The Grove

I realized on our last trip to The Grove how spoiled we really are...and how much I am going to miss that. The Grove is a highend outdoor shopping mall between LA and Beverly Hills (just a few miles from our house). It is often the place celebrities shop. I am usually oblivious at what or who is around me, but last time we did see Puff Daddy and his friends at Cheesecake factory. We see celebrities all the time though, so it is not too exciting. The fountains, the amazing stores, the food, and of course, the main reason we frequent the Grove...the American Girl store. We went over to meet up with my uncle and cousins (who are my girls ages) at the American Girl store. We go all the time, and the girls have quite the collection of dolls, but this time, I got all sentimental, thinking this could be one of the last times we go. While we waited we went to the original part of the Grove, which consists of rows of small little shops full of trinkets and food from every country you can imagine. We shared sushi with eel (and by we, I mean the kids too...LA makes kids very well rounded with food, they really like sushi) and it was quite amazing! We then went to the donut shop that has been there since the original "Grove". The man that runs the italian place next to the donut shop, is old school italian. One of our visits, he talked to us for a long time...he has quite the wall of stars....Frank Sinatra, the whole rat pack, Dezi Arnez, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe...the list goes on and on, he knew them all personally. He said Sinatra and all of his buddies would come eat after work and hang out...can you imagine....all of those old Hollywood Hollywood back in those days must have been amazing, before we had time to ruin it, I couldn't help but wonder the scenes and the memories that are in that guys head. I will miss this part of LA, the cool little joints we have discovered nestled in the craziness of it all...