This past weekend I flew out to Los Angeles, CA to partake in EJ and Laura's wedding. This was my 6th time in California, however was a very memorable 4 day vacation. I knew I couldn't miss the trip when EJ asked me to be his groomsman a year ago. He was one of my best friends in college, along with Palms and K-man. And although we've grown distant over the years, it doesn't take away from the incredible memories we shared at good ole IU. Therefore it was a great honor and pleasure to be a part of his special day with Laura.
The trip had been over a year in the works, actually 2 years since EJ and Laura got engaged. My friend Lauren took the initiative to rent us a house that we could all stay in Oxnard. There were going to be 8 of us staying together (Lauren, Nate, Audrey, Liz, Lindsay Scott, Karlan, Megan, and myself) I also planned on visiting my cousin Jennifer at some point. That Weds evening, Philip gave me a ride to the airport, and I caught a direct flight from Indy to LAX. I later met Karlan and Megan there, who gave me a ride to the cabin. By the time we got to our rental house in Oxnard it was 12am (3am eastern time) and nearly everyone was in bed. We had a couple beers then went to sleep.
That evening Karlan, Megan, and myself drove out to meet EJ and the rest of the bridal party for the rehearsal dinner in Camarillo (about 30 mins from Oxnard). We had a walk-thru at church, then all met for a nice dinner at a fancy barbecue restaurant. We sat outdoors, drank wine, and all got to know one another. Griff, Chewie (Brad Bauman), and Amanda Baker I already knew. However I met some new friends such as Lauren Smith and Anna Wright. Anna was my walk-up partner. I think it was a pretty fun bridal party. By the end of the night I had a pretty good buzz going and was having a real good time. We partied some more when we got back to our house in Oxnard.
EJ and Laura also had a Korean ceremony during the reception which I thought was a very cool cultural exchange. They dressed in full garbs as they celebrated EJ's heritage thru his family, and Laura was very focused on this which I thought was cool on her part. Afterwards we had some huge cigars outside and then danced the night away. I hit it off quite well with Lauren Smith who became my one and only dance partner. We had us a quite a thing going that night. I wasn't extremely wasted yet at a good level of happy drunk. The reception ended early at 10:30 and we then took the after party to the hotel. It was a very fun night!
This was the first time I had visited Jennifer in California and it was perhaps the best part of my trip. I finally got to see her apartment and her California free-lance lifestyle. She had her own apartment which she used as her work studio as well. After catching up for a bit, we went out to lunch at a fancy Mexican restaurant. Then during the day we went on an adventurous hike up Hollywood mountain, which took us about 2 hours and a lot of navigating. The hike was well worth it however as the view of the sign and city was incredible. The way down was so much easier and I remember being very inspired by the unique houses up in Hollywood Hills.
The trip had been over a year in the works, actually 2 years since EJ and Laura got engaged. My friend Lauren took the initiative to rent us a house that we could all stay in Oxnard. There were going to be 8 of us staying together (Lauren, Nate, Audrey, Liz, Lindsay Scott, Karlan, Megan, and myself) I also planned on visiting my cousin Jennifer at some point. That Weds evening, Philip gave me a ride to the airport, and I caught a direct flight from Indy to LAX. I later met Karlan and Megan there, who gave me a ride to the cabin. By the time we got to our rental house in Oxnard it was 12am (3am eastern time) and nearly everyone was in bed. We had a couple beers then went to sleep.
I woke up around 5:30am on the couch and couldn't fall back asleep, after a couple hours of tossing and turning I decided it was time to get the blood pumping. As soon as everyone else got up, I decided to go for a good run. This gave me a chance to explore the new territory of Oxnard. I ran along the streets and roads all the way to the Oxnard Airport, which was a good 9 mile run. Afterwards we all went out for a nice breakfast. Then we spent the day at the beach, drinking beers and swimming in the Atlantic Ocean which was very refreshing.
