San Diego 2005

Following Danny’s wedding last August, we decided to have a reunion partly because none of the RMHS crew showed up to his bachelor’s party, and partly because we haven’t all gotten together to relive the glory in ages.

What ensued were months of discussions about where we could go, what we could, and what was reasonable. We at one point were pretty fixed on Miami or some beach resort in the Florida pan handle, but eventually were swayed to hit the West Coast after multiple hurricane systems devastated pretty much every city we were remotely interested in FL.

After finding a great deal on Expedia.com, we booked our trip last October to get away from the cold and enjoy what So Cal had to offer in the way of great weather and open wilderness.

The trip basically broke down into 3 days, starting Friday early morning for nearly all of us and ending early Monday morning:

5am=what am I doing up this early, I'm so disoriented, I'm going to throw up. I drive to the airport, check-in without getting maligned by TSA, and go in sit in the President's Club (my only venue for elitism).

7am=I turn my phone again, to check and see if I have any messages and to wake up Sam for shits and giggles (it's 5am in Cali, why not?). There are two messages. The first from Sam, the second from Danny. Their flight had been delayed indefinitely, they were flying into Los Angeles.

8am=I board my flight, head to Salt Lake City, sit next to an androgynous "woman" and some guy who's wanting something more from "her." Whatever, I slept.

10am=I sit in the Crown Club (haha, elitism again), try to coax them to upgrade me to first class (that didn't work out, but can't blame a guy for asking), and listen to more messages. Sam was going to rent a car, we were driving to LA for Friday night. What a start. I decide to go and buy a FOM sleeping aid for the remaining leg of the flight, my neck was cramped, and I was getting more and more annoyed.

2pm=I land, get a hold of Sam, and meet him at Enterprise. We get a fiery red 2005 Focus, screw someone out of their reservation at the airport, and dart off.

3pm=my t-shirt creates quite an impression at the hotel check in, we claim beds, hop back into da Focus, and head to LA. What a long night.

5:30pm=we're still in San Diego, wtf? Traffic was horrible, Sam and I were worn.

6pm=Sam and I, an asian and indian, we're craving In and Out. In a Harold and Kumar-esque move, we turn around on I-5 and head back towards San Diego to get some In and Out.

8pm=we pick them up, quick Chinese fire drill, and are off to feed Cameron and Danny, as Sam and I were sated from our recent stint at In and Out Burgers.

9pm=random exit on I-5, we decide to take it because, as Sam and Danny eloquently purported, "There are buildings there, people must work there, people need to eat near work." Yes, their logic was irrefutable (actually irrefutably wrong, and we eventually found a hole and the wall Wendy's with an insurance agent office above it to eat at).

1am=we're all in bed, Danny and Cameron are getting intimate, not for the first time on the trip might I add:

3am=I'm freezing my balls off, but Danny was still hot, we eventually fall asleep. Sam and I are forced to spoon in order to stay warm.

7am=wtf, kayaking time baby. We're all tired, but we rustle ourselves out of bed and put on a good faith attitude. Maybe the water will be warm, maybe I will soon find out.

9am=we're at hikebikekayak, ready to roll. The wet suits are moldy, wet and cold. I had some bowel issues (where the hell is the TP??) and I mock the instructor continously. He hates me, whatever, here's the gallery-

12pm=we change, some of us in the car, and we head to Rudy's for food and warming up.

2pm=we decide to hike, and after getting lost and being forced to get gas, we get back on track and enjoy wilderness at its best (and worst).

7pm=boys night out, we head to the gas lamp district, eat some good italian food, and then eventually make a fire. yeah.

Saturday was a long day, so we decided to relax, maybe go to a Spa, just hang out at the beach, whatever. We ended up just chilling at the resort, watching some football, beaching in Coronado, and gallivanting along the US-Mexico border. Our pictures-

We left. I checked in, argued with TSA, got harasssed by the Crown Club, and serendipitously ran into Cameron and Danny at their gates. It was a good trip, rife with illogical decisions, random guy bonding, and innumerable moments of humiliation. Yup, the glory days relived.