Like our wedding, our 1st Anniversary was an extravagant family event. Our parents flew out to Los Angeles for a fun-filled week of West Coast travels. In addition to her luggage, Denise carried the top layer of the wedding cake in a cooler all the way from Connecticut. What a trooper! Our first night together in LA was spent at our favorite pizza place, where we ate and drank more than our fill and danced to the music of a Frank Sinatra cover band. Staying late into the night to share dirty jokes with "Frankie," we ended up closing the place down. What a way to kick off the anniversary festivities! The next morning we piled into the car and drove up the coast to San Francisco, with the cooler holding our precious, defrosting wedding cake top. We stayed at a lovely hotel on the water --The Lighthouse Inn! We spent 4 days touring San Fran and the Napa wine country. It was Denise and Raul's first time, so we made sure we did it all.
On our actual anniversary evening, we dined at Hawthorne Lane, a lovely restaurant in the SoMa district, then headed back to the hotel to open gifts and eat the much-anticipated wedding cake top. Surprisingly, it was just as yummy as it was the night of our wedding..... really!!
Our next stop was Monterey/Carmel. We spent the day dining on seafood at Fisherman's Wharf, cruising the 17-mile drive and playing at Pebble Beach. While relaxing in the Lodge at Pebble Beach, Raul surprised us with a bottle of champagne to toast to the happy couple. Thanks, Raul!
Back in Los Angeles, we had to do the LA tour circuit, as it was Raul's first visit. We started in Beverly Hills with our requisite cocktail at the Regent Beverly Wilshire (the Pretty Woman hotel). Then, on to Hollywood, where we explored the Highland complex, Mann's Chinese Theater and watched a bit of filming on a small street set. Next we were going to head up to the Hollywood sign to get a closer look, but got sidetracked by another film set-- this one a bit larger....and with Harrison Ford!!!! The filming was taking place at a sidewalk café on Franklin. As the filming stopped and the actors were reviewing their lines, we were allowed to walk on the sidewalk through the set. As Tina and Denise walked by, Harrison looked up from his script and shared a glance with Denise!! Boy, was she beside herself with excitement. And Raul was across the street video-taping it! Ah, her 15-seconds of fame -- she'll never forget it.
