. But, still, it was rain!

Once a month The Griffith Observatory offers a free public start party. It's an event that we went to a few years ago and decided to go again the other night. At this event you can tour the observatory for free, look through the giant telescope and local astronomers also set up their telescopes on the lawn of the observatory and allow people to look at the universe. It is a fun event with lots and lots of people attending. The night we went the weather was a little cloudy (it was the day before the rain) so the telescope wasn't operating but we were able to get up close looks at the machine itself. It is pretty mind-blowing how large it is, the pictures do it no justice. We were; however, able to really walk through the museum this time. Last time there were so many people that it was hard to really get to appreciate all that the museum has to offer. It is quite amazing to go in and see all the exhibits. From the lawn, there are phenomenal views of the HOLLYWOOD sign and downtown LA, all pretty incredible. We will definitely be attending this again sometime and hopefully the weather will be cooperative.
For a little bit of trivia on The Griffith, it has appeared in several movies. Some movies you might know include: Dragnet, The Rocketeer, The Terminator, and more. If you're interested in learning any more about The Griffith you can click here.

Sunset as we walked up to The Griffith. (if you look very closely at the top of the hill in the upper right corner you can see the Hollywood sign)

This is the side of part of the building where one of the telescopes is housed along with the amazing skyline of LA.

So, here is the big news so many of you have been waiting for and checking in on me to find out .... I GOT A JOB!!! It's official, I have been offered and have accepted a position as Certified Child Life Specialist II at Children's Hospital Los Angeles working in The Heart Institute/Cardiac Units. It is super exciting, a long time coming, and a great relief to have this next chapter starting. I don't have an official start date yet due to having to have my physical and background check cleared before being able to start. CHLA is an amazing facility and I was completely blown away when I went for an interview and tour. I'm really excited about becoming a part of the team there and learning more about CHLA and the numerous impacts it has on it's patients and the community.
My new place of employment! 

The day I was made an offer from CHLA David came home and surprised me with a very sweet card and some gorgeous sunflowers!!

Until next time friends ....