Our first stop Saturday morning was Wertz antique consignment shop in Santa Monica. I found exhaustingly stale after only a few minutes – but mom managed to find an antique ring that sparked her interest (although she later took my advice and decided not to buy).

The rest of the day was spent next to the ocean. We drove up the coast to another antique store in Carpentaria and then ate lunch on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. Before heading to the wharf we cruised by the clock tower because it is one of my mother’s few pleasant memories of a trip to California as a child. We didn’t stop at the tower though because there was a large war protest going on.

Mom looking at Santa Barbara boats from Moby Dick restaurant on the wharf.

ongoing Iraq War death memorial on the beach

We drove straight to IKEA in Burbank to look at coffee tables and other home fixing’s. Mom bought me an extension for my bedroom desk for my birthday.

After IKEA – you guessed it – another trip to the grocery store. Mom ended up making me four separate dishes (not counting cookies) that will probably take me 4-6 weeks to eat. At the store we picked up some Midori as mom had never tried it before.

Mom posing with a bottle of straight vodka to prove to my father that – yes, they do sell straight vodka/tequila/etc. at supermarkets (I don’t think my dad has purchased his own foodstuffs for a few decades).

Before getting groceries we ate at a little Chinese restaurant called Szechuan Inn. It wasn’t the best Chinese I’ve ever had, but they did have sportscenter on and mom and I watched the Buckeyes win in overtime.