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California was soooo much fun!! The rundown...

Thursday (04/08):
I've never left NYC right after work. The E train to the Air Train to JFK only took about 50 minutes from Rock Center. Not so bad! The flight itself was less enjoyable. I couldn't sleep and my tailbone was killing me. Stupid boys and their big peni...

I got to LA 3:30am EST. I was a bit cracked out, but it was worth having a full day of fun on Friday with Rip who was nice enough to take off.

Friday:
1. The Griddle for breakfast. I highly recommend the Cobb Omelet. The Peanut Bubba, french toast with peanut butter, is delicious as well, but it was a bit too sugary for me.
2. Rode bikes along Santa Monica beach.
3. Browsed at Meltdown, one of the nicest comic shops I've ever been in.
4. Tacos Por Favor for dinner. The chorizo with cheese is the best.
5. Drank at The Dark Room and Snake Pit with Rip's awesome friends.
6. Climbed this tree drunk because I really wanted to sit in it...


resulting in this bruise on my arm (already a week healed, so it was pretty bad looking when it happened)...


due to me jumping off of said tree, landing weird, and hitting the door of the parked car next to me. Alarm went off, we ran, hilarity ensued.

Saturday:
1. Nursed arm and massive hangover by having brunch at Blu Jam (not as good as The Griddle), reading Walking Dead, alphabetizing Rip's comics (a favorite pasttime of mine), and playing Marvel Scene It.
2. Headed over to Hollywood to see the Walk of Fame, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the concrete autographs and prints. Shirley Temple's was my favorite because it's in little kid capital letters. (I didn't take this picture. I barely took any all week!)


3. My first In and Out burger. Animal style. Yum!
4. A viewing of the original Clash of the Titans. I'll rent the new one.

Sunday:
Six Flags Magic Mountain. Oy vey. I went on three roller coasters in a row and then got really woozy. It's possible my jet lag kicked in, so I sat out The Riddler's Revenge. I needed to get my bearings and not flip for a little while. Two roller coasters later we were waiting on line for Tatsu, an amazing flying coaster where the track is above you and your body is parallel to the ground. Perfect for super-hero training.

For some crazy reason (probably because I'm crazy) I freaked out. I did not want to go on this ride. I was so panicky that I wanted to cry. Rip and Devo talked me down a bit and said don't worry, it's a lot of fun, you'll be fine, so I went against my gut and hopped on.

Uh oh! Right before the first drop we got stuck. We were dangling 175 feet in the air FACING THE GROUND. I snagged this shot from a video on YouTube...


The only things holding us in were the shoulder harness and ankle cuffs. I wanted to die. No wait, I wanted to live but I wanted to kill myself for going on. There was this poor little boy in the back of us screaming at the top of his lungs for his mom. I felt so bad for him, but he sort of made it worse. I kept my eyes closed tight to stop me from looking down, which was a shame because the view in front of us was amazing. Mountains seem fake to me. Like foxes.

I don't know how long we were up there for. Five, maybe ten minutes? Finally an airhorn went off and the ride started up again. Turns out we all thought when the horn sounded that's when the harnesses would unlock and we'd fall to our deaths, but luckily that wasn't the case. I'm never tempting fate again. Screw super-hero flyer training. I choose telekinesis.

Monday to Wednesday morning:
San Diego!! I FINALLY got a chance to visit The Faces and the Mighty Cale in their new home. I wanted to hug and squeeze MC the whole time, but I didn't think he'd like that considering he's a big boy now. I actually showed some restraint!

Monday night we wet to Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens. It is AWESOME! We weren't able to take the brewery tour, so we had a delicious dinner at the adjacent restaurant instead. I drank an Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale and ate two dishes with beer in them: Garlic Cheddar & Stone Ruination IPA Soup and the Mac 'n Beer Cheese with Stone Smoked Porter sausage. DOUBLE YUM! The outdoor garden is amazing...I'm seriously considering having my wedding there. You know, whenever I get engaged...

Tuesday and Wednesday we walked along the beach, relaxed, and caught up. I love getting together with friends I haven't seen in a while and feeling like no time has passed. Such a nice visit.

Wednesday night:
I got back to my brother's in the late afternoon. We headed out to dinner and randomly ran into two of my favorite Company friends that I don't get to see very often (buy Power Girl now!). How cool is that?? They joined us at our table and we spent the next few hours laughing, eating, and laughing some more. It was the perfect way to end my trip.

Phew!! Man, did I need a vacation! A big thanks to my brother, Devo, and The Faces for letting me stay with you. I had a fantastic time! I love yas and am so happy you are happy in California. I just wish it was closer to NYC.