stay golden

friday morning we flew down to southern california for the wedding of a family friend. my parents were supposed to join my sister, her fiance and i but my mother is suffering from something her doctors aren't able to diagnose.

the flight was short and sweet, but it was my sister and john's first time flying jet blue so we had to listen to john bitch and moan that he didn't have a headset to be able to listen to the direct tv programming. fed up, i signaled the flight attendant and asked her to please deliver headphones that i purchased from her to 12C (several rows behind us) because he was annoying as hell. i literally said, "12C is annoying as hell, please give him these headphones to shut him up." she laughed and obliged, and thankfully we didn't hear a peep from him the rest of the 50 minute flight. "12C" is now his nickname.

we landed shortly after 10a and john suggested we head to santa monica. let me be clear: i don't care for southern california, and i especially don't care for southern california traffic. but i was game, even though i knew we'd sit in traffic on the way home. i was right, but spending time at the beach and the pier was almost worth it. we hit it right at rush hour on the way back down, and nearly two hours later we were back at the hotel. we hit the mall for some last-minute additions for my sister's outfit for the wedding, and had a mediocre-at-best dinner at the elephant bar. the hotel was having a "dive-in movie night" by the pool, so we watched a bit of "finding nemo" before going to bed.

my sister and john are late sleepers, so when i was up and ready to go by 8:30 i decided to take a drive down highway 1 and ended up in newport beach before turning around. by then it was nearly noon, so we bummed around the pool while the rest of the guests staying in the hotel started to arrive and ate lunch while the poolside jazz band played. it was the perfect way to spend the morning. my sister went and got her hair done while john and i went to a nearby bar and hung out. photoboothing ensued.

while my sister and john were at the wedding, i had a nice nap and drove out to redondo beach to have dinner at the chart house. the chart house was my favorite restaurant growing up, and all the ones near me and on maui have since closed. it seems as though my memory of their food is much better than it actually was. despite this, i kind of enjoyed the 30 minute drive each way, listening to KIIS play the same songs over and over again.

so this wedding. i used to babysit the bride, she's a classmate of my sister's and her parents are my parent's neighbors. i was invited, but adding another wedding attendance to the 4 i was invited to this year didn't hit high on my list of priorities. i pretty much just wanted a weekend away, so i declined the invite and headed down anyway. several of the kids i used to babysit were there, all grown up, of course. they're all nearly 25, and it's bizarre to think i haven't seen any of them in over 10 years. even stranger was going out drinking with them. the bride's parents are in the midst of a nasty divorce with all kinds of accusations flying around. despite this, apparently everyone was able to put their differences aside and have a good time, as it should be. john drank waaaay too much and was puking all night long, but apparently he wasn't the only one that overindulged, as the next morning pretty much everyone was hungover.

sunday morning i made a run to the closest sonic drive-in for a lime slush fix (what's a mere 20 minute drive in no traffic?) and drove around the area while john and my sister slept in.

the trip was good fun and exactly what i needed -- to get away after a hellish work week.

interesting rendering of 9/11 on 405


john goofing off


sister and john at the pier


we did the touristy thing and went on the ferris wheel


shrimp spring rolls at the e-bar