A LA-mazing time

Last week, I went out to LA for a few nights to appear on a gameshow (more on that closer to the air date (and after what I have written about it gets cleared by the PR team), but I will share with you that my fear of shitting my pants on national television thankfully did not come to fruition). I had intended on treating the visit like a business trip, but it ended up being far more delightful than I'd anticipated!
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Since I am an American Airlines Advantage member and use that card religiously for any purchase that’s not Amazon-related, I get a companion pass each year for $99. This came in very handy, because, since this business trip was only for a few days, we really wanted to fly out of Marquette instead of dealing with the drive down to Chicago (and really, after being spoiled by the 90-minute drive vs. 6-hour drive, I may never fly out of anywhere but Marquette again). Flying out of Marquette can be pretty pricey, but with the companion certificate in play for Jack, it became a real bargain. Also, it took about 3 minutes from parking to being through security and at the boarding gate, so that’s another point in its favor.

American only has two flights out each day, so our options were either ass early or stupid late. We opted for ass early, since neither of us sleep well the night before traveling anyway, so after a 3:15am rise time (I am no longer the early bird I used to be…..now I grumble about being awake even when I sleep in until 8), two smooth flights (turbulence-wise; there was an incident where Jack died for a quick minute) had us into an apparently uncharacteristically smoggy and foggy Los Angeles before 10:30, and at our hotel by 11. I thought we’d ask the hotel to hold our bags so we could wander around but was very pleasantly surprised when we were able to just check in and go up to our room.

We figured in LA we’d be able to get some really good Mexican food, and Wednesday was the day to do it since just in case there were any digestional maladies, I’d have all day Thursday to work them out before filming on Friday. This was an exciting prospect (the food, not the possible digestional issues) since in the Yoop, we have nothing resembling good Mexican food. I feel like I’ve talked about this before, but it continues to remain a thorn in my side. In town, we have a place that claims to sell Mexican food, but they really should be ashamed of themselves, since it more closely resembles something you’d serve at a nursing home to residents needing a bland diet. The best Mexican food I’ve had since moving to the UP was in Wisconsin, a good 3-hours away. Anyway, we picked the closest option to our hotel and went for a walk. While not as reminiscent of something to give geriatrics watching their blood pressure as that in Manistique, my vote still goes to Casa Mexicana in Rhinelander.

With a full belly, the early start to the day was catching up, so I put myself down for a nap. By the time we woke up, the sun was shining and we were able to pop out to the pool for a bit. That California sun is stroooong, and even though we were only out from 4-5pm, I’m pretty sure I got more sun in that hour than I have all summer on Lake Michigan.

Initially I’d thought Thursday would mostly involve lounging poolside and relaxing and trying to get rest before the big day, but with another foggy morning greeting us, we decided to Uber to the Venice Beach Boardwalk while waiting for my dear friends James and Alex to fly in from Rhode Island (shoutout to all the guys – I can’t even describe how thankful I am to have friends who would travel cross country to morally support me; it meant the absolute world to me). Many miles later we found ourselves at the picturesque Santa Monica Pier, with the weather clearing up nicely. James and Alex had landed, so they met us back at Venice Beach.

We lunched and wandered the canals for a while before calling an Uber, where a self-described sociopath named George chauffeured us back to the hotel. That 15-minute taxi ride might have been my favorite experience of the trip. Not because the drive itself was pleasant (it was not; Jack, Alex, and I in the backseat needed Dramamine and ginger chews to combat the nausea induced by the stop-and-go nature of George’s right foot) but the interaction between James in the front seat and George…. it could have been titled, “What Will They Say Next?” It was fabulous. My favorite exchange was when we turned a corner and George (whose other foot must be flirting with the grave….he was probably about 83 years of age) said out of nowhere, “That’s the Pie House, bro,” to which James responded when seeing its’ tiny stature, “They should have started with the Pie Shed.” It may not be as funny to read, but it was hysterical in person.

Friday was a long day of taping (I wanted to wear my most beautiful emerald-green top, but since the sun had come out while we were walking the day prior, even my load of sunscreen couldn’t compete with it, and it was abundantly clear which side of my neck my braid had rested on, so I opted for the higher-necked blue shirt so as to not be the bane makeup peoples’ existence and/or give myself another opportunity to embarrass myself in front of the nation with a half-lobster neck), followed by dinner with the guys, and an early bedtime, since our flight back to Michigan was also before sun up. If you ever find yourself in LAX’s Terminal 5 and need to be in Terminal 4, just know that you have to look very carefully for some very hidden signage to get you there (unless you want to exit the secure area and go back through security, which I wouldn’t recommend unless you have TSA Pre-check (which now that I have, I will never NOT have again)), and that yes, the very sketchy basement tunnel will indeed eventually lead you to Terminal 4.

Two more un-turbulent flights later (and we got upgraded to business class for the ORD-MQT portion of the trip, so it was the best 45-minute flight of my life….. I had just enough time to glug my soda down in a glass instead of plastic before they were collecting our shit prior to landing) and we were back in Michigan. Also, that quick flight was awesome because we were low enough and it was clear enough that you could see windmills of the Garden Peninsula from the airplane, and you could see the fall foliage starting to change once we were on our descent. One note I have about morning flights is that everyone seems to need to take their morning dumps at the same time, and there are just not enough lavatories on board for that nonsense. It's also my personal opinion that people who drink coffee on airplanes are some ballsy motherfuckers……that’s a real Russian roulette situation, as far as I’m concerned.

So it was a rather surreal, whirlwind of a trip, but we’re back home and back to the grind and back to the Gatsby. Speaking of, he had a little minor outpatient surgery on Monday, but I’ll write about that separately. Until then, the big lad could use some healing vibes.

Until next time, may fortune smile upon you.