Back in September, Vinny took advantage of an airfare deal and flew down to Los Angeles to stay with Cindy. Sean, Chris and I packed into Sean’s car and drove down to spend a weekend there and meet up with Vinny and everyone who lives in the Los Angeles area.

We started off the roadtrip with breakfast at Loulou’s Griddle In the Middle in Monterey.

Then, we got on the Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1). The views were spectacular. Even though taking Highway 1 makes the trip longer, it was well worth it. I hope to soon get a sports car and drive down again.

The following picture was taken on our approach to Big Sur. If you look close enough, you can see the Bixby Creek Bridge. It’s probably the most important landmark in Big Sur and one of the most beautiful bridges that I have ever seen.

When we finally reached the bridge. We had to stop; Part of the road to the south of it was temporarily one way. Fortunately, it gave me a chance to take some pictures from atop the bridge.

After hearing stories about PCH, I expected to see a lot of sports cars and convertibles along the way. Sadly, we saw only boring, normal cars.

Point Sur is a very eerie looking place. The lighthouse and collection of buildings atop the rocky outcropping are surrounded on almost all sides by ocean and are connected to Highway 1 only by a narrow road. I wouldn’t want to be alone in a place that looks like the setting for a survival horror video game.

Parts of the drive took us through thick fog. Even though we couldn’t see any scenery, the foggy sections were nonetheless beautiful in their own way.

While driving through one of the cities along the route, we saw some LARPers(Live Action Role Players)! This is the third time I have seen LARPers in the wild. I never realized that it’s this popular.

When we arrived in LA in the late afternoon, we immediately started playing Eat Poop You Cat with everyone else at Cindy and Laura’s place. We first played it back in college and it has quickly become our most favorite party game. The basic idea is similar to the telephone game that we played as kids.

Each player writes something down on paper. They pass it to the next person, who then interprets the words as a drawing. Then, they fold the words under and pass the paper to the next person, who has to write in words what they see in the drawing. The cycle continues between pictures and words until the papers return to their owners.

The resulting timelines are hilarious. Some stories completely transform from start to end. Sometimes stories always change when the reach a particular person. We usually discover each other’s hidden drawing talent or lack thereof.

When it started getting dark, we headed over to Venice for dinner.

Along the way, I saw these ads towed by vespas. Apparently they are pretty common in the area.

Finally, we parked near the beach and headed over to C&O Trattoria for some Italian food.

When we got to the restaurant, we didn’t see the rest of our group there. We called them to find out where they were only to hear that they had gone to C&O Cucina, an affiliated restaurant 1 mile up Washington Boulevard. Talk about confusing names!

Once we finally arrived and after a short wait we sat down in a large table outside. The food was delicious and the free garlic knots were a hit. I think C&O is a perfect place for dinner with family and friends.

The couples in our group took a picture. ^^

We finished the night hanging out and playing some Catan.

Phil, Lynn, Bo and Krista headed home for the night while Chris, Sean, Vinny and I stayed with Cindy and Laura (Thanks for hosting us! ^^ I like your apartment, especially the succulents.). Stay tuned for a second post covering all the fun stuff we did the next day!