About My Very First Solo Trip (Pt. 2)
My alarm went off at 5:30am. I'm not much of a morning person so of course I hit the snooze button until 6:30am. My kids, like me, had a hard time waking up as well.
My brother called me and told me to make sure I had the kids ready. So I rushed to get myself together.
My brother came knocking at 7:00am and I eagerly (but lovingly) pushed them out of the door.
In my excitement I forgot to make myself breakfast and immediately requested my Lyft ride. After seeing that my ride was about 5 minutes away I realized that I hadn't made myself breakfast, but decided I'd just pick something up at the airport from McDonald's. Besides, I had about an hour and a half before boarding. And getting through TSA should be a breeze, right? At least it usually is whenever I catch a flight out of CVG.
I got to the airport with about an hour to spare.
Hmmm.... No self service kiosks? Oh gawd! *First world problems*
I walked up to the counter to get a ticket. The person said, "I quickly need your ID because you only have 5 minutes left for check in." Ummm... 'Scuse me? Why so early? I'm used to being able to check in up to 45 minutes before lift off. Hey, but I made it!
I walked up to the TSA line and my goodness! That line was long! It seemed as though everybody was going to LA.
I kept looking at my phone hangry as hell. I can laugh about this now, but in that moment.... Absolutely not!
I finally made it through TSA and looked at my phone. "Gahh! Only 25 minutes left! I didn't even get breakfast. Well, hopefully I'll still have some time to quickly pick up a breakfast sandwich."
I decided to take the train to my concourse because there was no way I would be able to walk and make it there in time to make my flight. And of course as my luck would have it... The train wasn't loading. I tried to see when the next train was due when a lady asked me about how the train runs. I explained it to her and she thanked me. I was then approached by these set of guys. They seemed about college age. They also asked me for help catching the train. I felt like an official travel guru or some shit!
My train dropped me off at my concourse which was A. I said to myself, "Okay, I have about 15 minutes. Let me stop at McDonald's real quick." Don't you know that all of the restaurants were over in concourse B? FML!
I ended up passing a Graeter's and picked up a donut and a bottle of orange juice. "That should hold me until I land. I'll only be in the air for 4 hours."
As soon as I arrived to the correct terminal I noticed that they were already boarding. I hopped right in line. I heard someone holler my name. "Who was that??" I turned around and realized that it was one of my co-workers. I remembered her mentioning that she would be catching the same flight heading to LA. So I did a quick "Hey girl hey!" And proceeded onto the plane.
Aside from being hungry, I was really anxious to take off and land. I boarded the plane and saw that I was assigned a middle seat. As the other people were boarding I noticed that no one stopped at my row. You mean I get the entire row to myself??? Cool!
Ah wait! Too good to be true! A woman stops. She was assigned the window seat. She asked me if I'd like to get the window seat and she take the middle. I said sure! Now I can record my take off and landing.
About an hour and a half in the sky and I became really anxious. "Is the flight almost over??? I'm ready to get off of this plane! Ugh!"
I truly believe that I felt the time change. Although the amount of time didn't increase. We actually landed earlier. I guess it felt later than what it really was and as a result felt like I traveled longer than I really did. Yall... Tell me if this makes sense?
Anyway, we finally landed. FINALLY! I was ready to check into my hotel and then EAT!
As soon as I walked off of the plane I called my oldest daughter. I then contemplated taking a Lyft to the hotel so that I could grab something to eat before check in. But seeing that I landed almost an hour earlier than expected and check in wasn't until 12pm I opted to call the hotel to see if it would be okay for me to check in early. The ladies at the hotel were really nice and said that it would be okay. They also sent for me a shuttle. I went ahead and accepted it because I was ready to leave the hustle and bustle of LAX. It also saved me a few bucks.
