Michelle's Volleyball/Life Adventures: Hermosa Family Fun

Hello again!

I am taking off tomorrow morning for the Muskegon, Michigan AVP event so I figured it was time I posted Hermosa AVP stuff!

On Wednesday morning, my mom and dad flew in to hang out, see my life here, and watch me play! My mom has been out here already but it was the first time my dad has gotten to see me out in California so I was super excited to pick them up! My dad actually spent lots of summers during college out in Manhattan Beach with his friend Scott Fisher, so it's not like he doesn't know the area, but I was excited for him to see it all from my perspective! Anyway, Scott and I picked them up from the airport (after making them wait like 15 mins, oops! Sorry!) and then we headed back to Manhattan Beach for a yummy breakfast at the North End. I'm so glad Scott's friend Justin introduced us to that place because it is such good food with an amazing view!! After breakfast I showed them my apartment and then checked them into their hotel. My parents and Scott were nice enough to accompany me down to the playing site so that I could get in a serve and pass the day before I played. Scott served at me and set me some balls while my parents shagged - just like the good ole club days :) Then Scott had to head out for his baseball game. My mom was exhausted so she took a nap and my dad took me to get groceries! Woohoo! He filled my fridge and cabinets for me which I was super grateful for! Thanks dad (and mom for the instructions)! We then tried to grab some dinner at the Bottle Inn but it didn't open in time for us to eat and make it to Scott's game so we grabbed some dinner at Fonz's. I've been wanting to try it so I was excited we had the chance. It was excellent! After that we headed to Scott's game in Orange County. We ended up leaving Scott's game early to go pick Courtney and Anthony up!! It's been awhile since I've seen them so I was soooo glad they got to come visit!! After we got them we all chatted for a bit but I had to turn in because I was playing the next day.

Thursday morning I woke up early to check in and met everyone over at my parent's hotel room. I had quite a bit of time off so we all got to hang out and relax for awhile. After a pretty long wait it was finally time to head back to the tournament site and get ready! My partner, Jessica Veris, and I played the Machado sisters. These girls are both pretty young (young by beach vb standards - like 20 and 22) and are both short. So, one might think, that must have been an easy first match, right? However... the Machado sisters are know for their great defense and marathon points! They dig everything and the rallies are usually 4 to 5 times over the net! We lost the first game 21-18ish but felt pretty good still. We won the second game, I think 23-21, and then ended up winning the third game like 15-9! I had a bunch of aces in the third game which came as a nice surprise because we were all EXHAUSTED by the third game. Anyway, it was a really good win for us because those girls are great players. Our second match didn't go quite as well... we lost in two games, 21-15, 21-16 ish. The ladies we played were a little older but still knew how to play the game. It was a bummer but I did get to see Pao and Jaimie Hosfeld (Brian, my assistant coach from Texas, his wife) and their daughter Ella! It's always fun to have Pao around, especially when I'm playing with her haha hint hint... and it was great to see Ella and Jaimie because I never get to see them!

So anyway, we hung out and watched some matches, and then had to leave because Courtney got hungry... and we all know what that means :) Haha, I'm totally kidding... It had been a long day and everyone really had only eaten breakfast so by 5 o'clock we were all starving and so tired! So we ate Paisano's pizza on the pier and it was delicious! It is definitely some of the best pizza you'll ever have! We relaxed for awhile because everyone needed a little rest, and then went to Scott's game again. It was really fun going Thursday night because Scott was in the stands "charting" - basically he was taking stats for his team - so we got to sit with him for awhile and talk to him! After the game we were hungry again, mainly just me and Scott, so we tried to eat at Koji's, this shabu shabu place in Orange County where we went when Kiki and fam were in town. Unfortunately, they were closed, even though the website said they shouldn't have been! So, we headed back to Hermosa and just ate left over pizza.

Friday morning Scott had to leave for a road trip so it was just me and the fam. We pretty much hung out at the AVP all day and watched matches. Courtney and Anthony took a short break to visit with Anthony's Aunt Thelma and her husband who live in Manhattan Beach. It was a super fun day though and we got to see lots of good volleyball. We also got to sit in the VIP tent next to Misty May!!! That night we went to the Bottle Inn which is an authentic Italian restaurant in Hermosa. They seated us in the wine cellar which was really cool! And really, it was chilly too.

Saturday morning, my parents had to leave. It was sad because it was such a short trip, but maybe I can convince them to come back and visit me again!!! :) After Courtney, Anthony and I dropped my parents off at the airport we went back to North End because they missed it the first day. They also LOVED it and took some pretty pictures when we were done. I really wanted to show Courtney and Anthony some of my favorite houses on the strand, so after breakfast we parked by the Manhattan Pier and walked up and down the strand for awhile. They got to see Holly McPeak's house and my very favorite house ever. It is huge and beautiful and in my dreams I'd love to own it one day :) And we finally got to do what Courtney was MOST excited for.... Hollywood!!! Haha, we actually went into the city of LA, it was my first time since I've been out here. We saw the Walk of Fame and looked at every star, walked up and down Rodeo Drive, and then went to Robertson street. Courtney definitely knew the good places to find stars. We were a little disappointed because we hadn't seen any stars and needed some refreshments. We got some Pink Berry and sat down to eat it when Anthony says, "Isn't that the doctor from ER?" Courtney and I both whipped around and we figured out it was the doctor from Grey's Anatomy!!!! At least we thought it was Dr. Burke! We all wanted to be 100% sure so Courtney had me follow him down the street. He turned into Subway and I didn't want to be too stalkerish, so I just looked in the window discretely. I was convinced, but we ended up making Anthony go in the Subway to ask for Dr. Pepper and make sure it was him. He did and he said it was him. While we sat outside the Subway finishing our Pink Berry, Dr. Burke came back out with his cute little girl and there was no doubt left, it was him! We saw a celebrity!!! Woohoo, haha. After that we ate at the Ivy but didn't get to see anymore celebs, just lots of really, incredibly rich people. After a long day of star searching we headed back to Hermosa to clean up and relax. We went out on the pier for dinner and then just to hang out for our last night which was super fun.

I am so so so glad everyone got to come out and visit! I miss my fam a lot and LOVE getting to see them whenever I can! Thanks again for the visits!

Love you guys!