I arrived in LA on Saturday morning. There’s only a 3 hour time difference between LA and the Cook Islands but I had only slept about 4 hours so there was definitely a feeling of “lag” if not truly jet lag.
We dealt with that pretty effectively with a long(ish) hike and an evening spent in Highland Park at a micro brewery catching up with a couple of Stephen’s friends.
Sunday morning Stephen had invited a friend over for brunch and I discovered he is training for a triathlon and swims in the ocean so we planned a swim for Monday.
We had planned for a walk in the park below the Hollywood sign but the unfriendly parking restriction sent us down to a reservoir (Lake Hollywood). There we were defeated by the new restrictions on dogs. So we ambled through the streets around the reservoir. It doesn’t come out in the photo but that one house was truly purple.
The swim with Greg on Monday was fabulous. I found it hard to control my adrenaline as I swam out beyond the breakers and the line of surfers. Once into calmer water I took the time to settle before setting off on the swim (Lifeguard Tower 26 to the Pier at Santa Monica for those in the know), and back. We met up with Stephen for lunch and I’m not sure that my burger even hit the sides. We visited another friend of Stephen’s and her six month old in Venice Beach (slipped in a baby cuddle) and headed home to prepare to go out to join a Passover Seder.
I am second generation non-believer but have taken to thinking of myself as culturally Christian – it is what I know. I found the Seder and the Haggadah really interesting. There were so many elements which I could see as the precursor to Christian rituals. At one point half of a Matzo is hidden (the afikoman) and later the children will search for it in exchange for a reward. And there is also symbolism surrounding hard boiled eggs. (I still haven’t worked out where we get the Easter bunny from). It was a really special evening and I felt so welcomed by Stephen’s friends, Stephen and Laura, their family and other friends.
Today we head out of town, having shown me the ocean Stephen is keen to show me the hills. It is amazing if you look at the sprawl that is LA that you can with ease get from one to the other.
Natasha's minigap 
Sometime in the early 2000s we attended a Passover dinner at the Bermans – it must have been more than 10 years ago as Harry and Wanda were there. During dinner Russell read from the Torah which he expergated somewhat. We ate all the traditional food which Anita had bought from the ne plus ultra emporium down town. I found the occasion very moving so I completely understand your experience. At one point I even had a lump in my throat.
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