I waited and saw a Holiday Inn shuttle bus. Ah! Just in time. I climbed in. The driver asked, "You're going to the Holiday Inn?" I said yes and sat down. The other person on the bus got off and the driver asked, "Which Holiday Inn are you going to?" I told him and he said, "Oh this is the wrong shuttle. You want to get the one that says Holiday Inn Express." Oh no! Luckily we hadn't left the airport yet so I hopped off at another shuttle stop, thanked him, and called the hotel again. I told the lady at the front desk that I caught the wrong shuttle and where I was located. She said that he was on his way.
Ah okay NOW I have the right shuttle! We laughed about my mix up and we were off.
Man I'm hungry!
I arrived at the hotel. When I walked in the ladies at the front desk greeted me with, "You made it!" We all laughed and I said, "Yes finally!" I got all checked in and made my way to my room.
The hotel was really quiet. My room overlooked a Sizzler lol. No worries. I wasn't there for the hotel view. I just needed a place to crash for the night. I put my things down and looked over the place. Everything was good!
I sat down on my bed and breathed a sigh of relief. "I made it here! On my own!" I smiled to myself and gave myself a pat on the back. "Well done, Jay. Well done!"
I then realized.... I'm hungry!
What did I want? Some In N Out Burger! That place had been calling my name for the longest! Guess that's what's for lunch! So I requested a Lyft.
My Lyft driver was a middle aged black woman. I felt so comfortable. We chatted about me being here to visit. She was really sweet and funny. We gawked at how close In N Out was to LAX. Those planes were so low! I live in a part of town where the air traffic is heavy. I'm used to noise of a low flying airplane, but to see those planes so close... Everyone sitting outside didn't seem phased at all. My driver however told me she never gets used to seeing aircraft flying so low. I didn't blame her! We both ended up ordering from In N Out. She said to me, "Now see I was trying to be good and not eat take out. This is all your fault. But those shakes and fries are too good!" We laughed and talked some more until she dropped me back off at my hotel.
I sat on my bed and smashed. Hooomahgawd! That double double and those fries were SO GOOD!
I looked at the clock and saw that it was only about 12:45pm. I decided to take an hour nap.
My alarm went off at 1:45pm. I opened up the curtains. It was so nice and sunny outside. The concert didn't start until 6:30pm so why not venture out a bit? I picked out some capri joggers and a tee, packed my bookbag with my wallet and camera and requested my ride.
20 minutes later I arrived at Manhattan Beach. Passing by one of the steep streets that led to the beach, my driver explained to me that he never knew there was a beach there. I thought everyone knew! LOL. The view from the hill that we were on was absolutely beautiful. You could see a line of sand, the sun reflecting off of the waters, and the crashing waves. My driver dropped me off. I thanked him and went about my way.
It was 2:45pm. I was going to give myself until 4:30pm to stay there.
I walked down the steps of the pier onto the sand. The beach was nice and warm. A comfortable type of warm. I know what it's like to be on the beach when it's much hotter out because the sand burns the shit out of your feet. I didn't experience that. I damn near fell over a few times not being used to walking in sand though.
When I made it to the water I wondered, "What is that smell??" I know it's been years since I've been to a beach, but I truly don't remember it smelling like this. It had a weird mildew type of smell. Is this exclusive only to Manhattan Beach? I swear I don't remember the other beaches that I've been to smelling like that, but whatever!
I put my feet in the water. It caught me off guard because I didn't expect it to feel so cool. The tide also came in much higher than I thought it would and greeted me by soaking the bottom of my joggers.
I cased the beach letting the shallow waters rush across my feet and watched the kids have the time of their lives trying to beat the next wave coming in. I wrote my kids names in the sand. Sort of playing a game of "how quickly can I write their names before the next tide comes to wash it away." After a few losses I ended up winning.
I picked up a few shells to take back home to the kids as souvenirs. I wanted to wash the sand off of them so I waited for the next wave to hit. Underestimating the height of the next wave, I leaned over anticipating the water to hit my hand and wash the shells. Imagine my surprise when the wave came rolling in and hit right over my butt. I let out a shriek and laughed at myself. I was soaked!
I did a little more walking and people watching in hopes of drying off a bit because I didn't bring a towel with me to sit on during my ride back.
