Visitors from the west coast

Yay for West Coasters on the East Coast! One of the best things about living in an attractive city is that I get visitors! Some under the guise of visiting me,and some just because they happen to be in town. Evan Pack, long time Visalia lover and recent DC implant visited to celebrate his sister in law's birthday. Highlights include me enjoying his tiny new friend, Becki, talk to all sorts of random people resulting in a free club pass. Carly and I plan to repay the favor and stay in his "dope" basement soon. Friday night jazz he promises....

Not long after, Esmeralda stopped through town and we had an AMAZING night salsa dancing. We found this great hotel that hosts salsa on Monday nights. I couldn't believe the talent. They were slightly out of my league, but Esmeralda was able to hold her own. There was this one

guy who was the fastest dancer I had ever danced with. I tend to be a really mellow dancer (partly because I'm still learning), but I was literally panting after a couple of dances with him - Raul, I think. Esmeralda was whisked away within the first few minutes. Good thing we grabbed chai earlier because I think we saw each other a total of five minutes in between songs. Once when I asked her if her purse was still under the chair and the second time to say adios. She's with Jesús, which warms my heart to no avail. I really think they are soul mates.

THEN... Sara and Amanda came! Sara wanted to shop, Amanda wanted to go to museums. James usually blames me as Sara comes home with lots of new things when we go out together, but I only encourage her to purchase the jeans her butt looks great in, so he should be thanking me. She did do a lot of shopping, but I don't think I could be remotely blamed this time. The best part was Sara went off her calorie counting and ate whatever her heart desired starting off with a cheeseburger with mayo on night one. With mayo!

Lastly, the fam was here... and Carly even stayed which is so nice! I am so glad she is here.

Let her tell you about Andrew and Ben and their interest in Chris Brown and Rihanna. It was so nice to have everyone here. I felt like we created our own version of "A Taste of Manhattan." You can see the delicious fare on Candace's blog. My favorite was the pizza in Brooklyn. It was a bit of a trek, and the seating is non existent, but the taste is delicioso. We also saw Lion King. It was so good. Really, I was surprised at how enjoyable it was. The actors managed to look like animals, really graceful in mimicking them. The whole performance was spectacular. All the girls teared up when Nala sang. This girl had a voice! Ah, it was so nice. Don't judge it before you see it. It is so nice to be with people I love and quite a range too, from a salsa partner to sisters... I Heart West Coasters.