California 2009
I got back from my trip to California last night. As previously noted I was intending to relax a bit but that never really happened. For better or worse (more of the better), I went around. A lot!. I had a different city for pretty much every day. And I really don't know what I was expecting, but the traffic and driving were too much for me. Although, I was doing much more traveling on account that I was a tourist.
I had a relatively painless flight into I flew into LAX Thursday night and right off the bat, I could see why people dread that airport. Too much traffic, crowds, commotion, police - enough to make you want to avoid it. It took well over an hour and half to get to where I was staying in Orange County with my brother.
I was on the beach Friday and later drove out to the Santa Monica Pier to watch a Cirque Du Soleil show: Kooza. It was pretty entertaining. I will have to write a more in depth review of this in the days to come.
Saturday we spent the day in San Diego. We watched the UofM vs Penn State game at the Pacific Beach Bar & Grill where apparently there is a significant number of Michigan fans. I met up with some college friends and we did some site seeing in San Diego. What a gorgeous city! The view from the top at Cabrillo National Monument overlooking the San Diego Bay was magnificent. You could see all the way to Tijuana (no I did not visit there). Lots more to do there. Sadly I did not plan enough time. Perhaps next trip?
Sunday after church, we drove up to Pasadena. I made a quick side trip to El Monte to visit someone, but eventually we reached our destination: Rose Bowl Stadium to see U2 perform. This will definitely require an additional post. Despite some drunk-thinks-she's-hot girl accidentally pouring beer all over me, I still did manage to enjoy the performance. The U2 360 Tour was just over the top, but an 100% unforgettable experience! We were lucky enough to have someone arrange free parking for us, but unlucky enough to get lost on the way back.
Monday, after a late night, we once again drove back into the mess. This time to Universal Studios Hollywood. I think this may be my first trip to a Theme Park as opposed to a general amusement park. It was really fun, with extra praise for The Simpson's Ride (did it twice!) and The Mummy Ride. Unfortunately the Terminator 3-D attraction was closed down, which was a major let down. Otherwise the park was pretty fun. I think we picked a great day to go as we never waited more than 20 minutes for anything. The people who paid double the general admission price were foolish, there is no way they got their money's worth! We had dinner at the park and I split up to catch up with a friend. We did some cruising through the nicer nearby areas. By that night I noticed my voice had pretty much given out. Probably the screaming..err..singing at the concert.
Tuesday I had lunch in Anaheim. Nothing special, just a place to relax halfway between LA and Laguna Beach. Spent the evening not doing anything special. Watched some DVD's, had some drinks and told some silly old stories. Sometimes the craziness gets a little too crazy with siblings, but all in all enjoyable.
Wednesday I flew back. I wouldn't mention the flight, but the damnedest thing happened. We encountered some unusual turbulence. Apparently somewhere near Colorado, we hit some "mountain wind" which caused the plane to instantaneously drop 500 ft in altitude. It was quite shocking and in truth, a little exhilarating. Everything flew 2-3 feet straight up (including un-belted passengers). I wasn't really scared considering I was buckled down, but the attendants were yelling at everyone to sit down. The real mess was that the passenger next to me had a full glass of wine that also flew up 2 feet and hit me in the stomach, crotch and right leg. It was a mess. I endured over 2 hours smelling like wine sitting in a wet seat. He felt terrible, but I figured it wasn't the worst thing, his wife's wine covered the seat and lady's hair sitting in front of her.
But besides that, I think I was really happy with my time spent in "Cali". I think my brother and I were a bit too ambitious when planning considering we intended to do much more with less time. Even so, I am quite impressed how much we were able to enjoy. This was a first for me visiting where everyone had their S.O. with them. Everyone was a good host (and hostess) to me, considering how thoroughly irritating I can be (was ... am ... will be).
Lots of fun stuff and crazy stuff. Dowsed with alcohol twice (luckily no one lit me on fire ... although some of those California girls ... ). First time doing continuous status updates on my mobile. Too much driving (almost 600 miles total!!!). Lots of talking, singing and screaming. For the people who were making the pitch I should consider relocating ... well, all I can say is this trip was a really compelling argument.
Much more things to say, but I fergit, ask me and I'll tell you. A review on the performances to follow...
Posted in: Life, Music, Travel, Stuff,
2 Comments:
Anonymous on October 29, 2009 ~ 11:23 PM
what's S.O?
Are you sure it was accidentally in the first instance? so first it was yellow mellow, then it was red wine? now all you need is for some vodka to be spilled on you and that's white … so!
thankfully the pilots were not playing on their laptops!Mauriat Miranda on October 29, 2009 ~ 11:23 PM
SO = Significant Other