Recovering from California

The red-eye from L.A. to Newark has its charms if you spent the weekend resting and relaxing with the likes of my amazing friends and need a little time to recover.

It was more than good to get out of the Jersey winter and see some old pals in a warm and sunny Hollywood and beyond.

For four days it was celebrating Jeanine’s birthday, drinks at Ye Rustic Inn, the German bar food with a singing waitress, shots, the Greek goddess hanging in there the whole while, Axel rocking the joint in Silver Lake, with Ken enjoying the late beers, driving a hungover Ken home, driving in LA for the first time ever, pizza for breakfast and then birthday cake, driving up the 101 with “Fought Down” blasting at dusk, Italian food in Ventura with a ’57 Chevy flying past the neon-clad movie house across the street, drinks in the hotel bar with a werewolf and little red riding hood in leather on the high stools next to us, room service, the drive up the coast to the Santa Barbara foothills, an amazing stage coach stop of a bar called the Cold Spring Tavern, the bikers, all the cool heads, the music outside, funny songs, a steel guitar, the cans of Bud, the IHOP on the trek home to LA, more drinks at Ye Rustic Inn, seeing old pal Matt Welch, Kate Sullivan, Ben Sullivan, late drink talk with the goddess, smart talk, Mexican lunch with Welch and Manu featuring $1.99 margaritas, more smart interesting talk with old friends, Jesus Saves cross guy, and finally a patty melt and a couple bottles of Bud at Pann’s before flying out.

No wondered the red-eye seemed almost peaceful.

Here are a few pictures. See if you can match them to bits of the above sentence.

Cheers!