One of the many delights we discovered during our visit to Los Angeles, was the shopping mall/farmers' market called The Grove. See HERE:
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| Main Stret - The Grove - Los Angeles |
My blogger friend Nadege had suggested that Pat and I meet her there. We weren't sure where the Grove was or even WHAT it was so we decided to take a trial run to find out where it was. Much to our surprise, the Grove was only a few short blocks from where we were staying at our B & B. Just one more reason to book our stay next year at the Hollywood Bed and Breakfast.
What a pleasant surprise! Talk about a shopping mall. Wow. Pat and I were just going to touch base but the Grove was so inviting and comfortable we just spent several hours walking around, soaking up The Good Life. The Dover Mall this wasn't.
How do I adequately describe the Grove? From the music playing outdoor, to the relaxing whooshing sounds of the fountains, and the stress reducing, winding brick walkways . . . . this is living folks. This shopping mall (if you can call it that) had everything. From high end department stores like Nordstroms that sells $85 T-shirts and $1,395 Jimmy Choo shoes to a regular farmers' market bazaar of every kind of find you could wish or imagine for. Talk about sensory overload.
Quite frankly folks, Pat and I are just a couple of tourist hicks who were so overwhelmed at how the Other Half lives. And here I thought Peebles at the Rehoboth Mall was a big deal.
Among the many things that impressed us while we were in California was the sunny, mild, spring like days . . . in January! The easy going people. We saw nary a gun-toting, Tea-Party pissed off redneck, while we were walking around this wonderful mall. Pat and I didn't get even one of those "funny" looks like we surly would have received if we were walking around a mall like this in Alabama or South Carolina (even if they had a mall like this). Like Pat's hometown of Toronto; the Los Angeles we visited was a very diverse community that was unconcerned about two older men walking around together obviously enjoying each other's company and more concerned with their own lives. Imagine that . . . live and let live.
One of the main reasons I moved to Delaware was that I was so tired of getting the "queer eye" from some when Bill and I shopped at Home Depot or Lowes in Downingtown, Pennsylvania where we used to live. Where we had a neighbor who reported us to police just because we were gay (or as she called us "gaywads.") Of course the local police threw her out of their office. I guess in her eyes we weren't allowed to live in the country but instead restricted to living in an inner city gay neighborhood. But here I go again getting all negative and I do want to keep (most) of my blog posts from here on out positive and happy. But folks I couldn't help but notice the welcoming and friendly and minding their own business and not being concerned with my business ambiance of the folks we mingled with in Los Angeles. Wow, was that ever a long sentence.
Remember two years ago when I told you that a distant cousin of mine in North Carolina threatened me during me and Bill's visit to his parents because I lead "the gay lifestyle"? No threats like this were received by us when we visited California. How refreshing, and free.