Land of Marrissa Cooper!

The next morning I stumbled onto the deck to an omelet breakfast and Lipton tea, prepared by Lauren’s father, who we endearingly call Peanut. The deck overlooked all of Laguna Beach. I was so excited to just lay on the beach and relax and go for a run. Move my cramped, soft body. I packed my sports bra, shorts and sneaks, which I thought was standard for someone going for a run, right? No. Not in Cali. You run in your bikini. This took some convincing for me. I can be a tad conservative, clothing and body wise. Lauren actually referred me to an article in Self magazine which proved that people that wear less clothing, Californians, are happier people. So I stripped down and started to run. The first stretch all I could think about was, “thighs thighs thighs, everyone is looking at my thighs.” By the return I felt better, a little MIA on the iPod and I was all about, “Yeah I am sooooo Cali right now!” Sweet how quickly this place starts to work on the New York knots in my body and my mind.

That night we ended up in LA with Lauren’s friend Josh, who is the real Ryan Atwood (that story is for the people who come visit me), and two guys from Detroit. We went to see Josh’s friend’s band, which could spell disaster. But we took a risk and it paid of big time. Pinot is this HOT funk band with a lead singer who will control the electrodes of funk in yo’ mind. They are all jazz majors at USC. They played at the Key Club right next to the Rainbow Room and the Roxy, down the block form Whiskey-A-Go-Go. I took pictures to show my Dad. We started the party at that show and I danced my ass off.

Check em out: http://www.myspace.com/pinotfunk

After the show we got pizza at Frankie and Johnny’s then went back to hang out at a house some of the band members lived in. The house was in South Central and within 20 minutes there were sirens and a search helicopter flying overhead. I don’t know how in 24 hours Jill and I had gone from Vegas to Laguna to Sunset Blvd. to South Central LA. But it was starting to catch up with me, and the hour plus drive back to the beach was rough. Besides, I was actually nervous I was going to get shot.

The next day I woke up early to check out UC Irvine and walk around campus. It was so calm and peaceful, the architecture reminded me of Binghamton University only it was sunny and people seemed happier. So Cali. I bought a couple books at an outdoor fair and headed back for lunch and an entire day of nothing but beach lounging and playing with Madison, the most beautiful golden retriever ever. He was diagnosed with cancer in May and fought the odds for months. We had homemade pizza and watched Madmen. It was like any average day in New York only 300 times better because we were in Laguna Beach.

On Saturday I woke up at 6:40 AM to my mother calling me to wish me a happy birthday:

“Happy birthday mi amor!”

“Mom, it’s 6:40 in the morning.”

“Ay, Dios Mio! I forgot about the time!”

“It’s OK. I’m going to sleep now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry baby! OK bye.”

And that was how I started my birthday!!! It was followed by an amazing breakfast of blueberry pancakes made by Peanut. Then an amazing surprise from Michael, who delivered roses to the house! I was so happy and so suddenly filled with a desire to hug him, that I sat down hugging the cardboard box and cried. The girls took pictures of this. This was followed by a birthday oil change at the Firestone, where the mechanic told me I had to replace an axle or we would all die on the road. So I rescheduled for the next day and went back to the house to get ready for a late lunch.

The best birthday lunch ever consists of:

1. The Montage Resort where the villas are pricier than the Ritz, but the beach is public so you can pretend to be a rich hotel guest. A lot of Latino families were doing the same. We found a perfect three-seat table overlooking the cliff-framed ocean.

2. Bikinis. Eating with as little clothing as possible is awesome for when you are laughing so hard food falls out of your mouth. Instead of worrying about your dress, you can lick the guacamole off your knee with no shame.

3. Two bottles of wine split between three skinny girls.

4. Homemade guac, which I have already mentioned but it deserves another shoutout.

5. The girls. Although we did a toast to the men we left behind. ;)

I was drunk and full and I went swimming. I traveled 3000 miles without having to answer to anyone, yet for some reason this was my first time on the trip I felt super liberated simply because I was swimming on a full stomach. Ha! TAKE THAT MOM. (Sorry Mommy, I love you. I didn’t mean it.)

We got home in time for an amazing dinner Rick must have been cooking up for hours. Homemade sauce on eggplant parmesan. And a cake Gina made for me. Michael’s roses were in the middle of the table, kind of like he was there, sort of. And we sang happy birthday to Madison too and she ate some of her gourmet peanut butter doggie cake.

After dinner I would have been content to hang out and read, but Josh was insistant that I get obliterated on my birthday. Since I already was toasted from the afternoon, I figured I would take it easy. We went to a house party in Irvine, very typical beer-pong-in-the-garage kind of party. However, very different from a New York party because every guy AND girl came up to the three of us and introduced themselves and shook our hands. It was just a level of friendliness that in New York is replaced by ignoring everyone, while simultaneously checking them out. Maybe it’s more honest at home. Girls recognize girls as competition and automatically hate each other’s outfits and think their voices are annoying. But the Californians seemed pretty cool with us, one girl poured us a drink that must be some kind of SoCal special: Coors Light, Red Bull, and lime. I actually drank this. Josh insisted we went out even though the bars were closing in an hour, at 1:30. We went on a wild ride that led back to the house party because someone forgot their ID. Jill was getting frustrated, but I was having a great time just listening to all these people talk at the same time. AND at the end of the night I got to sleep in the most beautiful house I have ever been in. A Newport beach mansion OC style. It was four floors and I stayed in Josh’s sister’s room (she went to Harbor school). I could spend a lot of time describing the houses various luxuries (flat screens, Koi fish, a glass room filled floor to ceiling with wine bottles) but I can sum it all up in the Good Morning button. This is a button on the side of the bed that opens the curtains letting the sunlight in and exposing the infinity pool that looks out over the Pacific Ocean. I could only laugh at where I was because I am so freaking poor.

Bright and early on my last day in Laguna and I ended up spending the entire day at a mall waiting for my car to get fixed. I bought a winter coat on sale at Nordstrom rack and got In and Out Burger. This time I ordered a Meatless Animal Style. Just order it next time you’re in Cali. I was just covered in sauce and cheese and onions. I did however make a lot of friends in the Firestone. Probably because in the morning when we got there the first thing we did was play The Royal Tenenbaums on their TV and do yoga in the middle of the shop. We are resourceful girls. We love our yoga. An afternoon of beach relaxing, then intense packing as we tried to fit three in what could barely fit two. Like mechanical engineers or really, really good Tetrus players, we did it. Eggplant leftovers and Madmen, then a nap and wake up call at 4:30 AM. We said goodbye to Madison, who looked so sick that Lauren knew this was the last time she would see him. We all left crying with Peanut handing us a bag of bagels as if it were a talisman and giving us scrapes of whatever advice came to his head. I really felt like we were leaving behind the safety net of this amazing family. Back on the road. Conquering the rough terrain, the desert. Danger spits in our face and we wipe it off with a squeegee.