California Love

Ever wonder what a plane looks like at 5:40 AM?  No?  Well, me neither but here you go.

I had a feeling I might regret that insanely early flight, but I couldn't help but try to maximize our first day in SoCal.  Things started off pretty smooth considering the alarm went off at three in the morning.  Dad picked us up at 3:45 (yes, he really is that wonderful), and when I asked him whether or not our suitcase was over the limit, he reckoned, oh at least 15 pounds over.  So much for saving 15 bucks by packing together.  We quickly shuffled the heavy things into another suitcase and $30 later we were in the air to Atlanta.  This is where things got a little hairy.

I waited on the ramp for my carry-on that had to be checked at the door because of the tiny plane, and after everyone else carelessly sauntered off with theirs, I became nervous that mine was MIA.  

The short of it is that I apparently left mine in the wrong place, and it didn't make it onto the plane.  The long of it is (You had to know this was coming!  When have I ever stopped with the abridged version?) that it had every important paper I needed, my MacBook, my clothes for the rehearsal dinner and wedding - basically all the things I wanted to make sure I had if my luggage was lost.  Ironic, huh?   They ended up checking it and sending it to LAX through Cincinnati.  

While we waited for about an hour and a half (turns out getting up at 3 AM wasn't all that worth it) in baggage claim, I tried to keep myself from having visions of a busted laptop screen after they tossed my carry-on around with all the 50 pound suitcases.  

Andrew wasn't too excited about my little mishap.  When he picked my bag up from the carousel, I couldn't help but raise both arms in celebration of the returned carry-on.

We finally caught the shuttle to the rental company and, after a slight scare, were escorted to a Jeep Wrangler.  

Luckily I stopped Andrew before we left the lot because my seat wouldn't lean back.  I'm not talking just a little problem here; I was actually leaning forward.  I asked the guy working there how to lean the seat back, and when even he couldn't do it, we unloaded and repacked all our stuff into another Jeep.  Whew!  Not a great start, but things started looking up quickly!

In fact, things were so great that even though I'm not normally a fan of the self-portrait, I decided I had to capture my utter joy at riding down the 405 with my favorite person in the world in a Jeep blaring Sheryl Crow on a beautiful day in California.  Does life get any better than this?

Maybe I am a new fan of the self-portrait.  Okay, maybe not so new.

First stop: Wienerschnitzel.

Here's a play-by-play of what happened next.

Matt McAffry, I hope you're not reading this. 

He could hardly contain his excitement.

What does one 160 pound man order after not having it for over a year?

Four, count 'em four, chili cheese dogs.

I'm thinking he didn't regret it.  Not one bit.

We spent the afternoon at Andrew's grandparent's house in Fountain Valley where people don't have air conditioning because the weather is so nice they rarely need it, and they leave doors and windows open because bugs are nearly nonexistent.  I so enjoy spending time with his family.  They really make me feel like one of their own.  

We checked into our hotel (which is awesome by the way and only minutes from Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza - uh oh!) and spent an hour at the pool before getting ready for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory - a tradition for the Fosnights.  

Ian is Andrew's much-younger cousin.  He, like all of us, really enjoyed the spumoni.  

Grandma even had to help him clean up a little.  

I am conspicuously leaving out my dinner choice.  Lets just say it was a healthy, well-rounded meal including several types of pastas (one of which was whole wheat - just trying to keep it healthy here) and my fair share of some sourdough bread.  

Ally calls Pam, Andrew's aunt, "Hannah" because she can't quite pronounce "Grandma."  So sweet!

Andrew's grandparents have been married over 50 years and are a model at how to still be in love after that much time.  They call each other "Lovie" and rarely leave each other's side.  

One might think that with all the traveling issues, the time change and the extremely early morning, that we would call it a night after that, but no!  We headed to visit more family after dinner and talked the night away on their back porch.  

I hope I'll be ready to leave Southern California when Sunday rolls around.  Right now, I can't imagine that happening.  I love this place.  And I haven't even seen the beach yet or mentioned the shopping.  

Tomorrow: Adventures with Sarah and the Jeep at Fashion Island!