[West Coast Road Trip] Day 1: So this is what it's like to NOT sweat 24/7

My day started at 4:15am on a whopping four hours of sleep. (I blame you, Food Network. And self in general.) But it's all good; there were planes to be caught...and coffee to be had! (Addiction, schmiction...)

My very sweet aunt was kind enough to drop me at the airport, and I was elated to learn that I had lucked into a first class seat. Holla! (I flew stand-by this trip, so really even getting on the plane is a nice surprise. Airline employees in the fam, FTW!) I enjoyed my spacious seat, comfy blankie, and delicious breakfast. Happy Natty, indeed! (By the way, I'm pretty sure the lady making all the in-flight announcements was Lois Griffin. Which is weird. Because cartoon characters don't have day jobs.)

And then the guy at the rental car place tried to give me a red Mustang convertible. Now, while I thoroughly appreciate Homeboy's offer, I am going to be doing well as it is to make the 1000+ mile trek without getting a speeding ticket. (No, not because I'm female, but because I am Cali-raised. We don't believe there's a difference between the 5 and the Autobahn.) So I settled for a shiny mint green Ford Focus. Win? Maybe not, but it does have about eleventy thousand plugs for all my contraptions, so I don't think I did too badly. (No, I'm not going to be playing with my Blackberry, iPod, Garmin, Mac, etc. while driving. I'm a safe driver! Ish.) Plus, I'm not going to lie, that little bumper car is a blast to drive.

So then I walk outside to fetch the car. And I pause. I breathe. I note that I am not instantly covered in sweat and my hair is still (for the most) part smooth and straight. "Oh yeaaaah, that's right, Self, it's not hot as the fire of a thousands suns in this state." Zing! I practically skip to my car, scurry off while Buble croons on the radio, and hit the 405 with my windows down!

I'm so excited to see my brother, who I will be staying with until heading for NoCal on Monday. His friend's condo is lovely and I've got a comfy, fluffy bed all to myself. (I'm in it right now, in fact. Naughty.) He went off to work like a good Brover, and so I settled in, cleaned his roommate's bathroom (I can't help myself), then hit up In-N-Out with a little too much excitement considering it's just food. (Who are we kidding? I love me some nosh.) I finally took a little cat nap before we went out for the evening.

We hit up a few spots in Corona del Mar, first meeting up with Bobby's boss (who is adorable and couldn't say enough about good ol' Brover), and then some of his buddies (who were great fun). We rode bikes along the beach in Newport, which would have been amazing except that I don't really excel at the bike riding. You know how they say that's one of those things you never forever how to do? Yeah, well they LIE.

Although, I did have the Wicked Witch of the West's theme song playing in my head the whole time. I felt the sudden urge to steal a little dog for my bike's basket. But I didn't. No one likes that girl.

Adventures to be continued...