Villa in LA

 One of the perks of my job is that I get to go places where I would never be invited to.

You wouldn't believe how spectacular some of the homes, that I visit, are.

This particular home where I worked at recently was just awesome. It has a gorgeous looking pool and a thatched roof pool house to go with it. The place is surrounded by a beautiful garden. It is like a villa. But you wouldn't know that from the outside though. It is well hidden by hedges, bushes and a wall.

And you can barely see the Hollywood sign from the pool.

I kept remarking how awesome her home was. My client allowed me to take these photos.

I was kind of busy last week and weekend. A couple of my cousins dropped by for a visit. I had to entertain them. Their family hosted me when I was in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to return the favor.

They didn't stay at my place though. I could only offer them my precious time.

On the only full day that I could spend with them, we travelled up the coast to Santa Barbara.

 They loved to do crazy things like this. Sorry, I can't show any more than what you see.

We found this resort along the way. We did some swimming there even though we weren't guests.

I usually don't go to the beach at night. But my cousins dragged me out there one evening. They were looking for some hot bikini babes to spend the night with.

I had fun while they were here, but I was happy when they moved on to their next adventure in SF.

my stay in Hawaii

For this trip I had only three days, all on the island of Oahu.

I spent most of my time chilling with some of my cousins. I was glad that they were happy to see me.

chillin with my cousins

Of course we went to the beach. It is Hawaii after all. They also took me boating on a catamaran. That was a lot of fun.

 The beach was beautiful.

They also made me walk the plank.

It looks and feels a lot higher when you are standing at the end of the plank than it might appear in the photo.

 We did some primitive boating too. We did some bamboo rafting. I preferred the catamaran.

I avoided the tourist traps.

When we weren't at the beach, I hung out where my cousins usually hang out. I have been to these neighborhoods before. I have to say that some of these Honolulu neighborhoods are downright gritty especially when compared to the touristy areas.

Hawaii has a good food scene. This restaurant is a local favorite.

fried ahi

When you are in Hawaii, you can't avoid the ahi, in whatever form.

short ribs

And some more water related activity.

aloha wedding trip

I went to another wedding the next weekend. This time the wedding was a few thousand miles away, in Hawaii. My cousin tied the knot.

The wedding ceremony took place on the beach. The setting was beautiful. The event was intimate. Almost all of the attendees were from my cousin's side of the family, but most of our relatives who live on the mainland weren't able to attend.

My cousin and her groom hadn't been dating for long. Her groom lives on the mainland.

I only got the invitation about three weeks ago. There was not much time to plan a proper trip to Hawaii. I almost didn't go because of my work schedule and the cost. But I managed to set aside three days. And one of my aunts put me up for my three days on the island.

I barely got to the wedding in time. The reception was at a hotel along the beach where the wedding ceremony took place. The wedding was a casual attire affair. I brought a jacket and tie, but I found out that shorts and sandals were ok.

 Cabana dude.

Another wedding attendee.

This wedding was the complete opposite, in terms of style and atmosphere, of the wedding that I attended the previous week. Each one had its own charms.

wedding attire

I attended weddings on back to back weekends.

The first wedding that I went to was three weekends ago. It was your traditional wedding. The groom was a friend of mine.

I hadn't attended a wedding in a while.

There was nothing particularly special about the wedding. But I did notice some of the guests were wearing unusual attire for such an occasion. Two of them allowed me to take a photo of them.

This lady in red turned a lot of heads. Her dress barely covered what was below her waist. By the way, she was impressive on the dance floor.

This dude wore shorts and sandals to the wedding.