Road Trip 2010 - Newport Coast

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Day 8 – Newport Coast – 90 miles

This morning, Lilie made me crepes. That’s all that needs to be said to show that this was a great day…but there was more. Okay, so I was heading to Redondo Beach to meet up with her when she called…and I had mentioned that I was going to pick up some breakfast on the way. “Well, I could just make you some crepes if you’d like?” Am I going to turn down crepes? No. I would be a fool. I haven’t tasted her crepes since my Going Away Party to Denver. This time though, having learned my mistake in Monterey, I decided to go with strawberries & nutella…and they were magnificent. I know I’ve thanked you like a thousand times…but again, thank you for the crepes, Lilie. After that, she took me on a little driving tour of Redondo Beach…

Around noon, we met up with some of her friends on the beach to play some volleyball. It had been a while since I played volleyball (corporate games last year) and much longer since beach volleyball (ugh…1993 maybe?) but it was great fun…and being 6’8” doesn’t hurt at all. We played for four hours…and there was a great overcast so it wasn’t too hot or overly bright & sunny or anything, just perfect conditions for me. There were even dolphins that you could see from the beach…and of course, hot girls all around. What more could a man want?

By the way, if you answered “Food” with the semi-rhetorical question to what a man wants, we’re getting there. After volleyball, we all went to Scardini’s which was a nice Italian place nearby. Why this place in particular? Because they allowed you to bring your own wine…and the food was fantastic. I had caprice salad (to share with others too), chicken marsala, and about a bottle of wine. Bellisima!!! Also, Lilie apparently told somebody that it was my birthday (eve) and they brought out some tiramisu and sang to me. These guys were awesome. Thanks again Lilie for introducing me to your friends. That night, I checked into my next hotel room, a two-bedroom ocean view villa at the Newport Coast Villas. And yes, it was just me. Kinda of a waste of a massive room…but hey, I didn’t mind. You never know when the situation comes up where “This bed is too lumpy. This bed is too stiff. This bed is juuuuust right.” So it’s good to have options.

Aaaaaw, a towel puppy...

The view - It was kinda foggy

Day 9 – Newport Coast – 82 miles

This was my 29th birthday!!! Throughout the day, there were many well wishes and calls from friends & family…and I’m truly blessed to know all of you. Big shout-out to all my peeps out there!!! I spent the morning driving along the PCH and towards Balboa Island…but I’m not much for shopping…so then I decided that I was going to do something that was completely unplanned – Mission San Juan Capistrano. In my previous journeys to Orange County, I had never gotten around to it…and I’ve had heard the sexy legends of the Swallows of Capistrano (only to find out they were talking about birds instead of freaky deaky nuns) so I went to see it for myself. Here is what I found…

"Oh my, have I got a story about swallows..."

"Jesus!!! Hey guys, we forgot to put in the pool..."

Sorry, I just think these pine cone things are AWESOME!!!

Does anybody else see the Mother Mary?

Is it a Miracle...or a Gold Mine? Both.

After lunch, I decided to take the scenic route back along the PCH. Pretty sweet…but it was kind of cloudy and rainy so I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures (and traffic sucks in that area). I enjoyed the beach for a bit back at the hotel…and then for dinner, I was meeting up with three beautiful ladies for my birthday dinner – Lilie, her friend Lillian, and Laura a.k.a. the Three L’s. Dinner was all-you-can-eat Korean Barbecue (luckily Lillian was Korean and knew what we were eating) at Shik Do Rak in Garden Grove. Here’s a quick thing, all the signs were in Korean in the neighborhood…so I had a little trouble finding the place, even with GPS…but it was worth it. The food was stupendous & the company was even better. I simply couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. Which leads me to my next concern. What am I going to do for my big 30th birthday next year? Vegas? Amsterdam? Bangkok? THE MOON? It’s not every day that you reach the Big 3-OH!!! Suggestions? I’ve got about 11 months to plan this thing out…

Oh…and a funny story that I’d like to share with you before I go. After dinner, I got a call from my dad. As you may know, my dad calls me every day because he misses me and thinks…nay, KNOWS that I’m awesome. So I take the call and it’s the usual “How was your day? What did you see? When are you stopping by?” etc for about ten minutes. See, since I was about ten, every birthday my dad will sing Happy Birthday to me…in his best Marilyn Monroe. He didn’t start off the call with that…so I knew that he had forgotten my birthday. That mother f**ker. Literally, I guess. Anyway, after about ten minutes, “Wait, is today the 26th?” “Yup.” “So…it’s your birthday?” “Yup.” “Oh…well, happy birthday. Wait wait… (clears throat) Haaappyyy biiiirthday…toooo yooooou…” So yeah, my dad forgot my birthday…but it’s okay…because my mom actually called just before midnight (time difference being in Asia) to say happy birthday…and I know that they both love me. So no that note, thank you all for wishing me a wonderful birthday…and for being the greatest virtual buddies that a guy could ask for. Have a great night everybody!!!