Goin' Back to Cali...

Next week we are finally taking Mr. Na to California. I haven't been back since my darling husband whisked me away for my 35th birthday, where my friends threw me a surprise party two years ago. So, needless to say, it's a trip that's long overdue. I'm especially excited that some of my friends will be meeting Mr. Na for the first time.

I'll admit, though, it's gonna be kind of weird toting a kid around in a place where I lived out my suburban teenage angst, and it's not like I'll be able to visit some of my old haunts. But then again, most of my friends also have kids, so we're all in a different place right now in our lives.

So for now, I guess I'll just have to reminisce about some of my favorite watering holes.

My friends and I had a circuit of bars and clubs we frequented, including Boardners, where Mary and I once danced on tables while Slim Jim Phantom (formerly of the Stray Cats) watched from the next booth. Boardners was my neighborhood bar when I lived on Kingsley, above Hollywood Boulevard in 1987. The bartender there had a special concoction called "Lesbian Stewardesses On Mars" and we'd order a pint of it for $10 and it was guaranteed to fuck anyone up.

Long before Swingers, we were regulars at The Dresden Room for martinis and Marty and Elayne, who perform "Muskrat Love" better than the Captain and Tenille. (Elayne does such an amazing and convincing muskrat).

If we were really drunk, we'd go toThe Formosa Cafe, fondly known as "The Toilet". It's just one of those places where you ask yourself, "why did we come here again?"

For an irish coffee nightcap, we'd end up at Tom Bergin's where we once saw Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Philips and Jon Bon Jovi throwing back a few (can you tell which movie they had just made together?)

Since we were creatures of habit, we never quite felt right to deviate from the norm. So we'd try The Cat and the Fiddle (watering hole for every single A&R rep in Hollywood) or The Three of Clubs--but somehow our night would always end early and we'd be left wondering why we dared venture off our tried and true path.

All things change, and that much I've learned -- especially in Los Angeles where nothing is sacred. Even though I won't be bar hopping this trip, I'm looking forward to it in an entirely different way.