Last Day in LA

Today was my last day in Los Angeles -- well, that is for now, because with three of my favorite people now taking up residence here, it will be impossible for me to stay away! Same for Rose, she's totally come back. We've actually spent a lot of time discussing the possibility of a yearly meet up, whether it is in LA or somewhere new; I think we'd all really like that since we all really like each other and this week has been really wonderful.

The day started off with something familiar though -- Rose and I walked back to California Donuts so she could say farewell! I got a croissant for breakfast but I also bought another M&M Overload for tomorrow morning so that it could be the very last thing I ate in LA before returning to Canada! When we returned to the apartment, Rose called a cab (actually she called Uber, but I'm still not sure what the difference is -- maybe I'll find out tomorrow when I call Uber...) and said goodbye.

Next came something else that was familiar. I agreed to take Ellen and Cara back to Grand Central Market for lunch because they were curious and because I have a new-found love for pupusa. I also decided that we should go to The Last Bookstore because they would like it and I wanted to see their faces when they saw it for the first time. We took the Metro again but when we walked out, it was a different exit than the one Rose and I had used yesterday, so I was a little topsy turvy and started off in the wrong direction.

Are you actually seeing this?!

Well, this was a sign from the gods because just as I was sorting out where we were, we noticed a few food trucks nearby and I spotted one that I'd read about online. A food truck that sells grilled cheese sandwiches. And not just grilled cheese sandwiches, but grilled cheese sandwiches with mac and cheese in between! Oh my gosh. Like I said, this was an honest to goodness sign from above.

I love grilled cheese. I love mac and cheese. I love combining things I love and I loved this sandwich. I have a feeling that if I ever tried to put mac and cheese in a sandwich like this, it would go horribly wrong, but not here! No, no, no. Cara got the same thing as me but Ellen went one step further and got her grilled mac and cheese sandwich with pulled pork and caramelized onions on it. She also got the combo meal which came with tater tots instead of fries. I tried a tot and it was pretty delicious too.

With very full and happy bellies, we went back to The Last Bookstore, where Cara and Ellen's jaws both hit the floor. They were absolutely amazed. I think they're ready to go back with sleeping bags and camp out there because they loved it so much.

Before she left, Rose told me that maybe a book would jump out at me today. I told her that I doubted it but Rose was right. Yesterday and again today, I considered getting a copy of Jack Kerouac's On The Road. I'm on the road, he's on the road, it just makes sense -- even though I've already tried reading On The Road and it would have been easier to try to eat glass. Still hoping that there might be something for me, I went back to where Rose had picked up her copy of Nicholas Nickelby and a book did jump out at me: John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley. How perfect is it that just hours after I find out that my contract has been extended for a whole year (yup, that's my subtle way of announcing it) that I find a book by an author I actually truly like about a journey just like mine? $4 later and the book was mine. I still have a few things ahead of it in my reading cue, but luckily, I also have another year of life on the road ahead of me!

We went to Grand Central Market for lunch and Cara was smitten. We walked around for a bit before I introduced the girls to pupusa. Today, I took a picture of my second lunch so you could visually experience its deliciousness.

Cara and I split it which is why there is cabbage on the side -- I didn't like the cabbage, but Cara needed to try it. She didn't like the cabbage either. Cabbage is bad.

With Cara gushing about how she was already planning a return trip and taking her mom there the next time she came back to visit, we returned to the apartment for a respite.

We drove to The Grove for a bit of shopping and dinner. It's kind of like an outdoor mall meets farmer's market. It simultaneously fills massive/mainstream and small/communal. After wandering and shopping, I cobbled together a modge podge meal for myself of corn bread, pasta, a chocolate cupcake and strawberries.

I'm now trying to pack and blog simultaneously, which means I'm not really doing much of either. Ellen and Cara are curled up on the couch with Divergent on and eventually, I will be joining them for that last bit of together time before we say goodbye and return to our real lives.