Highlights from California

so, as most of you know, I spent four days this week in sunny California visiting my very good friend, Wendy.  We had tons of fun and ate a lot of great food and hung out on the beach and relaxed with "mixed beverages".  There isn't enough time to go into a whole lot of detail, but there are a few things I wanted to throw out there.  Mainly new friendships and wonderful restaurants you should eat at if you're in LA or Orange County.

First, as soon as we picked up Michelle "Reeder" Reed from the airport, we went to a Mexican food restaurant, where we met Wendy's friends, the wonderful Shannon, the Fabulous Matt, and her roommate, Javier, for lunch.  (I'll stop and say, something here: yes, Javier is a man.  No, he's not Wendy's boyfriend.  And if you're still worried, don't be.  Three people split the apartment, kind of like the TV show "Three's Company.")  Anyway, the meal was fantastic.  I can't remember the name of the place, but the table we sat at was in a little nook, and over Reeder's shoulder there was this resin bust of Jesus.  Very typical idol-like little statue.  Wendy raised her margarita to it, and I, jokingly raised my water and asked for wine.  Some of you guys may think that's offensive and horrible of me, so I apologize for any offense.  But, honestly, it was a shrine of Jesus in a restaurant.  Kind of ridiculous to begin with.  I had pulled beef tacos and a few margaritas.  Again, don't be alarmed.  We were there for about three hours, so I wasn't trashed, although I did feel very good when we finished.

I didn't have my camera out during the lunch, though I wish I had, because it was outrageously fun. But I did get it out in the parking lot before we went over to the beach, and snapped this fantastic picture of Matty.  After I snapped it, I said, "Now I have a gay picture!" and we all laughed SOOOOOOOOOOO hard.

After lunch we went to the beach.  I won't go into details.  Here are a few really neat pictures.

Wendy's friend Shannon, (And I guess she's my friend now, too) snapped this picture of Wendy, Reeder, and I walking along the beach.

This is one of my favorite shots from the whole vacation.  That's Reeder, walking down the beach, looking for rocks, with her cowboy boots tossed over her shoulder.

Wendy's feet buried in the sand. 

 Rocks on the shore, washed up because of the tsunami

 Wendy's writing in the sand: "Kasidee and Reeder Week"

Day two, we went down to San Clemente for Crepes.  Again, I can't remember the name of the place, but it is literally right across the road from the fishing pier.  So if you're ever there, pop in.  I had a breakfast crepe with applewood bacon, scrambled eggs, and cheese.  Then the three of us split a wonderful berries and creme crepe, stuffed with fresh strawberries and blueberries.  Super yummy.

I don't know why I make the most awkward faces when I take pictures, but, oh well.

After crepes we went down to the end of the pier and watched this adorable man fish off the side.  And then we watched some teenagers who were playing hooky, attempt to surf.  They weren't very good, and weren't following appropriate surfing ettiquite, which was really irritating to another guy out there who was.

Later that afternoon, we went to Irvine, to the mall, and ate at the Yard House.  I had a Mai Tai, and a Margherita pizza.  If you've never had either, I suggest you try both.  (Wait for the Mai Tai until you're 21, though.  I don't want anyone getting arrested for underage drinking.)  But the Margherita pizza was to-die-for.  It was literally the best pizza I've ever eaten in my entire life, and I've eaten good pizza.  Then we went to see Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.  It was actually a really good movie.  then it was back to the apartment to watch Connie and Carla, and eat gooey butter cake.  YUM!

On day three we went to Hollywood and did a bus tour of LA, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica.  I didn't see anyone famous, or if I did, I didn't recognize them.  But, I did get a couple of great shots.  Breakfast was bagels from Panera, lunch was burritos at Chipotle. But dinner was the highlight of the day. We ate at an Italian Restaurant called Trastavere, and I had the most amazing meal: Ravioli Riccotta e Spinaci. It's hand-stuffed spinach and riccota ravioli, covered in a tomato basil sauce. So good. Wendy got butternut squash ravioli, and couldn't finish her last one, so I ate that, too. And it was heavenly. I don't have any pictures of our dinner, but many thanks go out to our amazing waiter Luis, who took very good care of us, and paired our meals perfectly with wine. (I actually didn't drink any wine because it gives me headaches, but Wendy's muscato was perfect with her meal). Needless to say, Luis got good tips from us.  Here are some pictures from day three


Of course, I had to get a good picture of the Hollywood sign.  It's actually no longer owned by the state because CA is in such debt.  They sold it to a citizen for private upkeep.  Movies have to pay bookoos to use it in film, and tourists are no longer allowed anywhere near the sign.

I can't get this picture to rotate, but this is Billy Graham's star on the walk of fame.  I'm not really sure what I think about that.

 This is a fountain in Beverly Hills.  I thought it was really cool and beautiful.

This is part of the Berlin wall, which went up under JFK and came down under Reagan. 

I thought this was funny...that someone would advertise their STD screening company in such a way.

Day four started early with us getting up at 6 to take Reeder to the airport.  We ate cold pizza and got Starbucks for breakfast after Reeder was on the plane.  Then Wendy and I chilled at her aunt's house, watched Burlesque and part of Chicago, then went to a sandwich shop called Togo, and had turkey and guacamole sandwiches.  Again, very good.  Then it was off to the airport so I could get back home.

All in all, this was a wonderful trip, and I'm ready to go back.  Hopefully I can manage that again soon...and hopefully i can stay longer than four days next time.