A Room of My Own
Loving my fancy suite at the Palomar. Just had a yummy Jacuzzi bath. Almost makes up for missing Elvis Night at El Ranchito back home in Dallas.
La La Land
Vegetable pasta and a cucumber cocktail at Blvd 16 in Westwood. They were so nice to me when I checked in to the Palomar that I seriously thought they had confused me with someone else! Great hotel, great weather and one week to London!
Life Is Good
Staying at the W in San Diego. Had small plates and cocktails with Don on the beachy rooftop deck. This afternoon I head to Costa Mesa. Weather in the high 70s and low 80s.
No emergency visits this week. 
Mondays
Dang, Mondays can be rough! Thank heavens for half-price sushi at Zen Monday nights. Today was a hellacious day, presenting at a conference tomorrow and then off to Seattle for an emergency visit for the rest of the week.
Is it vacation yet? At least the British airport strike is off.
Dinner Al Fresco
Arrived in San Jose. Checked into Hotel Valencia. Had a little dinner at Sino on the sidewalk – yummy noodles. Now, night-night, even though it’s only 7:00 here. A long day of talking tomorrow!
LAX
Made a quick trip to LA to do some interviews. Today the flight was late so I hung around the gate for awhile. This little kid had a balloon string wrapped around his neck and spent a good twenty minutes twirling in a circle trying to catch it just like a dog chasing it’s tail – laughing hysterically the whole time. Eventually, this nice lady decided to save him before he passed out.
Bad Blogger
Okay, I hearby vow to be a better blogger and at least post more pictures. Facebook makes you lazy! So what have I been doing, my fans ask? Let’s see… presenting to the Conscious Capitalism Alliance. Eating at Bolsa, where chef Graham Dodd made Les and me a special appetizer in honor of the World Cup, shown above. Mushy peas leave a lot to be desired, imo. Eating at 48 Nights, where our mystery chef for the evening turned out to be John Tesar of the Mansion and we met two super cool ladies from the neighborhood. They work at the Public Defender’s office, which could come in handy.
And my team won a prize at the annual Soapbox Derby.
This weekend, we laid low, except for dinner with Geoff and Steph where we planned our wonderful trip here. Southwold, on the coast of England. We’ll hit London for a few days first, while G&S go to Paris. Then we’ll all head to a beautiful Victorian house on the sea. Some of Les’ old friends from around England will join us for walks on the beach, cooking in a huge ancient kitchen, exploring nearby towns and hoisting pints in the pub.
The Beach
The W San Diego has a sand covered roof-top bar called The Beach. We dug our toes into the sand and had some snacks and cocktails. A busy week ahead in California!
Back in San Francisco
The Fifth Floor Restaurant at the Palomar in downtown SF is one of my favorite places to eat. Tonight: a Grapefruit Vesper, Leek Cress Soup, an amuse bouche of short rib dumpling, poached halibut and almond gateau. I can fly back to Dallas now, as far as I’m concerned!