Friday and Saturday.. it's that time

Friday, we spent some quality time, in the rain, shuttling between Palmdale, CA and Lancaster, CA, getting our paperwork in order:



Someone has been growing out his beard for the entire trip so far, and is about ten days into a full Santa 'do (he did shave it a bit later, have a look at the photos later in this post):



We're staying at the Hotel California in Santa Monica... while it shares the same name as the hotel in the Eagles song, it is almost certainly not the 'hotel' referred to in the song.



This hotel has serious atmosphere, history, and lovely flora...





...we don't get 'Jade trees' like this at home:



The beach today was beautiful, although windy and a bit chilly:









Then... we took part in something big today, a commitment we expect to last for the rest of our lives...











With our officiant, and our witness...



Afterwards, we took a cruise through the Hollywood Hills:







We saw where the stars leave their imprint upon the world:











We saw traces of the rich and famous:





We spent the evening at Chez Jay's, and were entertained by the owner, Jay Fiondella, who was once honored as Man of the Month in Cosmopolitan magazine, and whose restaurant includes a secret, secured room in the back often used for secret dates of Hollywood celebrities. He even sat us down into one of the curtained rooms reserved for celebrities who wish to remain private, presented us with a bottle of champagne, and regaled us for the evening with stories of his life and the Hollywood crowd, from Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack right up to scuffles with Mel Gibson in the present day.