Cali-bound

By the look of the overly-packed bag* that is waiting in my car, the excited email I sent in all caps this morning, and my inability to focus on anything productive, it would seem that I’m ready to head West. I have been so busy focusing on all of the other things in life, that I haven’t even let myself think about my vacation. Truthfully, the concept of taking a trip has literally become foreign to me, mainly because I haven’t taken one in so long.

When I lived in New York, I had year-round visitors that always wanted to hit up the “hottest” spots that the City had to offer. I would take the obligatory pictures in Times Square, eat the Magnolia cupcake, sounder around Wall Street – basically blaze the tourist trail with a camera in hand. In a lot of ways, living there taught me how to travel. Rather than visit the most talked about, over-priced restaurant, why not ask around and find a hidden gem? I cannot tell you how many times I sat outside in the bitter cold waiting to grace the halls of Serendipity, only to half-heartedly eat a dessert after a 3 hour wait. There is just nothing fun about that. It’s not to say that you can’t experience certain landmarks, it’s just that you have to manage your expectations when you take on such a challenge. For example - Alyssa, Jordan and I have decided to each pick an activity or two that we have our heart set on during this visit. I pulled out the inner-granola in me and requested that we hike somewhere that has a great view. You can bet yourself that I will come back armed with pictures of palm trees and the beach. Because really, nothing says relaxing like the sun, 65-degree weather, and the beach – and that just excites me.

Thankfully, Jordan has been put in charge of restaurants for the weekend. In an effort to compromise, Alyssa already promised that she would endure a sushi dinner because she knows how much it means to us. That is another thing I will say, it is SO important to find a like-minded travel buddy. It’s probably safe to say that I’m not the most organized of travelers, and yet, Alyssa manages to deal with my quirks. Hypothetically, if I were to leave my wallet in the back of a cab or on the counter of the the airline check-in, Alyssa would somehow manage to assess the situation and handle my “moment.” Conversely, if she were to be DEAD SET on finding the home/apartment/studio of John Mayer, I would likely be the recruit for such a task. Even more than that, you really just have to be comfortable together. I have found that you can literally see the worst in people when they’re hungry and/or tired, especially on a trip. How many times have you reached the point of no return with hunger and the closest thing you can find is an Applebee’s? It is so defeating. With that said, I see no Applebee’s in our future – I have a feeling that we’ll all just be happy to be together.

So get ready – when I return, there will be pics! Oh yes, there will be pics. I hope to capture the essence of Jordan and AJ in their natural surroundings, shop at H&M, and get drunk off of the sun – hear, hear!

*Please note, this took me somewhere in the ballpark of 6 hours. Isn’t that terrible? Of course I wasn’t packing the entire time, it was more like this:

-pack a few shirts
-watch speed skating
-put in a load of laundry
-paint my nails
-pack my toiletries
-call my Mom
-pick out my accessories
-watch more Olympics
-etc.

Does anyone else do this?!