LA/Newport Beach

Monday, Sept 4

DISNEY LAND!! All-day adventure at the theme park, and then we went and met up with Steve and Jessica again for a really nice Italian dinner on Balboa Island (I think that is what it was called). Awesome food, and even better view overlooking the water.

Sunday, Sept 3

A sad day…and a happy day. I am totally stoked to be rid of the big, awkward, annoying bike box…but bummed that Andrea is taking off. She was a great travel buddy, and we had some excellent times. I took Andrea up to LAX (Tucker Time returns), and then drove over through Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Some pretty crazy houses up there, and they sell “star maps” if you want to go look at celebrities houses…but I wasn’t interested. In the afternoon Alecia and I went to a few more cook-outs, then rented some rollerblades and rode up and back on the beach path. Sunday night we met up with Alicia’s brother Steve and his roommate Jessica at a Mexican restaurant and bar, and hung out for the night.


Saturday, Sept 2

I mean, is it really fair that I celebrate Labor Day in style like everyone else out here? My labors lately have been few and far between…maybe this should just be another weekend for me?!?! Today was a big day of cook-outs and Labor Day celebrations…very good times! For dinner we grabbed some great New York strip steaks, fired up the charcoal on the Weber and threw on our corn and steaks…and enjoyed our Tecate’s on the side…fun night of hanging on the deck with friends.

Friday, Sept 1

Slow start Friday morning, but we went down to a cool breakfast spot that had really healthy meals. After that we hit the beach for a bit, and then Andrea and I went out for a 2 hour bike ride. Friday night we went out for sushi (I even tried some eel sushi), then out for the night.

Thursday, Aug 31

After staying my second night in a hotel/motel in Santa Barbara (thanks to Andrea…she refused to camp b/c she said 55 degrees was too cold)…we headed to the Santa Barbara beach and did some exploring.

We continued down Route 1, then jumped on the 101 and stopped into Santa Monica for lunch. Here, I had my second day of work on my trip (first was volunteering at kids soccer camp in Omaha). We were on the Promenade, and a woman with a video camera asked me if I would participate in a market research study. I wasn’t interested, but then she told me it would only take 5 min, and she would pay me $10. Now, to a vagabond traveler, $10 means breakfast and lunch…very important meals! So, I answered all of her weird questions, and out of her pocket game the 10 spot…tough day in the office, but at least it paid off!

We got to Newport Beach (outside of LA) in the afternoon, and hung out at the beach…which was beautiful. My friend Alicia got home after work, and her beach house was amazing. It was only 5 houses from the beach…this could not get any better. We headed out that night (with Alecia, her roommate Russell, and her brother Steve) to start off the Labor Day weekend. We ended up at Alicia’s favorite dive bar Cassidy’s by the end of the night…where Andrea started ordering the most disgusting drinks we had ever had in our life…who put her in charge of getting drinks?!!?