Girlfriend Getaways

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From left: Dalene, Allison, Tracie, and Debbie at Mizuna in Spokane, Wash. (Keri Leary)

"I'm looking forward to some once-in-a-lifetime event that we can talk about for a long time," says Tracie. "Anything goes, as long as we don't end up in jail." They have heard vaguely about a bar with a mechanical bull. Sure enough, two miles north of Dan Tana's is a spot that's sure to kick girls' night up a notch: The Saddle Ranch Chop House, on the raucous Sunset Strip. Inside the rowdy Western bar, "smoking" cocktails--served with dry ice so they mist--come in carafe-size glasses. Besides the mechanical bull, there's an outdoor patio and campfire pits for roasting s'mores. And the husbands don't need to know that Saddle Ranch has quite the reputation as a pickup joint after 10 p.m.

"If we were to spend one day away from Hollywood," asks Allison, "where should we spend it?" No trip to sunny Southern California is complete without a day at the beach--perhaps a night as well. If the women don't mind switching hotels, they could spend the final evening of their trip at Santa Monica's oceanfront Hotel California. It's an easy walk to the Santa Monica Pier, five minutes by car to Venice Beach, and a 30-minute drive to LAX airport.

For the ride to the coast, we recommend scenic Sunset Boulevard, past the Hollywood neighborhoods they saw with Starline Tours, and on through Westwood, home to UCLA, and Brentwood, former home of O.J. Simpson, eventually ending just north of Santa Monica at Will Rogers State Beach. They'll basically run right into Duke's Malibu, a waterfront restaurant dedicated to the father of surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, and famous for seafood, mai tais, a sandy barefoot bar, and incredible views.

Everyone knows the community of Venice for its wild oceanfront walk: muscle-heads in the outdoor gyms, tattooed punks on skateboards, loads of folks roller-skating in bathing suits, performers strumming guitars or juggling flaming torches, and shops and tiny stalls selling tacos, T-shirts, sunglasses, jewelry, Mexican blankets, and more. Beyond the spectacle is Venice's quaint Abbot Kinney Boulevard, full of a much different kind of culture, with cooler shops as well as galleries, spas, and salons. Nitespa, barely a year old, welcomes clients from noon to midnight, and a free glass of wine is included with treatments.

"Not all of us are into the spa thing," says Allison. "But this sounds good because it's more about sitting around having a few drinks during our pedicures." We can't think of a better way to end the trip: relaxed and pampered, having a few laughs--together.

Surprise!
Because the friends love to laugh, we hooked them up with four free tickets to Menopause the Musical, courtesy of the show. "After all, we are hitting 40 this year," says Allison. "Maybe it can help prepare us for what's ahead!"