This and the following posts are about my recent trip to Los Angeles. It all started with an invitation to my friends Steven and Brianna’s wedding. Upon being invited I started calling all my old friends to let them know I would be in town the week of November 8. When I got around to calling Ryan Burdick I was informed he was getting married to Heather just a week before on October 31. SO I decided to turn one wedding trip into two and have a week vacation between the two weddings. I made it to San Diego, Hollywood, Canoga Park for Follow Yr Heart, Northridge to hang out with Daniel my old band mate and Trisha his new (to me) girlfriend, Chatsworth to ride bikes with Dennis, Long Beach for Steven and Brianna’s reception at the Queen Mary, Lancaster to hang with everyone and my Dad, and stayed with the ever so gracious Matt and Katie, then to Stanton to hang with my mom in the OC.
I’m going to split them into parts to make it easy on myself and for everybody reading. So this is the first part which includes Lancaster, and Ryan and Heather’s wedding.
Before I left Portland I had a lot of stuff to do the day before I flew out. I made a list and completed everything on it including; sew a new camera case, vote, sew a chest compression strap on my back pack, bake muffin’s for Jordan, get a new bottom bracket installed on my bike, get a bike box from Jordan, deposit money, laundry, pack my bike. I also went on a date with Haley who helped me with half of the stuff cause it took me forever to finish everything. Even on our date I had to get zip ties, batteries, and packing tape. After our date we went to her house and hung out and tried to relax. But it was kind of impossible cause I still had to pack my bike. So I left her house at 1:30 am or so and stayed up til after 3:30 or so packing my bike, slept til 5:15 and got to the airport at 6ish am with a little help from Polly!! The muffins were pumpkin muffins. I made the pumpkin from scratch, but used too much and I ended up calling them pumpkin pie muffins, cause the insides were soft like pumpkin pie.
I flew from Portland to Long Beach on Jet Blue on Wednesday. I was really looking forward to flying on JB because everyone told me it was so great and builds it up as the most awesome airline. I wasn’t that pleased with them at all. First of all I had no checked baggage and they still charged me 50 bucks each way for my bike box which was lighter than most bags and/or bikes that go on the plane. Also the inside of the plane was just barely better than a United flight I took home from Reno a couple months ago, which was the worst ride and seating I have ever experienced in a long time. I have yet to have a better flight experience than Southwest as of yet, that includes cabin space, efficiency, and fare price.
My mom picked me up from the airport in Long Beach, and we hung out at her house in the OC for a while. I put my bike together and then we drove up to Lancaster. After dinner with my mom and my sister in Lancaster I went to Katie and Matt’s house and hung out with their dogs Dutch and Lola, who became my new best friends as you’ll see in later pictures.
Knotts Berry Farm
Driving past Knotts Berry Farm to go to Lancaster for Dinner with my mom and my sister.
Medieval Times
We also drove by Medieval Times which I think Maddie went to during the summer. I always think of The Cable Guy when I think of Medieval Times, which is one my favorite movies!
Groomsmen
Some of the handsome men in attendance. L-R Burdick, Bradley Cox, Shika, T-Business, Matt Randall, Burds Brother sorry I forgot yr name, Evan Comer, Burds Brother forgot yr name too sorry!, and Cody Chandler.
The Bride and Groom Heather and Burdick.
The Wedding Party/ Grand Entrance
The REAL Party!!!
L-R Shika, Mike Randall, Bob Nishiyama, Justin Waasdorp (in front), Mike McCoy, Mikey Hallmark (in front), Cholo (in back), Dennis Padgett, Joe Pehanich, Lance McClaine (sp?), and The Jetboat Adventurer!
Money Dancin
Dennis and Lance
Only seconds before that sandwich was resting unwelcomingly on Dennis’ face.
Shika
So you gotta remember the wedding was on Halloween. Even though it was an amazing wedding, these guys take Halloween very seriously every year. By the time we got to the hotel everyone was too tired to switch into their costumes, except for Shika who was all about it!!!
Bride and Groom
Last pic before we all went to bed, and they went to Catalina the next morning. This was an amazing wedding. I was very genuinely moved and had a great time.
When everyone went to IHOP the next day Shika let me borrow his car and I went to Follow Yr Heart. I unfortunately wasn’t in the full mode of taking food pictures yet and was so hungry I forgot to take a pic of my food. I had a Lorenzo’s eggwich which is hands down the best food I had on the trip. I also got a club sandwich to go, so I wouldn’t die of lack of good food in Lancaster.
Shika, Seth, Katie, Matt, and I all went to BJ’s Pizzeria on Saturday night. It was really fun, and with Katies guidance they were able to make me some vegan food. Bruschetta to be exact, it was really good too!
I went back to Lancaster for the rest of Saturday and Sunday then made my way down to San Diego which will be the next post. I also watched more TV on Sunday with Matt than I have in three yrs in Portland. It was awesome though. We watched It’s always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Thank you for Smoking.
Til next time!!!!