Still More Road Trip

Day 5:

That day we woke up in Santa Barbara, which was totally new. Sarah was at work building an airbase. I wanted to leave her house quickly because her roommates are weird and I think they make more money than me.

Sarah left $20 and a hand-drawn map of the area on her bathroom sink. It was a sweet gesture and I laughed.

The plan for this day was to get breakfast at a nearby bakery, spend a few hours on the beach, and be on the road to Los Angeles by 1 or so. Unfortunately, there is a bookstore beside the bakery in Santa Barbara. By the time we emerged it was after 1:00. We were sad about missing the beach, but there was nothing for it but to hit the road.

Glendale (a chunk of Los Angeles or suburb or something) is only an hour or two south of Santa Barbara. We should have made good time, and been at April's place in time to cook dinner. Fortunately, Kat and I both have Attention Deficit Disorder.

We'd been driving an hour or something when we saw the beach. It cost $7 to park, but there was no one working. We pulled in, and ran down to the water.

Beaches hold a special significance for me. As a child, we spent our summers in Ocean City, a resort town in Maryland. 12-15 of us would pack into a 3 bedroom condo (Don't run the air conditioning! Do you know how much the electric bill is!) (Close the damn door, the air conditioning is on!) for 3 months. During the day we children were taken to the beach at 9:00 and ignored until 5. Protestations such as "I'm bored," "It's too hot," "Can we get an umbrella," and "I have sunstroke" were generally met with rage. In such circumstances, children learn to entertain themselves, and I am grateful to my family for my ability to tolerate any level of boredome provided I can sit in the shade.

Also, Kat's and my relationship began on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, in a lovely scene recounted at Gabe's blog some time ago.

This beach was pretty awesome, but I'm getting tired of typing. It's 4:19 and I have stuff to finish before 5:00. What follows is the abridged version of the next 12 hours, reconstructed, as always, from a somewhat faulty memory.

2:00 - We got to the beach.
2:30 - Extended oceanside makeout scene.
3:00 - Back on the road.
3:15 - Lost. How the hell did we get to Ventura?
3:30 - Since we're in Ventura, we might as well go exploring.
3:45 - This coffee is really good. Oh and look, an alt weekly paper with Free Will Astrology!
4:30 - How the hell do you get out of Ventura?
5:30 - Okay, I think this is Glendale.
6:00 - Reunion Scene. New character: April.

April: An old friend of Kat's; currently living in Glendale, California. When we arrived Misty (see: Day 3) was staying with her. Upon realizing that they were all in the same geographic location, all 3 women promptly went insane.

6:30 - Visit to supermarket. Women continue acting crazy. Steve* buys himself a sixpack of pumpkin beer.
7:00 - Steve and women cook food. Women continue to act insane. Steve starts drinking.
7:30 - Women were in African-dancing-and-drumming group together in college. Reunion prompts reminiscing, dancing, video-watching.
7:30-9:30 - Extended dance scene. (Steve continues drinking.)
9:30-11:30 - (Alcoholic blur.)
11:30-3:00 - Sleep.
3:00 - Wake, drive to airport.
3:15 - With no cars out, the 20-lane highway to LAX looks like the Coruscant scenes from Star Wars. Steve, riding in the back seat, comments on this. No one notices.
3:30 - It's a good thing we got to the airport three hours ahead of time. What do you want to do now?
3:35 - Okay that woman has a cup of coffee. Where the hell did she get it?
3:45 - Thank God for Starbucks.
4:00 - What do you want to do now?

* Kat