Visiting the Los Angeles Area
June 22 to July 1
I got to Ventura, CA around 3 pm on Tuesday. My buddy that offered to host me didn’t get off work until 5ish so I went to a brewery, of course. It was called Alpaca or something like that on Main Street. *It's called Anacapa*. I got an IPA and tried to stretch it for a couple hours, I couldn't do it so I got another. After 2 I thought to myself, I can't have another without my eyebrows getting heavy, so I walked to the nearest bookstore and read the back covers of all of the fantasy fiction novels.
Finally my buddy called and told me to come on over. I haven't seen Clayton and his girlfriend, oh wait are they married? Shit I don't actually know. Anyways, I haven't seen Clayton and Zara in over 5 years. When I arrived to the house I swear to god Zara laid out a towel, slippers, and a sleeping mask on the guest bed, I'm home, never leaving. We got some local burritos at Lalo's that were bomb as hell and went on a walk around the block. Then we sat in the living room and drank until bedtime. The next morning I was on the road by 6:30, heading to Malibu baby.
Malibu was incredible, first things first: I stopped at Blue Bottle coffee shop for a pick me up. After that I walked to the beach to take some bangers (awesome pictures) and watch people surf. I think I’m a surfer at heart, I need to move to a coastal town. I hung out in Malibu for a few hours, got cracked out on coffee, fueled up on gas and took off for Laguna to stay with a friend for a week. *When I say friend I mean somebody that I have only met 2 times, ever* I pulled into Laguna Niguel and went straight to the gym to check out my home away from home. Planet Fitness has been great so far but they vary pretty significantly in each location so some are better than others. The one in Laguna will suffice. After my workout I drove to Sarah’s to check out the new digs. Hot diggity. Beautiful home, two cute dogs and an awesome hostess… lovin’ it. First thing she did was toss me a key and told me to come and go as I pleased, nice.
Sarah: Here's a key to the house, you seem pretty self sufficient so I'm not going to take care of you, just come and go as you please.
Me: I seem self sufficient?
Wednesday night we went to a place in Dana Point called Station Craft and grabbed a couple drinks. Since I’d only met Sarah twice in the past we had to go get reacquainted before I moved in for a week and a half. She invited her friend Katie to join us and we drank and played cards at a high end restaurant for a few hours, I'm going to like these people just fine.
Probably had a few too many drinks but I’m notorious for having a few too many drinks so no surprise there. Thursday we lounged around and watched Netflix and I didn’t feel bad about it at all. What I did feel bad about was getting addicted to a show called "Too Hot to Handle". I couldn't stop watching, I watched all of season 2. If you wanna talk about it, call me. Friday Sarah took me to a cool little town called San Juan Capistrano. They had the coolest restaurant/bar area that I’ve been to yet. We went to Hennessy's Tavern and Trevor's at The Tracks. We indulged a bit and then went back to Laguna. Saturday Sarah threw a Luau themed birthday party for one of her friends in town. We had to Google whether or not it was PC to throw a Luau themed party and it seemed acceptable, give it a year, they'll be cancelled. I put on a skirt and a coconut bra and prepared myself to meet 20 to 30 strangers. It was a riot. Yet again, I had a few too many drinks. This time, everyone had a few too many drinks though so I was surrounded by good company.
Sunday morning I woke up rippin and rarin to go because I had plans to see an old friend from high school in Santa Monica. The one, the only, Brandon “Haircut” Hieser. We linked up around 1 and rode bikes on Venice Beach for a couple hours and ate some grub at Del Frisco's Grille. I can't even begin to explain how many people are on Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier. It's unreal. Street performers, tourists, homeless, bikes, rollerblades, yoga, volleyball, dogs, basketball, tennis, all happening in one place. I couldn't get enough. Hieser was an excellent host. I miss him already.
Sunday night after Santa Monica I went to Laguna Beach to check it out. I was staying in Laguna Niguel which is a few miles inland from the beach. The city of Laguna Beach is absolutely gorgeous! Much different world than Venice Beach. Cleaner, quieter, more expensive. I can’t wait to go back later in the week. Monday was a bit of a lazy day, I went to the gym and then lounged around. Tuesday night I went to Laguna Beach with Gabe and Sarah and the other Sarah. We ate at a place called Mozambique, beautiful rooftop dining overlooking the ocean. After that we went to Henessey’s for another drink and finished up the night with some gelato. When everyone said we should go get gelato I just acted like I knew what that was, had no clue it was ice cream. I would have guessed some sort of alcoholic beverage, either way, I was game. Wednesday was a podcast day, also watched a few episodes of "Too Hot To Handle." God damn that show is horrible but impossible not to get addicted to. Thursday morning I woke up feeling real good. I’m heading to the infamous LAX to hop a plane to Medford to spend some time with the family. I can’t wait! I am so grateful for Sarah for allowing me to stay and also driving me to the airport, she is seriously the best.
Before I sign out on the LA blog I just want to say that this overwhelming traffic that I keep hearing about is fake. I’ve driven the 405 four times now with zero problems. Also, I got to the airport 2 hours early, not necessary. I’m sitting at my gate with an hour and a half left until my flight. I think so many people have moved out that LA is now reasonably populated, problem is, money is leaving and the city is already trash. We’ll see where it ends up.