Hello all:

(For those who missed my last blog, please check here to see what I am talking about. http://www.tv.com/users/PikeBishop/profile.php?action=show_blog&entry=m-100-25555963)

I am back from Los Angeles and the first ever meeting with my long time internet and phone friend "Layla."

My flight arrived about 7:30 and we had a funny moment as I called her cell as I was walking towards baggage claim. I spotter her opening her cell as she spotted me talking into mine. We had alrady agreed to a "greeting hug" in order to defuse any awkwardness. We both smiled and agreed that we pretty much looked like our pictures, so there were no surprises. She is about 5' 6" and has a nice figure, not just for a woman of 42, but a nice figure in general, (including a really nice butt ). She has a pretty Asian face and that long black hair, of course.

We went back to her place in Huntington Beach. We had no real problems with conversation lag as we talked about our plans for the weekend. We were both pretty tired and turned in early. She has a very comfortable couch that had me in dreamland shortly. She did give me a little kiss good night, which I pointed out was our first ever kiss.

The next day's agenda had us taking a three hour trip to the Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez wine country and a charming little town called Solvang. Solvang is nestled just over the coastal mountains in a little valley. It was founded by Danish immigrants and the town has captialized on that for their tourist industry. The architecture is very nordic looking, including a replica of the Mermaid statue and various tourist sites devoted to Hans Christian Andersen and other Danish things. The town is also chock full of wineries and wine tasting places so I was in heaven.

We had lunch and began to take the wine tour. The first place we went we met another couple who were intrigued by our declaration that we "had known each other for eight years, but only met last night." They had met on match.com and had been married for three years. That was nice to hear.

We strolled the streets, had ice cream, sampled wine, met interesting people and got to know one another. BTW our story got us free drinks in two of the places . We even had some fun in a fairly upscale clothing store that had fallen on hard times due to the current economy (or due to the fact that their stuff is over-priced to begin with as I think), according to the owner, Maria, a sixtyish white haired lady, who had a quick wit. Prices were slashed in half at least, and I found a luxury item I have always wanted, a genine silk shirt, salmon colored. Layla tried on a few tops, and even a pair of really nice fancy pumps, with lots of sparkle. Her feet looked great in those shoes, as even Maria agreed saying, "Wow, you have beautiful feet." This made her blush. Maria also had evening dresses on sale and we convinced her to try one on, I really liked this red number, spaghetti straps, fairly low cut, flowing to the floor. She walked out of that dressing room a vision. Her long hair draped over her shoulders, that firey crimson fabric glowing against her olive skin, and the dress cut just right to emphasize her medium sized breasts.

Both Maria and I thought her a vision, but she only chose the two tops and left the dress and shoes be. Layla later told me that she was a little shy about the dress as she was still that "good little Asian girl" who was not used to such a low cut neckline.

We returned to Huntington Beach and slept soundly after a long shower. The next day was San Diego, only about eighty miles down the road. I did the driving today as a thanks for her doing it yesterday. We stopped just north of San Diego and had lunch with a friend of her's, her husband, mother in law and their adorable one year old son, who is Layla's god son. They are Philippino emigres as well. I got a good look at California real estate prices, as their simple tract home is valued at about $500K. (YIKES) We had a nice lunch at an Asian buffett and headed on to San Diego. We crossed the Coronado bridge and strolled the beach. We then took a harbor cruise, past the sea lions, the naval base and lots of sail boats. (One of my goals in life is to own my own sailboat. I am getting my basic sailing certification this fall) I took some great photos of the boats. It was great basking in the sun, taking photos, feeling the wind and smelling the salt air.

We drove back and decided to go out for a nice dinner. She lives only three miles or so from Huntington Beach, which I found was the original "Surf City" from the Jan and Dean song. AS surf city, it was an interesting place, full of young surfer dude types, and a plethora of young girls of various looks and attitudes. Wed ressed nice and found a good wood fire restaurant with a view of the darkened beach. I had steak and she had salmon and a bottle of my favorite merlot. We strolled around after dinner, people watching, as neither of us was interested in the musical selections offerred in the bars and clubs, music geared to a much younger crowd than us. We strolled out onto the pier, arm in arm. We sat on a bench on the pier and talked a bit about the future .

My flight was the next day at 5, so we decided to go and check out the beach during the daylight. Even in October, there were still surfers out there in their wetsuits, including whole families, little tykes on their little boogie boards, pre teens on their mini boards and Mom and Dad on their long boards. The sun was shining bright around noon. We checked out the surfer gear in the clothing shops and I felt like a real old dude. WE made a stop at the famous Mission de San Juan Capistrano, site of the annual swallow pilgrimage. It is a well-maintained historical site, with a lot of beautiful gardens and quiet serenity. We sat under the shade of a grape arbor and talked about the future a bit more.

She drove me back to the airport; we embraced and kissed goodbye.

She told me she couldn't wait to visit me in Texas.

It was a good weekend.