David Minkin's Evening of Magic and Wine

 You know when you find that perfect card,  the one that captures exactly what you're feeling? On my first Valentine's Day with Dan, I found the perfect card. It had a bunny coming out of a top hat and written inside was "Thank You for making my life so magical". It's how I felt (still do), as the first months of our relationship had been nothing short of magical. The card was doubly appropriate, because I had learned that Dan liked magic shows. So, for our first Valentine's Day together, I gave him the card and an IOU to take him to David Minkin's Evening of Magic and Wine. Dan likes wine too. 

Due to scheduling conflicts, that included our epic Utah road trip, we didn't make it to Minkin's show until early June.  The show was held at the Beau Rivage restaurant just off of PCH in Malibu. 

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​Beau Rivage Malibu

The Beau Rivage is a beautiful location for the event, unfortunately it suffered a fire shortly after we visited. Minkin had to find an alternate location for his show, although I hope that he will return to this location, as it was perfect. We arrived early and we were greeted by Minkin's sister, who check us in and directed us to the bar for drinks.

As soon as the event was ready to start, we were directed up a set of stairs to a covered balcony. The balcony contained gorgeous ocean views and a delicious hors d'oeuvres spread in a buffet room. We found seats and made friends with two other couples from the valley. We were served four different local wines and given ample time to eat and enjoy. A sommelier gave a small introduction for each wine course. Naturally, we were enjoying ourselves too much to bother writing down the names of what we enjoyed. A common problem at wine tastings!

The second half of the evening was the magic. We were led down to the wine cellar, a very intimate space for close-up magic. The cellar only held about twenty-five people and the seats are arranged in a way that everyone had a fantastic view, including many people who were picked for volunteers. 

I am not going to ruin any part of Minkin's show. He is amazing and I have zero idea of how he does any of it. Many years ago, I saw Minkin perform at the Magic Castle and was pulled on stage for his finale. Even sitting right next to him, with the trick being performed in my own hand, I have no idea how he pulled it off. He performed the same trick at this show and I watched like a hawk and was still blown away.

In addition to being a fantastic magician, Minkin is warm and welcoming to all attending the show, staying after for pictures and questions. I felt like a guest in his home, rather than a customer.  

The entire event ran about three hours. I wish that the magic portion had been longer, because it was so entertaining. David Minkin's magic show is a must-see. Check out his website for upcoming shows and information. You will be dazzled.

David Minkin's Website

LA Active Adventures - Hollywood Secret Stairs

Last spring, before I started this blog, Dan and I went on a very cool excursion and I've been meaning to write about it. It's a great day out for both locals and tourists.

Dan found out about LA Active Adventures when they were selling discounted tours through Living Social. He bought a voucher and we used it for the Hollywood Secret Stairs Tour. 

I am a Los Angeles native, but I had never heard of the Hidden Stairs that are sprinkled throughout the residential parts of the Hollywood Hills. If I had not been on this tour, I probably wouldn't have ventured up them. The appear to be on private property, running right between homes and backyards and are often very steep and narrow. 

We started our tour by meeting our guide and company owner, Hargobind Singh, in a side street off of Hollywood Blvd. It was a short walk from the Hollywood and Highland mall, where we had parked. We lucked out and had a private tour. Hargo took us in his Van to base of Beachwood Canyon, where we continued the two hour tour on foot. 

​At the base of Beachwood Canyon

​A cute cat sculpture in a flower bed at the base of the canyon.

I can't remember how many staircases we climbed or how many steps we walked, but it was a good work out. We were sweating and out of breath!  Hargo confessed that he has had a few people bail on the hike, but Dan and I are not super fit and we handled it just fine. If you are in moderate to good shape, it's worth the effort. The views are spectacular and there are some beautiful homes in the area. Even though it was local, I might as well have been visiting a foreign country as the area looked so different from other parts of the city.

​We climbed that!

​We climbed this one too..much better view from the top.

​Many years ago, there was water fountain running down the center, where they now have planted flowers. Pretty.

We had some great views of the Hollywood sign. 

​Dan and I..sweaty, gross and happy!

​Dan took this, I love the framing.

