Our Week in the OC

We are back from our work/vacation to LA. Jen and I had a wonderful time. Both of us have never been to the left coast and Jen had never traveled on passenger plane until this vacation. She did great on the flights.

Our trip got off to a slow start. We got to the airport with no problems but when we arrived at the gate our first flight to Chicago was delayed about 50 minutes. Not a big deal; I expected it flying into Ohare. When we landed in Chicago we found out that our flight to Orange County was delayed an hour and half. When we did finally leave the gate some thunderstorms were coming and hit us just as we were getting onto the taxiway. We ended up sitting there another hour until we got clearance to take off. Again not a big deal. Both of us were just so excited to be traveling, something we enjoy doing. Both of our flights went very well. We were able to sit next to each other which was a good thing considering I didn't check in the day before. The flight attendants were able to switch our seats around in Chicago so we could sit together. We got into OC at 9 PM local time (12 Eastern) got our bags and picked up our car. When we got to the rental counter the attendant told me there were no compact cars left which is what my company reserved for me. FREE UPGRADE. We ended up with a Toyota Solara, convertible. That was nice to have for the week. The weather was perfect all week. Mid 70's, sunny, no humidity. We checked into our hotel (very nice by the way, Thanks WD) and went down the street to Friday's for dinner. By this time we are feeling exhausted because it is way past our normal bedtime.

Tuesday through Thursday I worked at my companies Irvine office. It was great to meet everyone there and establish some professional relationships and friendships. They took me out to lunch everyday which gave me a good chance to see some other parts of town, especially on Thursday when I took the wrong exit off of the freeway on my way to In-n-Out (local burger chain). Everyone also gave me some good ideas for things to do around town.

During the day on Tuesday Jen went across the street from the hotel to the South Coast Plaza Mall and looked around. Tuesday evening Jen and I ventured to Newport Beach. We left too late (imagine that) to see the sunset but still had an enjoyable time walking the pier and checking out all the touristy spots along the beach. I knew before we left on the trip that the water would be cold. But I wasn't expecting it to drop into the low 60's overnight. We were a little chilly that evening.

Wednesday afternoon Jen called me at work and asked me to guess where she was. She told me she hopped on a bus and went to Laguna Beach. I met up with her after work and after trying to find a parking spot. Not an easy task at 6 in the evening. Again we missed the sunset because it didn't go down where we expected. Shut up all you smart asses. I know it sets in the west over the ocean, but check out a map, the coast doesn't go directly north-south. The sun set behind a cliff. We met a nice couple on the beach and had a nice chat with them about what to see in Laguna. Afterwards we walked around town checking out all the local shops. Thursday night we went back to Laguna but first stopped at the Shake Shack along PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) to watch the sunset. We actually got to see it. We had a nice dinner at Las Brisas, a Mexican restaurant slightly higher priced (sarcasm) than what we are used to spending.

Friday we went to Huntington Beach. We watched the surfers, saw a seal and dolphin playing in the water, walked the beach, and burned a good portion of our exposed skin. It was rather difficult to walk and shower the rest of the trip but we managed. It was either cope or miss out on a wonderful trip.

Saturday was our big day for sightseeing. We got up and ate a big breakfast at the hotel and then drove up the 405 to Malibu where we drove along the PCH. The entire area was gorgeous. Beach on the left and mountains on the right, the Santa Monicas I believe. We drove the entire length of the Malibu turned around and came back.

From Malibu we took Sunset Blvd to Beverly Hills. As expected it was a gorgeous city as well. We did the typical tourist things like driving down Rodeo and found a few celebrity homes. We visited the Playboy Mansions gate, Halle Berry's gate, Ozzy's gate, and Tom and Katie's gate. Awesome. Jennifer Aniston is in the process of moving by the way. We saw her moving van. After BH we hopped on Mulholland Drive for a very curvy and scenic trip with the LA basin on our right and the San Fernando Valley on our left. Mulholland led us to the Hollywood Sign which is a lot better in person. After the Hollywood Sign we drove over to Universal City and walked around the shops and had dinner at the Hard Rock. I don't like the Hard Rock they always serve a very dry burger. And that was the end of our sightseeing for the day.

Sunday we awoke very early at 5 AM and spent the rest of the day traveling. Both of our flights were good and we only had a minor delay. It was great to get back home and see our three boys. They were so excited to see us as we were excited to see them. They immediately perked up and wanted to play play play.

The trip was awesome and we want to go back so we can see some of the things we didn't have time for. I have always said I would never live in LA because of the bad traffic, high cost of living, and because of the earthquakes. Apparently there was a 4.5 which went unnoticed by both of us. Well I could live with two out of three and take my chances with the third. If only I could get WD to double my salary, buy my house, and move my family. Granted I was only traveling a short distance to work and we did a lot of travel at off peak hours but the traffic was manageable. It could also have something to do with the fact we were on vacation and didn't notice it.

Well if you made it this far thanks for reading and staying awake.