That evening Karlan, Megan, and myself drove out to meet EJ and the rest of the bridal party for the rehearsal dinner in Camarillo (about 30 mins from Oxnard). We had a walk-thru at church, then all met for a nice dinner at a fancy barbecue restaurant. We sat outdoors, drank wine, and all got to know one another. Griff, Chewie (Brad Bauman), and Amanda Baker I already knew. However I met some new friends such as Lauren Smith and Anna Wright. Anna was my walk-up partner. I think it was a pretty fun bridal party. By the end of the night I had a pretty good buzz going and was having a real good time. We partied some more when we got back to our house in Oxnard.
That night I slept much better and was ready for a busy wedding day. We met early that morning to have breakfast with EJ, get suited up together, and take pictures. We had a few beers together in EJ's hotel room as we reminisced about the days of old. My tux was a lot bigger than I had measured two months ago, and the pants were especially loose on me. By about 11:45 we were on our way to the church. We took some more pictures before the ceremony. It was actually a fairly small wedding, with no more than 70 people in attendance, however a full Catholic marriage ceremony.
After the wedding ceremony we took more pictures than loaded up in the limo where we drank champagne. I would have liked some beer yet Laura wanted nothing to do with it. So we drank a lot of champagne while jamming to music. On our way into the reception, my partner and I worked out a good dance entrance. We did the classic Grease dance, which was very well in sync I thought. Afterwards the party really got going. EJ and Laura had their first dance, K-man gave a great best man's speech, and then came the food.
EJ and Laura also had a Korean ceremony during the reception which I thought was a very cool cultural exchange. They dressed in full garbs as they celebrated EJ's heritage thru his family, and Laura was very focused on this which I thought was cool on her part. Afterwards we had some huge cigars outside and then danced the night away. I hit it off quite well with Lauren Smith who became my one and only dance partner. We had us a quite a thing going that night. I wasn't extremely wasted yet at a good level of happy drunk. The reception ended early at 10:30 and we then took the after party to the hotel. It was a very fun night!
The next morning I was luckily able to ask Griff to give me a ride back to Oxnard. I bought him breakfest as a gesture, however when I got back I realized I had left my new billfold in my suit pocket. So I then had to ask K-man and Megan to give me a ride back to the hotel. This worked out well since they had to drop off their suits anyway. At this point I said my goodbyes to everyone in Oxnard and in Camarillo. I bought K-man and Megan breakfast as a gesture for driving me around the last couple days, then they dropped me off at the car rental place by 10am. I was excited to drive and visit Jennifer in Los Angeles.
I had done my research a few days before and decided I wanted to take highway 1 along the coastline from Oxnard to Los Angeles, instead of the inland highway 101. This was only an extra 30 minutes of driving and very worth it. It was a winding road with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. I drove through Malibu at one point, and could hardly take my eyes off the waves, bikers, and so much else that was going on around me. I made it to Jennifer's apartment after about an hour and a half of driving, thankfully traffic was not too bad.
This was the first time I had visited Jennifer in California and it was perhaps the best part of my trip. I finally got to see her apartment and her California free-lance lifestyle. She had her own apartment which she used as her work studio as well. After catching up for a bit, we went out to lunch at a fancy Mexican restaurant. Then during the day we went on an adventurous hike up Hollywood mountain, which took us about 2 hours and a lot of navigating. The hike was well worth it however as the view of the sign and city was incredible. The way down was so much easier and I remember being very inspired by the unique houses up in Hollywood Hills.
That night we went out to get tasty burgers and some beers nearby. The burgers were very unique tasting and the truffle cheese fries were tasty at first yet became to be a little too salty after a while. I bought dinner and we then went out for dessert which Jennifer bought. We also did a little shopping where I bought my mom some soaps and lotions. By around 8:30pm I said goodbye to Jennifer and then drove to LAX. My flight back was an overnight one, and a bit more busy since I had to drop off my car rental and connect in Chicago. And besides barely making it to my connecting flight in Chicago things went rather smoothly. I was happy when Philip picked me up that morning and I was finally back home! It was a very memorable trip.
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