I think I lost myself in the experience of being there because I looked at my phone and realized that it was 5:00pm. "The concert begins at 6:30!" I needed time to actually get back to the hotel and shower and get ready! So I made my way back to the pier. The walk seemed to take forever. When I walked onto the pier I sat down on one of the benches and dusted all of the sand off of my joggers.
I tried requesting a ride back, but my mobile internet was not cooperating. Granted I do have a local service, but it's on a national network. So why wasn't it working? "Does this area just not have good coverage?" My service worked just fine in Inglewood.
I began freaking out because not only was my data not working, but my battery was dying. "Why did I leave my portable charger in the hotel room?" I began speed walking up one of the hills in hopes of catching a better signal, but I received nothing! Omg! I mean if push came to shove and my battery died before requesting a ride then there were plenty of bars that I was sure I could go to in order to call a taxi, but I'd hate to pay so much.
I noticed that my phone connected to someone's wifi. Yes!!! Let me hurry up and request one. But much to my dismay it was one of the cable provider wifi connections where you had to have some sort of service with them in order to sign in.
"Is this really gonna happen today? Right now? Will I seriously end up stranded here and miss my concert? FML!"
I walked a little further and saw that my mobile internet began working again. "Let me gone head and request one before I can't again!" I got into my Lyft app and requested a ride. Ugh! They were charging 150% prime time. My ride was going to be a good $100. Not really, but it would be a lot. I messaged my driver and told him exactly where I'd be in case my phone shuts off before he arrived.
At 5:25pm I hopped into my driver's car and off we were. He told me about different places and other beaches that I should consider visiting if I ever come back. He was really nice as well.
I made it to my hotel at around 5:45pm.
I walked in and rushed to the shower. I spent 15 minutes in the shower and got out to get dressed. I had a couple of mix and match pieces to choose from and had the hardest time trying to figure what to wear. Mind you it was about 6:15pm now and the concert was set to start at 6:30pm. The plus was that the place wasn't far from the hotel. Only about 10 or less minutes away. Concerts rarely start on time so I tried not to be too hard on myself.
I finally decided on what to wear. Some jean shorts, black tights, a black tank, a jean button down tunic (that I wore open), and black boots. I wore a bad ass purple and black ombre, lacefront, bob wig. I did my make up. Nothing extravagant. Just some foundation, winged liner, and dark lippie. I was cute lol!
I looked up and it was 6:45pm. Okay, not too bad. I knew Bone would not be on first so I didn't beat myself up too bad for running a little behind.
I looked at my phone and saw that I had a text message. It was from my middle daughter telling me goodnite and that she was going to bed. Bed? It's only 6:45pm. LOL. Then I remembered that Cincinnati is 3 hours ahead. I text her back goodnite.
I made sure that I had everything I needed. That included my portable charger. I wasn't gonna make that mistake again!
The sunset on the way to the arena was beautiful.
The driver attempted to pull into the parking lot, but one of the people working the event pointed him to the drop off zone. I got out of the car and tried to contain my excitement hoping that there would be a Bizzy or Layzie sighting before I actually made it inside. I mean a girl can dream, right? My luck wasn't that great, but to my surprise I wasn't late despite arriving at 7:00pm. People were still filing in and the show was just beginning.
As I walked through security I was given a ticket. Apparently the radio show hosting the event was raffling off a VIP package that included front row seats. I was pretty close to the stage, but I would be so excited to be able to get up closer. So I filled out my information and hoped like hell that they would call my name.
I walked in and asked for help to my seat. I simply could not wait!
I'll spare the intricate details of the concert. Just know that it was an amazing late 80's/early 90's blast from the past.
My many exes in Cincinnati and my long distance ex smoked weed all of the time. It wasn't like what I was around that night. No ma'am and no sir. Cali has some grade A, organic, never tested on animals, blessed... Yall that stuff had me feeling amazing off of the contact alone. So you know I had a good time.
