DFW-LAX

Monday

My goal at the beginning of the blog was to post an update every day. I can see now that this is not going to be possible. I underestimated how hard it would be to write when
I was either hungover or in transit or both. Some unfinished business that was brought to my attention that I would like to tidy up from my previous entries:

1. The raunchy waitress from Nick and Sams’ did not end up meeting Ryan and I out at the club, so that was a major disappointment. I can’t believe I failed to mention this in my last entry.
2. AC Slater’s name in real life is Mario Lopez (thanks for that Pete Hajjar).

My Monday morning in Dallas did not consist of much action, I have to say. I went to the UPS store to ship back more clothes to Norwell so that I would travel even lighter that I had planned. I figure I’m going end up picking up some gifts for people so the more room the better. Right now, I’m at one backpack, which also serves as my briefcase (very professional) and one 22” carry on that is zippered down to it’s smallest size. I have the option of unzipping it around its circumference to add a bunch more room, so I do have capacity from a few gifts. That means I’ll have to prioritize who gets gifts and who doesn’t though…offers welcome!

A quick breakfast at Starbucks with a blueberry bran muffin and grande red-eye seems to be the absolute best bfast in the world to me right now. Have any of you ever seen a blueberry bran muffin at Starbuck? I mean, it really is the best muffin I’ve ever had. I used to think the raisin bran muffin at coffee bean on the west coast was the best, but this new one from SB has it beat for sure. I wish I could find them in more places, and it’s really weird that the one in Dallas, of all places, has them.

So, arriving Monday afternoon in LAX! It had been many months since I had last been here, so it felt kind of weird, but strangely like home at the same time. The flight from Dallas was short and pretty uneventful. The most interesting thing I can say was the big fat woman walking down the aisle of my plane as we were boarding wearing a tee shirt that said: “I have multiple personalities and NONE of them like you!” I guess the shirt is funny enough, but what is really ironic is the fact she was wearing a large cross on her necklace which dangled directly over the slogan. Doesn’t really seem like a message that Christ would have been teaching his decibels, but what they hell do I know? My tribe is responsible for his death.

Arriving in LAX, I hoped in a cab and headed straight to the Hotel Loews an Santa Monica beach. The property is gorgeous, with spectiacular views of the beach and the SM pier. It also has a pool that overlooks the beach. Of course, my first order of business was the hit the local equinox for a workout. The gym was not bad, but I was expecting a little more for LA, I have to be honest. 4-floors of equipment is never fun because then you have to keep moving from floor to floor. Anyway, I actually had a great workout (arms and abs for those who are interested). On my way out the door, I noticed they had a 20% off sale at their shop, so I bought a really cool pair of nike workout shorts. The funny thing is that this is the same pair Ryan bought in Dallas, but he paid full price for his…sorry Rye!


After the workout, I was compelled to go for a run along Ocean drive, which is just such an amazing venue for that. I probably did about 2-5-3 miles, my usual, but I think I picked up the pace a little, though I have really no idea how to tell. After a great run, a short walk down SM pier and a quick stroll across the beach, it was back up to the hotel to get ready to meet Ray Marsden (#42) for dinner. He picked me up around 7:30 in his jeep with license plates that read “617RSOX” (see picture). Dinner was at the Library Bar and Ale House. An excellent selection of both local brewed microbreweries from the west as well as Belgian classics. I went with the slightly flowery tasting Belgian, mostly because it has 10.5% alcohol content. Ray went with the microbrew oatmeal stout, not only because it is a great beer, but also because he felt my beer was far two fancy. For the record, they were both excellent, I was just able to get twice as drunk in half as much time…That’s the Michigan education coming through…Ray went to UCONN. Dinner was very good, fish tacos with guac and mango salsa…can you ever go wrong with that? Ray had the fish and chips, which also looked very satisfying, perfect match for a good stout beer.

Moving on from there we hit the Parlor, which has become one of the local hangouts on Wilshire in Brentwood. Since Ray knows the manager, we had from beers which we enjoyed while debating the attractiveness ratings of various female patrons. I am convinced that Ray’s point of view has been warped by too many years of California living. Ok, Parlor was not much of a scene on a Monday night, so then we hit South, a new bar down the street, which has quickly become one of the new hotspots. The best part about this is Ray and a bunch of his friends are part owners, so the dinks were free. Hanging out with Ray and Shandley (sp), Alex and Sam in the couch room where we downed two more vodka sodas and I was feeling pretty, pretty, pretty good. Ray has some great friends there in LA and I’m just a little bit jealous of how much fun they have. The bar itself is really cool. It basically has everything you would want in a bar, large HD Tv’s, very comfortable seats, nice different sections of the bar to congregate in, an outdoor patio with a TV, pool table room (which is easily converted into a Wii Station Room) and, of course, the couch room where the entire room is lined with a super comfortable leather couch with four flat screens hanging overhead. A great night hanging out with a great friend!