Eureka... we have found it!

We woke this morning in the city of angels.

But it wasn't the allure of catching a glimpse of someone famous, soaking up the California sunshine or the chance of being "discovered" which brought us to LA.

Will's mother and her husband, Thom, live in Glendale (just outside of LA).

We arrived at their lovely condo late yesterday afternoon to find that they'd prepared a fabulous dinner of Cioppono with yummy crusty bread and black bottom pie for dessert.

Delicious.

We walked off our indulgence around Bette Davis park and their beautiful equestrian neighborhood.

You read correctly.

Their neighborhood is full of folks who raise horses in their relatively (to NC, of course) small backyards and ride them into the hills... of the city!

Mac enjoyed Bette Davis park.

We spent the evening talking about life and toasting to the future.

This a.m., we piled into their awesome Honda Fit and Thom, our tour guide, took us around town.  He drove us past ABC studios, Warner Brothers and Forrest Lawn.  By the way, it's so weird to see traffic directors at a cemetery.
Thom then dropped us off in, you guessed it...

We walked down Hollywood Boulevard, taking pictures of the stars dedicated to our most favorite celebrities.

Katie, this one's for you:

Thank you for being a friend.

We even checked out Grauman's Chinese Theatre where we compared our foot and handprints to the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Debbie Reynolds, Bing Crosby, Lana Turner and, of course, Hermione, Harry and Ron.

That Humphrey, he's so crazy.

Following the trip down Hollywood Blvd, Thom took us all to the Griffith Observatory.

In 1896, Griffith J. Griffith donated a sizable amount of acreage to Los Angeles to create Griffith Park.  In 1919, in his will, he left the funds to erect the Griffith Observatory which rests at the very top of the hill and overlooks LA, Glendale, Hollywood, etc.

The views are amazing.

The observatory was completed in 1935, Art Deco in style, and boasts three domes.

After our tour of the observatory grounds, we headed back to the condo for a lunch of avocado and crab before hitting the road.

LA, smog and traffic aside, was good to us.

K.C. and Thom made sure of it.

We only wish we'd had more time.

Check back for more from the west coast!