As soon as we saw the backdrop of the next act the crowd went wild... As did I. BTNH were set to come on next. I scanned that stage hard. I saw their manager case the stage to see that everything was in working order. "Okay! Come on! I wanna see my faves!" Music started and they walked onto the stage. "Wait.... There's only 3? Where's Bizzy? Omg Where's Lay???"
I was PRESSEDT about being able to see them and they weren't there. My heart actually sank a little.
Wish announced that some things came up, but they're still going to give us a good show. And he didn't lie because they did. I still really enjoyed myself!
A nice long concert from roughly 7pm until 12am. I was tired by the end, but had such a good time!
My way back home was anything, but uneventful. Life would not have been right if nothing happened, so of course something did!
I requested my ride as I walked out of the arena. As I made it to the sidewalk I noticed that the driver was close by. I decided to call him to let him know exactly where I was because there was a large crowd of concert goers and I knew he wouldn't be able to pick me out of the bunch. And let me tell you! Bunch is not even an accurate description. It was more like a hoard. Crossing the intersection of Manchester and S Prairie, I thought, would take a couple of minutes. I sat for about 8 minutes waiting to cross with the giant crowd. The driver told me to walk to a side street called Kelso.
Now, clearly I'm not from Los Angeles and did not know that the street was just a block down from the corner that I crossed. I paced a short distance down S Prairie and then back up to Manchester. I had no clue where I was supposed to go and too prideful to ask the many people walking up and down the street from the concert.
I finally swallowed that pride and asked a group of girls where Kelso St was. I'm such an airhead! If I would have walked a few feet further down S Prairie then I would have met my driver much sooner!
I called my driver and let him know that I was almost to Kelso and he urged for me to hurry because the police were bugging people about sitting idle on that street. As I picked up my step a group of girls (who seemed very happy and drunk) yelled out of their window, "I love your hair girl!!!" I yelled back, "Thank you boo!"
I finally made it to the car and apologized for taking so long. He told me not to worry about it and that he expected me to come with an entourage of friends. I explained to him that this was a solo trip just for me. He seemed surprised and asked, "So you traveled here and went to a concert by yourself?" I said, "Yep! And I had the time of my life!" I asked him if I could make a detour to In N Out Burger because I was starving! He said no problem!
After I placed my order we had to wait for a few. I think everybody had the same thing in mind because the place was packed. We talked about the concert's line up. We in fact talked the entire time. He told me that I seemed very.... umm... Happy for a lack of better words. He said that I smelled like it as well.
I laughed out loud and said, "I can assure you that I didn't smoke anything this time, but the contact was amazing."
By the time I made it back to the hotel it was close to 1:00am. I cleaned my face, slipped into some comfortable clothes, set my alarm for 7:00am and KILLEDT that burger! I went to sleep immediately afterward.
I woke up fully rested and thought that I woke up later than planned. Much to my surprise it was about 5:00am. I woke up a whole 2 hours early! That 3 hour time change meant much more than I thought it did. I tried going back to sleep, but it didn't work. I decided to jump in the shower and get the majority of my things packed before going down to breakfast.
Breakfast was actually pretty good! Really good! I know how continental breakfasts can be hit or miss. Not this one! I've already planned to book this hotel upon my next trip here. Yes, food is one of the major factors!
After breakfast I made my way back to my room. I still had a lot of time left so I planned a trip to Randy's Donuts. That was definitely one of the places I wanted to go before heading back home. So I requested my ride.
Unlike my other drivers this one exuded California f*ckboy. Even in his old age. He wasn't mean, but it was like his ways could be detected even through his friendly disposition. I rolled with it. I just wanted donuts!
We made it. There was a line, but nothing outrageous. I knew that I could get my donuts and get back before it was time to head to the airport.
Those donuts smelled so heavenly. I ordered a few for myself and a round of donut holes to bring back to the kids. They were so hot and fresh and just perfect!
On my ride back I endured the driver's self adoration. "How old do I look?" "A lot of people tell me that I look younger than my age." "It's all because of my diet." "I consume these amount of calories." Boy if you don't...!
