Cherry Trees Blossoming in Palos Verdes

There have been some stellar days in Los Angeles and in my neighborhood of Palos Verdes, and the cherry blossom trees are SPECTACULAR.

Curious about them, and knowing a little bit about their Japanese origin, I thought I would read up on them. Here's what I found out -

The cherry blossom, know as "Sakura" is the beloved, unofficial flower of Japan that has been highly regarded in art and history and is imbued with quite a bit of symbolism. The delicate pink (or white) blooms last a very short time (5-10) days typically and symbolizes simplicity, fleeting beauty and purity. Many many years ago, the Japanese warrior spirit glorified the idea that samurai died in the prime of their lives, like blossoms falling from the sakura.

While that is sad, what I found uplifting, is the Japanese cherry blossom festival called "hanami" which has been practiced for centuries. It is the simple idea of gathering under the cherry trees to drink and eat and admire nature's beauty. I read that literally thousands of families concregate in parks.

Sakura - vibrant, beautiful, fleeting and ephemeral.
My plan is to savor every day of the cherry blossom.
Life is short.

3 Movies - 2 out of 3

The King's Speech
Loved this movie - I had no idea about the the King of England stuttering or having doubts about being King or the timing of WW II. Fantastic movie. Thought provoking on many levels. Colin Firth was superb.

Fockers - too funny. "I'm watching you watching me watching you". Light hearted and funny. Robert Dinero is hilarious. Easy to watch. A pleasure.

The Secret Movie at the Palm Springs Film Festival on Jan 7th - god awful. Miserable. Distrubing. Two thumbs down. When the movie ended - you could hear a pin drop. People leaving the theater looked shell shocked. Suggest organizers put a warning on the summary. Their little blurb said attendees would be "satisfied." Uh no. The lesson here is it is a bad idea to go to a film without knowing what it is about regardless of it's pedigree.

The Regal in Rancho Palos Verdes has easy access, no wait, is clean, with no crowds (most of the time). Buy tickets at COSTCO and two tickets are a bargain at $15.

A Change of Plans: Happy Hour at Trump LA

While I had every best intention to introduce a family member from the East Coast to the incredible views and pork sliders at Nelson's Terranea...well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Monday was the day. Perfect for patio seats nearthe Pacific. The sun was bright, the day was clear, and the weather was warm. However, on the East Coast, a blizzard was brewing. Before heading out, we checked online for flight info. Ugh. Ugh and double ugh. 45 minutes later - mission accomplished on a new flight schedule for Wed, however, the sun was about to setting. We agreed to go the next day.

Tuesdaywas cold and grey. Upon arrival to Terranea at the valet, announced Nelson's was closed due to a private party.

Undeterred to enjoy some of the best that PV has to offer , we headed a little further down the road to Trump's. It had been awhile. Even so, there was a perfect 4 top waiting for us - with a great view of the sunset. Better yet, there is a Happy Hour menu. Who knew? This was an easy call. We are a family of calamari lovers. Order a cold beer, calamari, fish tacos and chicken sliders. Wow. A smorgashborg of yumminness. Trump still has the best, perfectly breaded and cooked calamri rings and tentacles with spicy aoli sauce. While I do miss the bed of Asian slaw from several chef ago - it was still top notch. The fish tacos - 3 generous portions, fresh lettuce, sweet onion - really good! There were 4 blackened chicken sliders on each corner and a pile of fries in the middle of the plate. Generous portions! While good - the tacos and calamari were great and there was way too much food to finish.

We left very happy for the experience and knew another East Coast family member would really enjoy this. I also mentioned it to a couple of friends and neighbors so I can see more Trump in my future!