Steph's New Home: Los Angeles, CA

Our trip down to LA yesterday was a fairly uneventful one, as most of the drive consisted of the arid Mojave Desert, a 200-mile, bleak stretch of sand and rock that services maybe two rest areas that actually contain services.

We left Hurricane, UT at about 8:30am Mountain time and curved our way down through a few mountain ranges, the northwest corner of Arizona and through Las Vegas. I said yesterday that we talked about stopping there and throwing a coin in one of the slots, but traffic was really heavy going through the Innerbelt and we just decided that instead of dealing with the hassle of getting to a casino for the next hour, we'd just pass through and get to LA as soon as possible. Our timetable put us into LA at about 3:00 or so, just in time to miss the beginning of rush hour. If we made any unnecessary stops along the way, we'd be stuck in LA traffic...something we weren't willing to deal with after four days of being in the car.

As expected, we got into LA just around 3pm and met up with Bryan, Steph's LA roommate. He's an aspiring actor as well, fresh in LA from Philadelphia, so he and Steph will be able to help each other out with networking events and getting to know the area. We took a quick look around the apartment, which was surprisingly spacious for the price, then immediately started unloading the car. A short while later we had the air mattress inflated and her clothes put away in the closets and trunk space. It's a perfect size and aside from a small hole in the inflatable bed, it's perfect for her to use over the next few months.

We hung for a bit around the apartment with Bryan, then met up with my cousin Kim and her husband Mike in West Hollywood for some dinner and a few drinks. They brought us to a really nice little Italian place around the corner from their condo, where we were able to relax over some beer and wine, and just unwind from the trip. Hopefully we'll be able to see them again before I leave, but if not, Steph knows exactly where they are if she needs anything, and it helps that they're fairly close to her neighborhood...only a short trip out of the valley from her apartment.

Today will probably consist of shopping, including a few trips to Target and the Dollar store. Steph has to pick up a bunch of things still so we just want to get that out of the way as soon as possible. I think we're also planning to meet my buddy Steve for lunch, but other than that, the day is wide open. I'll be sure to continue the updates throughout my stay here, as I don't leave for Cleveland until Saturday morning.