Hargo was a fun guide. He knew all of the stories and trivia about the neighborhood, including information about the History, architecture, wildlife and plants. This is definitely not a tour of celebrity homes, but he pointed out where Moby lives and a bunch of homes of stars of bygone eras. What I really liked about Hargo as a guide, was he didn't just look out for our enjoyment, but was very respectful of the residents in the neighborhood, many of whom knew him and greeted him. I felt like we were on a hike with a friend, rather than on a tour.  It was not intrusive to the neighborhood at all.

​The entrance to the lake is right near Moby's home! This is the first time that I have even heard about a big lake in the Hollywood Hills. It's closed off to the public, unfortunately.

​A woodpecker in a tree.

Pretty flower.​

​Beautiful views

​I love this sign!

Dan and I very much enjoyed this tour and look forward to going on other adventures with Hargo as our guide. If you are looking for a new adventure in the city, check out his website. He offers a lot of different tours and packages, including wine tours!  

LA Active Adventures Official Site

SoCal Smarties 100th Meetup

On Saturday, Dan and I went to the big 100th meetup celebration of the SoCal Smarties, the local Smart Car meetup group that we joined last year. 

We have been on several meetups with the group. Not only are they a fun, kind group of people, but we have done some really great activities. None have been a clunker! The organizers ( a huge thanks to Bob and Patti) did a great job at planning and executing the 100th, including keeping it veiled in mystery until just a few weeks ago.

The suspense nearly killed us. 

For the hundredth, the organizers got SmartUSA to pay for a dinner boat cruise around the Channel Island Harbor in Ventura. They also secured tons of raffle prizes donationed from several dealers and organizations, including Smart in Oxnard, Smart in West Covina and Smart Madness. I can't imagine all of the work that went into planning this event, but as far as I am concerned, it will be hard to top! 

Dan and I started out our day by meeting with the Burbank caravan in the Fry's parking lot, organized by Jon and Debbie, owners of the Smiley Smart. There are many great people in our group and Jon and Debbie top the list. They brought yummy donuts and Debbie gave me some smiley stickers while telling me the History of the smiley face. Did you know that the inventor of the smiley face, Harvey Ball, never patented his creation and barely earned anything from it...then a guy from France patented Ball's design and made millions? 

The highlight for me was watching Debbie's enthusiasm as she attempted to explain the ins and outs of Gilligan's Island to Dan, who has never seen the show. This was important information, as we were about to embark on a three hour tour.  

The Caravan moved to the Albertson's lot down the road and picked up a few more members. Then in an impressive feat engineered through radio contact, we joined forces with a larger caravan already on the freeway. Dan and I used our GoPro to capture the whole thing, but the video is a huge file and needs tweaking. I may add it at a later date. 

I had no idea that there were so many nice homes and restaurants by the Channel Island Harbor. It was really pretty and a place that we would like to return and explore.

We were directed to park all of the cars on the grass right by the boats, perfect for photo ops. We love our photo ops in the club. 

After catching up with friends, including meeting several new members (welcome!), it was time to board the Scarlett Belle. 

The Scarlett Belle is a super cute paddle boat with two levels. The first level filled up quickly ( We have Smart people in our group, this is the level with the food and bar!), so we moved to the top deck. I would say that this was the quieter part of the ship, except for we were the loud, fun table. That's right, I claimed the "Fun Table" title, so there! 

We had some drinks, ate croissant sandwiches and mingled. As much as I have enjoyed our more active meetups, this was a really nice chance to get to know other members, just relaxing and talking. It was a beautiful day out and being on the water was a treat.

In addition to a pen and a tee-shirt, Dan and I won one of the major raffle prizes..a car cover! Very exciting. We will have to buy one for the other car, so it doesn't get jealous.  

As the sun started to set, we managed to get some beautiful pictures. 

We even got to go see the captain, who built the Scarlett Belle himself.  

As we headed back to the dock, the fog got really thick. Here are a last few shots of the Scarlett Belle in all of her nighttime glory. 

We returned home safe from our three hour tour. I was kind of hoping to see the Harlem Globetrotters. 

The 100th Meetup was a ton of fun. A huge thanks to Bob (Happy Birthday and Anniversary), Patti, Smart USA, Smart of Oxnard, Smart of West Covina (great to meet Tammie and J.D.), Smart Madness, Jon & Debbie( great caravan organization) and the Captain and Crew of the Scarlett Belle.   We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone and can't wait to see you at the next meetup!