Hitting the Mother Road

Just like that, my month in Los Angeles was over. Adam and I decided to mix things up for the drive back to Houston and hit I-40 instead of I-10. We gave up the straight shot back to Houston in favor of new scenery and a chance to head the way of the Great American Highway. While getting our kicks on Route 66 we turned yet again to our AAA guidebooks for the history of stops along the Main Street of America. Even though the drive was quite a bit longer (leaving no time for Standin' on a Corner in Winslow, Arizona), I really enjoyed the ride.

Our overnight pit stop took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Despite a late-night interruption from a misguided drunk attempting to find his room, we managed to rest up before resuming the eastward journey. After 18+ hours of listening to audio version of The Help, the book came to a close. The readers for Abilene and Minnie were perfect (I was especially delighted to see the same Minnie in the movie). We turned south in Amarillo to make it to the capitol of Texas by nightfall.

We stopped for a late dinner in Austin with Adam's college roommate Will and his fiance Lynne. Will is excited about law school, and Lynne is planning their summer wedding. By the time we made it back to Houston, we were beat! However, there was little rest for the weary because I had to show up for my new rotation's orientation into Emergency Ultrasound. Before I knew it, I was driving Adam to the airport. My only consolation was a handsome four-legged friend who welcomed me home as if I had never left.

Friends and Ends

Before Adam and I left San Diego, we met up with his friend Brandon. Though Brandon's lab moved south from Irvine, he and Adam still keep in touch and surf occasionally. I also got to meet his girlfriend Nina when the four of us caught up over a delicious Sunday brunch.

During the last week of my rotation, I was able to meet up with high school friend Jeannette. She has continued to stay on working at her Teach for America assignment school in LA. We met up at a random mall in a random suburb and frequented stores like Orange Julius and Forever 21. It was classic. We had our own Pretty Woman montage in the Nordstrom's dressing room. What fun!

For our last night in southern California, Adam and I went to Huntington Beach for some flavorful crab at Rockin' Baja Cantina. Afterward we took a stroll on the beach in the moonlight. The evening would have been most romantic if it weren't for the metal detectors trolling the beach. Not that I minded- they just made me want to go on a treasure hunt! Yet, we had no time for distractions because we left the very next morning for our epic journey #2.

Monkeying around San Diego

On Friday, August 19th, Adam and I headed south to San Diego. With our sights set on the zoo we prepared for an afternoon of orangutan antics and cute koalas. I pieced together a short highlight reel of our animal adventures, which includes my personal favorite primate, Karen, rolling around on the ground.

For dinner we made our way to Little Italy. Bencotto Italian Kitchen lived up to its 4-star Yelp rating. We tasted the refreshing caprese salad with pesto, the melt-in-your-mouth red wine braised beef with cornmeal polenta, and the unique special with spicy shrimp over squid ink linguini. Delizioso!

We attempted to walk off some of the decadent meal through the streets of Little Italy. Unfortunately, the walk led us to a little cafe with gelato that we just could not pass up. We waddled our way to our hotel on the bay and enjoyed the fantastic view. Our lofty room gave us a great view of the San Diego nightscape. Thank you, Priceline.com!

Balboa Conquests

Adam and I took a day trip to Balboa Island for some peaceful seaside beach walking and some rowdy arcade games. In a head-to-head duel, I showed Adam a thing or two about Skee Ball and triumphantly claimed my Fun Dip prize. It's all in the wrist.

In an effort to best my ball rolling skills, Adam challenged me to Roll Down. Unfortunately for Adam, I did not take pity. Let's just say gravity got the better of him in our second extreme arcading championship. Together we picked out the world's smallest gorilla for our prize. Adam wasn't down for long before his name was up on a street corner!

We finished up our sunny day trip with a walk around town. Adam got a Balboa Bar (chocolate covered ice cream), while I couldn't pass up a frozen banana (even if George Michael Bluth wasn't there to sell it to me). We also passed through a saltwater taffy store on the way back to the car. Have I told you about my sweet tooth?

So Sophisticated

For California weekend #2, Adam and I got our boba tea fix in the Garden Grove area before settling in for a hands-on meal at Cham Sut Gol Korean BBQ. The meal was very filling and a great value.

On Saturday, August 13th, we took in some sightseeing of an artistic nature at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. As you can see, I was very excited to be out in the sun during this mini midpoint break during my two weeks of night shifts.

Adam and I did not have time to pay the Tim Burton exhibition a visit, but we did channel his dark, quirky energy. We really enjoyed making the museum as interactive as possible- from mingling among sculptures to posing with paintings.

Choosing the highlights from our impromptu photo shoot was tough, but I'll let some of these pictures do the talking. After sneaking around like Smooth Criminals with our flash-free photos, it was time to Beat It so I could Heal the World.

Angels in the Outfield

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Adam and I took ourselves out to the ballgame. We watched the cumbersomely-named Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim take on the beloved Seattle Mariners. The wholesome American pastime kept us entertained for nine innings with the help of some ballpark standards: hotdogs and cotton candy. See if you can pair the hotdog with its owner:Despite the Mariners out-hitting the Angels 7:4, the holy hometown team proved victorious with two runs over the Mariners measly one run. After a well-balanced meal of sushi, Adam and I drowned our sorrows in a decadent turtle sundae at Hans' Homemade Ice Cream. Our sedentary day wrapped up with a trip to the movie theater to see Horrible Bosses.