Team Misfits California Road Trip 2005 - Part 2
The Non Plan and How We Passed Our Time
We all arrived in California without incident and it didn't take long to get into vacation mode. In keeping with the carefree holiday spirit, our itinerary soon became affectionately known as The Non Plan. No doubt we would have bumbled happily into unstructured disaster if it weren't for Rob the Travel Nazi, who, in spite of furious declarations to the contrary, kept us all on track during the trip. Sure, he said he was "on vacation" and "not worrying about the schedule and logistics" but we all know he cracked within five minutes of arriving at LAX. Kudos to him, however, for taking Travel Nazism to a higher, nonverbal level: "The plan's so good that you don't even know we're following it." So true.
 So what exactly did we end up doing? A day-by-day breakdown is required to put everything into context: Day 1 - Location: Los Angeles
- Hotel: Hilton Checkers Hotel Los Angeles
- Events: Inspection of bed sheets yielding discovery of bed bug. Much photographing of bug. Team Guy out-shopping Team Girl. Redondo and Hermosa Beach - first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean! A lot of Asian people fishing.
- Food Highlights: Rooftop patio dinner at Hennessey's Tavern on Hermosa Beach. Food served in long rectangular baskets. No dessert. :(
Day 2 - Location: Los Angeles
- Hotel: Hilton Checkers Hotel Los Angeles
- Events: Playing Frisbee on Venice Beach and Rob the Travel Nazi developing Sun Burn of the Century. Borough working the rings at Muscle Beach. Hollywood, Chinese Theatre. Beverly Hills and Hollywood star drive in the evening.
- Food Highlights: Coffee on the beach (hey, it was a chilly morning!). Mexican food for dinner.
Day 3 - Locations: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara
- Hotel: Best Western Inn of Ventura
- Events: GEORGE and Rob the Travel Nazi's Hollywood Bowl sprint to the top! Rodeo Drive shopping where I almost bought jeans but didn't because they made my butt look big. Getty Center and Evilo rolling down the hill like the little kid she is.
- Food Highlights: Fancy dress-up dinner at Eladio's Restaurant in Santa Barbara.
Day 4 - Locations: Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Morro Bay, Monterey
- Hotel: Best Western Beach Resort Monterey
- Events: Playground/beach/Frisbee fun in Santa Barbara. Coastal driving. Vista points. Ron the Happy Bishop putting us all to shame with his amazing and exuberant flower frolicking skills in Lompoc. WE WILL NEVER FORGET THE FROLICKING!! "Egg" Rock and "Giant" Chessboard in Morro Bay. Julia Pfeiffer Park and mad dash to see the waterfall before sunset.
- Food Highlights: Chili's for dinner in Monterey.
Day 5 - Locations: Pebble Beach, Monterey
- Hotel: Best Western Beach Resort Monterey
- Events: Pebble Beach 17-mile drive and far too many points of interest along the way. Sea kayaking in Monterey.
- Food Highlights: Ridiculously yummy restaurant - Montrio Bistro - in downtown Monterey.
Day 6 - Locations: Carmel, Point Lobos
- Hotel: Best Western Beach Resort Monterey
- Events: Chocolate factory tour. My, how cute we all look in our hairnets. Hiking at Point Lobos. Jogging along the chilly Carmel Beach. Not being allowed to leave Carmel Beach until the tide touched our toes. Meeting online friends in real life.
- Food Highlights: Bad martinis at sketchy Carmel bar.
Day 7 - Locations: Santa Cruz, San Francisco
- Hotel: Travelodge Golden Gate
- Events: Sand mural fun. Evilo hugging Big Trees in Big Basin. Borough driving like a bat out of hell along winding roads. Reminiscing about university life while visiting the Stanford campus. Meeting old high school friend at Pier I. Golden Gate Bridge by night.
- Food Highlights: Cheap appetizers and martinis during happy hour in downtown San Francisco. How urban! Dinner in posh Sausalito's Angelino Restaurant.
Day 8 - Locations: Napa Valley, San Francisco
- Hotel: Travelodge Golden Gate
- Events: Eyebrows and Evilo not pulling their weight, resulting in Team Guy out-shopping Team Girl - again! - at Napa Premium Outlets. Robert Mondavi wine tour. Aromatic fragrance of the herb garden at the Culinary Institute of Arts.
- Food Highlights: Wine, pizza and sundaes at St. Helena's Pizza. Late night "smoothies" at Mel's.
Day 9 - Location: San Francisco
- Hotel: Westin St. Francis
- Events: Jogging on Golden Gate Bridge early in the morning. Palace of Fine Arts. Farmer's Market at Pier I. Rosnan, Ron the Happy Bishop's brother! Hill hiking to Lombard and meeting Steve the Photographer. Chocolate Festival at Ghirardelli Square. Fisherman's Wharf. Nighttime cable car ride back to hotel.
- Food Highlights: Foraging for food at the Farmer's Market. Chocolate, oh sweet sweet chocolate. Seafood dinner with panoramic view of the Bay at Fisherman's Wharf's The Franciscan. Take-out cheesecake (finally! cheesecake!) from The Cheesecake Factory.
Day 10 - Location: San Francisco
- Hotel: Westin St. Francis
- Events: Saying goodbye to Ron the Happy Bishop and Rob the Travel Nazi - why did they not book an extra day off?! Sleeping in until noon. Shopping around Union Square. Chinatown for Autumn Moon Festival. Playing mahjong with cards instead of tiles.
- Food Highlights: Egg tarts and Vietnamese food for dinner.
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