Stagecoach!!!

Day three together we walked across the street from our motel to the outdoor shopping centre "the grove".  Ashton and I had planned on hanging out in the centre of the shopping area to use the wifi and catch up on the blog. We are not 'shoppers'. Harley and Jordan were excited to shop til they dropped. but tables turned and we actually had better when luck shopping then they did.

And were off to STAGECOACH!! The whole reason we are all here in California!! It all started when Ashton was looking online to see where Kenny Chesney was playing this year. He came across stagecoach and mentioned it. It started off as a fun idea which turned into a reality. It would have been awesome if Kristen and Connor could have joined us, for a sibling (plus significant others) trip, but she has had a very eventful curling season which took her to many places, Victoria and Korea being the big two!  Sooo we'll have to do a trip in the future.

Anyways super grateful that Jordan and Harley were able to join us for fun in LA and stagecoach. They were able to make a solid trip outta it and are staying a few days after we leave to check out Long beach.

Stagecoach was awesome!! it was ... so big, and... EXTRAVAGANT..
Clean, big names, a lot of people..

we kept comparing to Craven. Stagecoach was well organized, beautiful setting, busy, friendly, ..
girls were all done up with hair curled, makeup done, pretty white dresses and cowboy boots. If they weren't looking perfect they were decked out in American gear. soo quite classy attire (compared to craven! lol)
Because beer was $9 US, and hard liquor wasn't as common, people weren't as drunk (as craven!)..

We checked into an awesome motel with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, continental breakfast, and a pool which was usually all ours.
It was in Cathedral City which was about 20 minute drive from Indio where stagecoach was.

We would drive then walk about a mile to the grande stands, sneaking in food and drinks. After the first day of realizing there were NO seats and expensive food, we bought a couple lawn chairs which were SO worth it. Harley and I enjoyed the concerts a hundred times more, able to sit down for the 30 minutes between singers. and we were in the lawn chair area which was in front of a big screen and away from the craziness up front.

At craven you can stand right at the front near the stage, at stagecoach, our general admission tickets got us about 3/4 the way up. The stage area was gated and for VIP ticket holders.

I'll show our pictures then list the lineup.

Oh gosh the artists ALL put on amazing shows and it was very clear that eac one was grateful, proud and so honored to place at stagecoach!

 

 

 

"go to the beat of your own drum" - Harley

The four of us ventured off to explore

First stop: muscle beach. Where jacked people hang out and lift a few weights, but mostly pose for pictures

the classic ..

Venice boardwalk was just as the described: a hippie heyday with an incense-scented whiff of Venice, er, pot; artists and performers-good and bad, and alive with all kids of kinds. It is a must see. 

Strolling around the boardwalk we worked up an appetite so ate on the beach.

Prior to our trip, Harley had looked into the top things to do in LA, and on the list was the Mosaic tile house. Harley emailed the couple and requested a private tour during the week, as their normal schedule is during the weekend. Gps took us to the home which was in a clean, quant residential area by Venice Beach. Cheri and Gonzalo the homeowners , and artists gave us the grandee tour. Cheri had bought the home in 1994 with plans to make an 'ugly house' pretty. Cheri makes most of the tiles and creates the stained glass inserts while Gonzalo creates and applies the mosaic tile as well as does the welding. The couple met in 1994 when Cheri hired Gonzalo to help her redesign the home. They fell in love and the  rest is 'seen all over the home' (literally. Cheri only paints portraits of Gonzalo)

They began designing the home in the bathroom then decided it looked so cool that they should do the whole house.

We thought it was absolutely breathtaking. We spent about an hour ooing and awing and taking pictures. 

Cheri's studio

Cheri showing off her kitchen. Even her kettle and stove are unique!

Gonzalo and Jordan talking about welding.

Gonzalo and Ashton chatting in the back alley.

What a place!! defiantly worth the tour! incredible!

Next stop: Santa Monica which is much classier than Venice. It smells better ;), there are less homeless people, and the beach has a pier which is the pier Ashton and I walked on at the beginning of our trip!

From the tile house, we went to Santa Monica to rent tandem bikes.$14 per hour per bike.

We pedaled from Santa Monica to Venice and around, enjoying every minute. Biking was even funner then it looked.

While biking around we overheard a black man yelling comments out loud. He hollered at the people doing yoga on the beach "'big booty white girls tryin' to be black' , Followed by 'America is number one.... (winey voice-)I wanna be number one'

.. He continued with obscene comments while we pedalled by taking videos.

Jordan was washing his hands in the port-a-potty area when a transvestite randomly exclaimed "whats a boy like you doing in a place like this?.. ye tryin to get yo phone stole? ya cheezyd*MF
ha ha ha ha ha

The pier was happening with live music, rides, fisherman, surfers underneath.. stores, restaurants, people

A man was painting magnets with his pink finger and fingernails which turned out beautifully. So we had to purchase a couple.

A spin on the Ferris wheel to get good views was a nice way to finish off the day.

we left the beach and headed to the promenade full of restaurants.
Harley got her sushi fix in. mmm California roll ;)

We figured we would go on a little drive and check out the Hollywood sign, so after driving up to the Griffith observatory we were a little disappointed to realize the sign isn't lit up at night? so technically we saw it but it was pretty dark. up the hill was a nice view of the city lights and a big green park below (larger than city park in New York) had a free concert going on.

(this Hollywood Sign is actually just a picture in our hotel).. in real life the sign does not light up at night

Another fun day in LA. Lots of laughs and memories made with Jordan and Harley.