What to Do in LA When It's Raining

After filming the "Sticky Floor Friday" segment with Steve, I originally had plans of heading down to Newport Beach and visiting with my friend Brad. He and his wife Leslie just had twins about a year or so ago, so it would've been great to see him. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get ahold of each other, so as the morning slipped away, Steve and I tried to figure out what to do.

I suggested a hike around Runyan canyon, a neat little series of trails nestled next to Muholland Drive in the hills where a lot of people go to run and let their dogs loose through the park. I packed up my bag, opened the door to find a near torrential downpour coming down on top of us. Our hiking plans defeated, I looked at Steve, and we both said two words unanimously.

"Rock Band."

So this is what people do in LA when it rains. They play Rock Band. For hours. And oh, we did. Opting to chow down on a bit of Mexican food first in order to build up some energy for the game. Upon our return, we jammed, Steve on drums, me on guitar. Eddie Van Halen would've been envious.

I left Steve's around five and battled my way south on the 405 through LA traffic and the sheer madness of Friday rush hour. Slipping off the freeway at Sunset, I weaved my way down along the coast, passing once again through Santa Monica, Marina Del Ray, then finally into El Segundo where it would've been nice to rest for a bit before picking up Corey at the airport. She was supposed to get back into town at 8:30 at night, but because of the crash of the Continental Airline out of Newark, things took a turn. Still in Newark, her flight into Charlotte was inevitably delayed, so she was able to hop on a direct flight straight into LA, putting her into town well after midnight.

I had a bit of time still, so I called a college buddy of mine in Marina Del Ray and made plans to meet him and his wife Push for dinner at a seafood place right in the marina called Shanghai Red. I had never met Push before, but had seen plenty of photos from their wedding and various Halloween parties, so it was fun to finally meet her and reunite with Andy after all of these years. After we dinner we stopped for a beer around the corner from their apartment, following which I headed back towards the airport to pick up Corey. Exhausted and in much need of a drink, we met a few of her friends in downtown El Segundo, who ended up coming back to her apartment for a short late-night party. It was short-lived however, and I soon found myself fast asleep, failing miserable at the attempt to aclimate myself to west coast time. In the morning we would go hiking for the day, and I needed my energy.