Two months ago we thought we were going on vacation in mid-July. This was the furthest thing from a vacation. Four flights in five days, hideous airport smells, a funeral smack dab in the middle of the pre-wedding festivities. WTF? Despite the reroute to SLC we still had some fun in LA. Some positive highlights:
1) In and Out burger. We were driving back from the airport through Modesto, CA around 11pm after a looong day. We needed some food. The burgers were excellent, amazing, tasty. The atmosphere was festive, the placed packed with kids and families (guess little tykes get to stay up late for In and Out burgers). I still prefer Burgerville, but I have to say these were almost ‘restaurant quality’ burgers in their own right.
2) Taco Mesa…that translates to “Taco Table.” We showed up there the day after the funeral, beat, tired, hungry, I think I had been crying. The food was blissful. I have yet to encounter Mexican food this good, not since my job at Los Tarascos in FC–which still holds the gold standard for Mexican food. Granted, the family was from Mishocaun which uses mostly fresh ingredients, spices, and black beans so it’s hard to compare to the standard Mexican-American fare that dominates the states. At Taco Mesa the sauces were obviously fresh and available for sampling in little cups, the meat grilled, crisp little salads on the side, it was heavenly. Offhand, we didn’t have a single poor meal in So-Cal. I was really impressed with the food.
3) We found a beach right next to the airport on a whim. Actually, we finally broke down and bought an LA map since our teamwork navigation that had carried us throughout the day was starting to fail. We had a little extra time before we had to load up and go to SLC so we pointed the rental car toward the direction of the water and wahlah! Beach. It was empty, just a few drunken boogie boarders and us (later one of the boarders drunkenly changed into a different pair of shorts–treating us to full frontal nudity). Airplanes sailed dangerously close overhead, disappearing into the haze of the watery horizon. Josh took his shirt off and tried to even out his magnificent farmer’s tan. I took my shirt off too, the laid back attitude of CA giving me permission to rock my black bra like a bikini top. We crinkled our toes in the sand, played in the water, dried off in minutes and headed back to our long arduous journey. Here’s a self-portrait from the perspective of the sand:

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4) I loved Venice Beach. I loved the oddity, the art, the strangeness of the whole thing. The air was fresh; we were there with friends; my shoulders got ridiculously sunburned. Josh bought a wild black and white belt for 10 bucks from a street vendor. There were scrunchie trees, a dog with sunglasses, and fake boobs. Highlight: coming across a shooting for Californication and catching a glimpse of David Duchovny!

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5) Of course there was also the wedding in Newport Beach…which I’ll post about later.