Sorry for the gigantic post, but it's about LA, so it has to be huge!

"They call Los Angeles the "City Of Angels." I didn't find it to be that, exactly. But I'll allow there are some nice folks there" - The Stranger in The Big Lebowski

It is tough to get back into a routine after only four days off of it. Especially when they were four great days. And your routine, well, it's alright most of the time. So here I am, back at work, writing this blog while catching up on the important work I missed in those coupla days off. Drinkin' my coffee. Let me recount, for you, the long weekend:

It started just as any other weekend, at 5pm. Only this time, it was on a Wednesday, last Wednesday to be exact, instead of a Friday. We headed from work to the airport, thanks to Jenna's parents for giving us the ride. I can't say that either of us were feeling back up to par, to quote my Grandpa Porter, but we weren't in as sorry a state as we had been. The flight down was nice and easy, and we arrived, and Heather and Alex arrived to pick us up from the airport, and we drove to The Thirsty Kitty in…well, I can't remember what part of town its in, but I know it's pretty close to Santa Monica. The bar was cool, and pretty close to what I imagine LA bars to be like. Dark, with booths and tall tables, and a large empty area on the floor, with an old kung-fu movie being projected onto the wall. It struck me as a bar I would never see in Seattle. It didn't have a lot of finesse and thought put into it. It just sort of was what it was, which worked well enough. We had a couple cocktails and talked to Alex & Heathers' friends (I didn't talk much, but I am socially awkward, especially in new places with people I don't know), then we drove to their house, which is in Lawndale.

We had some more to drink once we got home, and started to thaw the connection between best friends that have been apart. I've found that it usually takes a few days to get back to that completely natural place. Unfortunately, our visits always only seem to last three or four days, and so it feels too too brief.

The next day, Thursday, was a special day. It was Disneyland Day! Hoooray! Which meant some driving, to Anaheim. But first, we had to eat! This became a lot of what we did in LA, driving, and eating. Lot's of eating, but some really awesome food. So we went to a Peruvian place near their house called El Pollo Inka (it's a sort of chain, but no locations in Seattle, unfortunately. The food was really fantastic. I had a chicken dish, which had a creamy spicy sauce with potatos & rice. I can't get it out of my head, and I want more of it, so we will have to find a Peruvian restaurant in Seattle. Any suggestions?

Disneyland was awesome! We got the park-hopper pass, and here's a tip, Disneyland in November on a Thursday means very few lines. That's because USUALLY the weather is not fantastic, and most people aren't vacationing in California at the beginning of November. But this Thursday, the weather was absolutely perfect. We thought it was going to be really hot, like 90 degrees, but it was really pleasant all day. The longest we waited in any line was 15 minutes, and we went on every ride we wanted to in Disneyland and California Adventure (and one that nobody but I wanted to go on, that stupid ferris wheel, which really wasn't at all fun, but I wanted to give it a 2nd chance. NEVER AGAIN). Since we had been up pretty late the night before, we were pretty exhausted so we left before the park closed, but not before stopping for dinner at an excellent Japanese restaurant that serves Ramen. It was delicious noodles in a pork broth, with delicious fatty yummy pork meat. So good. Then we went home and pretty immediately hit the sack.

The next day started with a delicious breakfast in Redondo Beach area at Uncle Bill's Pancake House. I got this delicious scramble with green chilis in it. Awesome, but so much food! Then we walked along the coast, and saw the smog out to sea that day. The sky above us and the city was clear, but out over the water, you could see the gross green haze of pollution. I am glad I don't see that in Seattle, even if I do see clouds more often. Then, Heather had to go to work, and we went to the pier in Redondo Beach area, walked around, and then went to Hermosa Beach. We went to The Mermaid for some beers. This place has obviously been around for forever, and the bartender, Mike, was a cool character. Crazy Californian. Then we walked on Hermosa Beach, and the waves were huge! I can see why surfing is big there. In fact, the waves were so huge, that as we had waded out in my rolled up jeans a little to far, a big wave crashed down and I couldn't get out in time, so my pants got pretty soaked. Fun times. We picked up Heather from work, then went and got some Ethiopian food at a place I think called Merkato. I've never had Ethiopian before and really liked it. I know Seattle has some good places, so Jenna & I will be frequenting those more often.

Then (Friday was a long day..) We headed up to Griffith Park Observatory. On the way, though, we stopped at the La Brea Tarpits, but as it was dark already, we couldn't see much of the big pit. We could certainly smell the tar though. Jenna's dad really loved it when he went there years ago, but as we found out, he really loved the museum which had fossils and all sorts of info, which we did not see. Once we got to Griffith Park Observatory, the view of LA was awesome. You could see everything. Really cool. Except the Hollywood Sign, which you would have a great view of, but they were not lighting it up that night. I guess, for energy conservation or something, they don’t light it every night. STUPID PLANET EARTH AND STUPID POOR CALIFORNIA ECONOMY! We went to one of the planetarium shows, and it was "Light of the Valkerie," which was an exhibit based on Aurora Borealis to the tune of Ride of the Valkerie by Wagner. It would have been cool, but the guy narrating had this stupid story to tell. Ifwe could've just watched the stars & lights with the music, I think we would've enjoyed it more. Then we stood in line for an hour (longer than any ride at Disneyland) to look through the 75 year old telescope at Jupiter. We could see three of the moons. It was pretty cool, but I don’t know if an hour long line cool.

THEN, we went to Hollywood (because I wanted to see some stars!), and we saw the Chinese Theatre, which (STARS!) had a premiere for the AFI Film Festival! In reality, I didn't care about the celebrity stars, but we did want to see the foot & handprints in the cement, but they wouldn't let us until the premiere was over. So we hung around for about an hour til they all left, and I only saw one STAR that I recognized. It was Bruce Davison (From Harry & the Hendersons…and X-Men…and a Seinfeld episode). So that was cool. Then we went home, drank some wine, and played some Rock Band until about 4:30am and went to bed.

On Saturday, we had a 7 course breakfast. We made it, and it really only had 2 courses, but it took 7 different courses to eat it all. We made hashbrowns (which I screwed up because I cooked them with too much oil in the 2nd & 3rd course), and then Alex made crepes, which were delicious, but because you have to make them one at a time, took a long time. Then we had to get ready for the BBQ they were having that night so we got to see the Costco in Lawndale area! Woohoooo! We played a board game (I can't remember the name…but it was fun…) and then the BBQ started, and David & Zach, who I was friends with in high-school, came, so it was great to see them!

Sunday rolls around and we start the day with Breakfast with Mike & Emily Oliver, Derek Schreck & Genevieve Kolve! So that was really great to see them and catch up with them! Stupid Los Angeles stealing away all of our friends! Everyone should come back (or come for the first time) to Seattle! LA sucks anyway! Traffic sucks, smog sucks, crazy people suck…Venice Beach was full of crazy people. Including one guy who was walking & jumping on broken glass for money. And several "Doctor's Offices" where you can get your card for Medical Marijuana. I had no idea that it was so easy to get that stuff in Cali. We did not, but we saw plenty of people in line for it.

The trip felt long & short at the same time. But it was really awesome to hang out with Heather & Alex again, and I hope we have more opportunites more frequently. Like when they move to Seattle. Right, guys?