Los Angeles

Except for the fleas, our stay in LA was a blast thanks our amazingly accommodating hosts. Lauren was unbelievably understanding about the fleas, and she didn't even let the incident ruin any of our fun, and Zach and his roommates were a lot of fun to hang out with and also really cool about our puppies taking over their back yard. We did a lot of relaxing in LA during the day because all of our friends work, but at night we got to see them. Unfortunately by the time Matt and I got to LA, we were really burnt out on picture taking, so I don't think we have any pictures of our friends. I'm really bummed about this and I hope at least Jared and Molly took some.

LA is a wierd place for me. I spent a summer living and working in LA while in college, and I never seemed to fit right with it. Every time I go back to visit I have a great time with the friends I see, but the city has a strange effect on me. I don't like its vastness or its traffic, or its smog, and something I can't articulate about the city makes me edgy. I love the people, but not the place. Matt and I spent about 5 days there, which I think is my threshold.

The first night there, Matt and I went over to Meagen Minnaugh's house and played rock band with her and Jocelyn Hanc. It was great to see them both, but that was the only time I got to see Meagen. I wish I could have seen her more. Every night after that while staying with Lauren was a fun girl's night for me since Matt was in Joshua Tree with Molly, Jared, and Zach. When the four of them got back, Zach and his girlfriend Lindsay Varquez took us out to their favorite spots in LA. One night they took us out to eat Filipino, which was really tasty, but Matt and I were really late to arrive, which was really lame of us. The next day Zach and Lindsay took us to have a pic-nic at the Getty Museum. None of us had ever been there before and it was beautiful. We only spent time in the gardens, and it was a beautiful day. After that all six of us went to the beach to meet up with Lauren, Sarah Casolaro, Jocelyn, Kristen Baker, and Santi Vernetti. The beach is one of my favorite places and the ocean was bliss. The water was just cold enough, it wasn't too salty, the current -while very much making its presence known- wasn't too strong. It was a prefect day on the beach and I didn't want to get out of the water when it was time to go.

Our last night in LA turned into an impromptu party thanks to Jackie Paul. She stopped by Zach's to have dinner with us, and when she found out about Jared and Molly's engagement, she insisted on getting several bottles of champagne ontop of the several bottles of wine and beer she had just bought. The rest of the night was spent eating good food, drinking good drinks, and having a blast with our friends. I couldn't think of a better way to say good bye to LA.