So This Is Why They Call It A Redeye...

Greetings - back in Beantown after a brief 5-day stint out in Orange County. It was a thoroughly awesome mini-vacation. Cali is hot for sure. To wit:

• May Gray: Unbeknownst to me, the weather out in Cali is not all sun all the time. Evidently in May and June it is overcast early, sunny in the late morning and throughout the day, and then it cools down at night. So for the most part it was cloudy in the early AM, but nice and sunny and in the low 70's from about 11 until the late afternoon. An interesting climate. On the whole, tremendous. Rocked a fair amount of poolside time.
  
• In-n-Out Burger: We hit this twice in two days. Animal style, baby. Quality burgers but still - I never eat fast food like that.
• Carl's Jr.: Twice in two days. Although I felt like my arteries were going to burst from the pressure buildup, their Loaded Breakfast Burrito and the Steak & Egg Burrito are actually quite tasty. The Breakfast Burger leaves something to be desired. Probably good health and well-being.
  
• Courtyard Marriott in Laguna Hills: Best hotel bed I think I've ever been in. Magically comfy. That goes for the pillows too. Maybe it's just because I was jetlagged and going to bed in what felt like the early morning every night. Decent breakfast buffet ($10), pool area, exercise room that I actually used a couple mornings (woke up around 8am every day - again on EST). A wonderfully cheerful, helpful staff, from the food service crew to the front desk peeps. I recommend it if you ever find yourself in the vicinity.
• JetBlue: These guys rock. I heart them. The only downside was that my planes didn't have the XM Radio like the ones I flew in to Austin and back. Perhaps this is on select routes? Getting the fleet upgraded? Something? The cool thing was on the way down, I watched an episode of Deadliest Catch, in which they talk about how the crab are offloaded onto a ship that preps them for market on board right at the pier: they are butchered, cooked, and frozen to be shipped all over the country. Next thing I knew I was at Reid's condo in Irvine, grilling Alaskan king crab legs to accompany our filet mignon wrapped in bacon - utterly delish.
• Cosmetic surgery: Even though we didn't ball too outrageous, from what I saw, the OC is ridiculous. Beautiful women (many with *certain* enhancements), expensive sports cars (one bar we went to had a parking lot filled with Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis, Benzes, Beamers, etc. - in stark juxtaposition to our rented Chevy Malibu). Seemed like every woman we came across was married and/or pregnant and/or blonde and for the most part, notably attractive. 40 is the new 30 over there for real. But, from what we observed and through interactions with various people who live in Cali, the OC is a very materialistic, fake, superficial place to be. Just like on TV! Still, good scenery.
• Fine dining: In addition to our high-end grill sesh, we had some fantastic food at the rehearsal dinner and at the reception itself. For the rehearsal dinner we went to Luciana's, a little spot in Dana Point near the Ritz. We had an excellent meal there: antipasto consisting of bruschetta, calamari fritti, caprese salad, fried shrimp; scalloppine genovese (veal in a white wine sauce); crème brûlée. Fantastico! At the wedding reception there were fabulous hors d'oeuvres, a potato gnocci in a pesto cream sauce app, and some delectable prime rib with a sort of sour cream sauce on the side.

So LeVaur and I, as co-Best Men, rocked the speech together and performed our duties admirably (acceptably?). It was a fantastic time. Congratulations to Reid and Eunice and thanks for having a splendid affair to usher in the next umpteen years of marital bliss!