California Dreamin' Part 1

The trip to, in and from California left me with a vast amount of memories which would be entirely overwhelming if I wrote it all at once. So, I’m going to write it in 5 pieces, reflecting back on each day I spent in Cali. Here it goes...

Wednesday (11/4)

640am and dragging our carry-ons onto a plane. Virgin America. Purple lights and pop music greet us. Black “leather” seats. Comedic flight attendants. Order snacks from my TV screen. Watch the Disney Channel (not afraid to admit that.) Turn on some Wifi. Rockstar. I try to sleep. Can’t. Get to writing, Jaime snores. Look out the window. Highways then greenery, then crops in Ikea rug patterns, then blue mountains with cotton colored caps, then terracotta canyons and then…Jaime snores. We begin landing.

Oh car rental, car rental where are you? Ah, it’s off-site. Well then! Small talk and smiles gets me a free upgrade. A red Chevy Impala. Gangster. Side view mirror is smashed. Darn. Exchange. Now the car is “mocha.” About to get in and drive off, killer bee on the dashboard. Yikes! Rental attendant performs a murderous rampage. Attendant= 1, Bee=0.

Shades on. Driving through the wide-lane streets and one story buildings. This reminds me of Orlando. Pull into In-N-Out Burger. Oh wait, no it doesn’t.

Park @ hotel in Marina Del Rey, walk to Venice beach. Weather is lukewarm, sky is the kind of blue you want to wrap yourself in like a warm blanket, waves are gnarly (did I say that right?) Walk the Venice “canal.” Looking into people’s homes feels weird but they are beautiful. They are meant to be observed.

Clock says it’s only 4pm but I’ve already been up for more than 12 hours. Naps are amazing.

Get ready to meet my friend Steve R at the Red Lion Tavern on Glendale Avenue. On the phone with my bestie from westie, Couper, who warns me not to stray too far from the freeway, there are some “interesting neighborhoods” on the way there. Trooping across LA I only hope to not get a flat and end up in the middle of a gang war. Realize LAers are probably told the same thing about NY. Get to Red Lion in one piece. Beer garden with indoor/outdoor patio. Steve’s at a picnic table and our waitress is actually German. Beer name I can't pronounce. Yummy. Potato cakes and sausage. Double yummy. We talk life, love and beer. 9pm. I’m sleepy again. A huge bouncer takes our pic on the way out. Snap memory.

Hotel. Bed. Snooze.