Weekend in The O.C.

For my readers out there who have been wondering about my absence, rest assured that I am back! It's been a hectic month here in Dallas being fabulous, so I decided to take it on the road. The destination: a little getaway to the O.C. for a little rest and relaxation in beautiful southern California. Actually, I went there for a wedding but that is beside the point.

Because Roger Hayes had all the details of the wedding, he made all the travel arrangements. He is from now on banned from playing travel agent as we had probably the worst itinerary of flights one could possibly have. I won't get into the details, but let me say that it involved crack of dawn flights and leaving from random airports. Next time Roger, just splurge for the extra $150 and get us a decent flight!

Our first day there, we decided to take in Newport Beach and Newport Pier. It was beautiful there and people were out in carloads for a day in the sun on this holiday weekend. Our first stop was the Rockin' Baja Lobster Bar since we both needed a little liquor to get us over the flight ordeal. I also did some shopping for some beach clothes (I do have a cruise coming up and need to look HOT!) Here is a pic of the beach:



The real purpose for the vacation was to attend a wedding of one of Roger's classmates from NYU Law School. Of course, Roger had no wedding gift so we had to go to Macy's at Fashion Island to get a little something. The mall was essentially all the stores at the Galleria in an outdoor setting and was quite a find! Of course, Roger doesn't like shopping with me unless it is for distinctly man things like lingerie or bikinis and then he has no problem with it! Otherwise, he just sits there and groans.

The wedding was the following evening and was on a private yacht in Newport Harbor. Yes, you heard me right....a private yacht! If you live in Orange County, you must have a yacht and thus boat after boat were lined up in the harbor. Before we boarded the boat, we decided to take a few pics at the dock.


The ceremony took place on the yacht while in the dock and was simple, yet elegant. I have always said that if I get married (and that is a HUGE if) I want it to be in an exotic locale, most likely with a Middle Eastern feel to it -someplace like Egypt or Morocco. However, the private yacht idea would make my list too. Here a few pics of the bride and groom during the ceremony:


We departed the dock and sailed around Newport Harbor, taking in the beautiful scenery at sunset. Dinner, dancing, and a hell of a lot of drinking followed as we sailed the night away. Roger, of course being his usual pessimistic self, reflected on exactly how bad his life was and threatened suicide attempts off the boat. I had to remind him that we were going only several knots and that he would probably not drown, so he quickly abandoned the idea for another rum and Coke! I, on the other hand, was on the look out for single men. Everyone thought we were dating, so I had to assure them that we were just friends. There was a grand total of one single male at the wedding and when he tried to sit next to me at dinner, he was quickly booted out by a woman saving the seat. Again, my relationship karma showing its evil head! I did manage to avoid the bouquet during the bride's toss as I am enjoying my single life way too much!

After the wedding, we all headed to a bar at the harbor and proceed to talk and drink the night away. Roger and the groom told stories of NYU law, where they had met getting their L.L.M degrees in tax law. I have come to the conclusion that those who pursue tax law are a special breed of people. I met some fabulous people from San Francisco (where the bride and groom live) and southern Cal. There were others from NYC and even Sweden. Here are a couple of pics of us while on the yacht:


We awoke the next morning and had breakfast with the bride and groom. The day was completely open so we decided to forego L.A. and spend the morning driving along the Pacific Coast Highway. Roger is thinking about moving there and going back to his Southern California roots. I, on the other hand, am more of an East Coast person and only enjoy visiting California. The afternoon was spent at the beach. Actually, we somehow managed to spend most of the afternoon at a little beachside bar called Cabo Cantina (or Cabo Wabo as Roger called it!) where I consumed a few Cabopolitians. By the time I decided to lay out, I was pretty lit and promptly fell asleep while Roger left me to do some reading at a beachside cafe.



Roger and I found a trendy sushi bar for dinner called 930 Sushi. I will give Roger credit for one thing - he does have a knack for finding hip restaurants while on vacations. We have traveled all over together (London, Caribbean, etc) and always have some delicious and pricey meals. I, on the other hand, struck out when it came to my job of finding a cool club to go to. The place I picked, called Sutra Lounge was nothing but a stripper meets want-to-be pimp establishment. We opted for the local surfer bar across the street.

It's now Labor Day and I have already been back in Dallas for several hours. Why? Because Roger gets us a returning flight leaving at 6:58am! Oh well, at least I get to spend the rest of my weekend laying out by the pool recovering from my O.C. adventure.