The Southern Getaway, B-month P4

With the end of the month drawing near, I knew I would have to act quickly to fit in one more celebration weekend with my beautiful wife. Having spent time basking in the beauty of nature, I wanted to spend some time showing Margo some of the urban beauty of the LA area. While the beauty of nature is unsurpassed, we both can see the beauty in a city skyline. Again, I had taken off work, unknowingly to Margo, packed our stuff up and we headed south, telling her that we needed "a getaway". She knew I was serious when I got on the freeway, set the cruise-control, and didn't stop for 6 hours.

First up, an architectural masterpiece: The Walt Disney Concert Hall. We let ourselves in for a "self-guided" tour and got to hear someone rehearsing on the amazing organ.

Photo from rogerbourland.com

Followed by Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd, location of handprints, footprints, and signatures of movie celebrities. Margo's true personality is showing through as you look at the "star-prints" she chose to be photographed with.

Photo by Carol Highs

A trip to So Cal would not be complete without a trip to the beach. The water is a lot warmer after driving 6 hours south.

A surprise within a surprise! Tickets to the opening weekend of Phantom of the Opera at Pantages Theater.

Then and Now ("Then" photo by LA Daily News)

The definite highlight of the trip was visiting the gorgeous Los Angeles Temple. While visiting different sites of urban beauty, it is inspiring to see a true house of the Lord, built and dedicated to glorifying God.

Photo from kendalldavenport.com

Photo from kendalldavenport.com

We chose to take the coastal highway for our return trip home. It added about 2 hours to the trip, but was definitely worth it. The scenery is beautiful as the road meanders along the coast and the expanse of ocean goes on forever in the west. After seeing one dolphin, Margo's eyes remained glued to the ocean for the rest of the trip. Her efforts were rewarded as she saw several more during the drive.

Celebrating Margo's birthday has been a blast. I'm even beginning to believe in this whole birth-month celebration concept! Happy Birthday Margo!