By Adi C. Quisido
My scene

IT WAS going to be a short trip, two weeks tops, and with two destinations in the itinerary, I knew it would be tough trying to see everything we wanted. But a bird's eye view of everything is better than nothing, right?

So off to the City of Angels, my husband Carlo, our daughter Kyra, and I went in the first week of June. Our first stop in Los Angeles was Long Beach for its scenic spots, perfect for Carlo’s first venture as a shutterbug.

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We did not anticipate the cold, so we were practically shivering as we strolled along the picturesque Long Beach Shoreline Marina and viewed the legendary Queen Mary, formerly an oceanliner and now a tourist attraction.

Walking through Shoreline Village, we could not help but notice the lack of human traffic. When told that the Marina is home to over 1800 boats, it struck me that there were more boats here than people.

But hey, it was our vacation, so we took advantage of having the place all to ourselves by leisurely browsing the quaint shops and restaurants.

We went across to the Aquarium of the Pacific, a must-see especially for kids, with its galleries, special shows, embossing stations, touchpools, and hundreds, maybe even thousands, of marine animals on display.

Kyra had an up-close encounter with a gentle Bat Ray, touching its soft, leathery hide at the touchpool. She was amazed by the interactive "Whales: Voices in the Sea", featuring a spectrogram that allows you to listen and mimic complex sounds made by whales.

We proceeded to the Pike at Rainbow Harbor and met with my UIC high school friend, Ruth Mingoc Aguiba, now a Long Beach resident, and her 10-year-old daughter Isay who instantly hit it off with Kyra.

Ever the gracious host, Ruthie treated us to a delicious buffet dinner at the Zen Restaurant, let the girls play at the nearby Gameworks, then drove us to our hotel in LA where we slept off our jet lag and aching feet until late next morning.

Our host the next day was another friend and former San Miguel colleague of mine, Danny Bullecer, who feted us with dinner at his home with his gracious wife Maimai and five wonderful kids. Being an only child, my daughter Kyra easily slipped into a comfortable relationship with Danny's kids, especially his 10-year old girl, Anne, who became another BFF like Isay.

Danny took us to the famed Universal City where we made the proverbial stroll along the City Walk. The few bucks you ditch for parking is worth the Universal City experience: excellent restaurants such as the Wolfgang Puck Bistro, glitzy retail stores offering everything Universal Studios, flashy neon signs, and attractions such as Hard Rock Cafe's giant guitar, a suspended King Kong, and the 18-screen movie theatre. It's a veritable tourist trap if you let it all get to you.

Next morning was another walk through, this time at the Hollywood Boulevard with all the famous attractions: Hollywood Walk of Fame, Kodak Theatre, Hollywood Guinness World of Records, Hollywood Wax Museum, Disney's Studio Store, among others.

Most of the tourists congregated at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre forecourt, where the hands and feet imprints of true Hollywood royalty are immortalized on the cement floor. From the top floor of the shopping complex nearby, you can see the landmark sign Hollywood at the Hollywood Hills.

Danny dropped us off at the Burbank Town Center, for lunch and shopping. After the hustle and bustle of Hollywood, I found Burbank more charming and laidback. Ruthie and her whole family fetch us here and brought us to The Americana at Brand in Glendale, a posh neighborhood with luxurious apartment buildings surrounding a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex with high-end retail shops like Tiffany & Co., Barneys New York, AX Armani Exchange, to name a few.

We had a finger-lickin' dinner courtesy of Ruthie and her husband Edwin, at the Empress Pavilion in LA's Chinatown. We capped off the night with sightseeing by car to see the famous landmarks of downtown LA.

Despite our aching feet, Carlo and I made sure to have retail therapy the next day. After all, LA offers one of the best shopping experiences in the west coast.

On Sunday, Danny brought us to their local church to attend mass with his family. There’s nothing like hearing mass to pull you back to earth after a whirlwind tour of vibrant Los Angeles. As we boarded our flight to our next destination, however, my wanderlust soared again.

Houston, here we come!