I made it back to my hotel with approximately 45 minutes to spare. I sat down and went over in my head the happenings of this weekend. I congratulated myself for allowing myself to experience this despite all of the mishaps. I knew that it was the confidence needed for, hopefully, future solo trips. I also kept getting a whiff of something. I couldn't quite figure exactly what it was. Maybe just the hotel? I didn't know.
Time to go! I grabbed my bag and my jacket and made my way to the lobby. As luck would have it, I had just missed the shuttle bus and the next wasn't set to leave until 25 minutes later. If I left 25 minutes later then I'd risk missing my plane. Luckily another guy who had just checked out was on his way to the airport and needed to leave much sooner than 25 minutes as well. He used his white privilege to get us an earlier ride. Yasss reparations!!
When I got to the airport I checked in at the kiosk. The airport didn't seem as busy on that end. Good!
I kept smelling the same thing I smelled in the hotel. What IS that?
I couldn't figure out where to go from the kiosk, so I asked a guy who worked for TSA where to go. He showed me and my goodness! That line was LONG!
Yo what is that smell???
I finally made it to the bins. I took my bookbag off, my jacket, my shoes.... Wait! I sniffed my shoes. "My shoes are reeking!" Yep you guessed it! Last night's weed. It wasn't EVEN light. I had plans to try to get medi bears home with me, but decided against it because I didn't want no smoke. Yet here I am smelling like a whole blunt!
I made it through with no problems in case you're wondering. LOL.
Before going to my terminal I decided to pick up See's candy. Someone suggested that I try some from LA since the factory is close by so it's guaranteed to be much fresher than See's Candy that you may get from out of state. I'm not a fan of candy so this was strictly for the kids.
Once I made it to my terminal I sat down and made a call to my brother to let him know when I'd be back.
A few short hours and a time zone change later I was back home. I landed at 9pm and arrived back to my house at about 9:45pm.
My children were excited to see me and asked what I had for them. They of course made a beeline for the candy and donuts. "Oh no yall don't! I have work in the a.m. and will not have yall bouncing off of the walls." I got into bed at approximately 10:45pm.
The next morning I woke up, got myself and my kids ready, and left out of the door for work and school as if this past weekend did not even happen.
What an eventful weekend! Although next go round I'm giving myself more than a full day out of town.
My brother called me and told me to make sure I had the kids ready. So I rushed to get myself together.
My brother came knocking at 7:00am and I eagerly (but lovingly) pushed them out of the door.
In my excitement I forgot to make myself breakfast and immediately requested my Lyft ride. After seeing that my ride was about 5 minutes away I realized that I hadn't made myself breakfast, but decided I'd just pick something up at the airport from McDonald's. Besides, I had about an hour and a half before boarding. And getting through TSA should be a breeze, right? At least it usually is whenever I catch a flight out of CVG.
I got to the airport with about an hour to spare.
Hmmm.... No self service kiosks? Oh gawd! *First world problems*
I walked up to the counter to get a ticket. The person said, "I quickly need your ID because you only have 5 minutes left for check in." Ummm... 'Scuse me? Why so early? I'm used to being able to check in up to 45 minutes before lift off. Hey, but I made it!
I walked up to the TSA line and my goodness! That line was long! It seemed as though everybody was going to LA.
I kept looking at my phone hangry as hell. I can laugh about this now, but in that moment.... Absolutely not!
I finally made it through TSA and looked at my phone. "Gahh! Only 25 minutes left! I didn't even get breakfast. Well, hopefully I'll still have some time to quickly pick up a breakfast sandwich."
I decided to take the train to my concourse because there was no way I would be able to walk and make it there in time to make my flight. And of course as my luck would have it... The train wasn't loading. I tried to see when the next train was due when a lady asked me about how the train runs. I explained it to her and she thanked me. I was then approached by these set of guys. They seemed about college age. They also asked me for help catching the train. I felt like an official travel guru or some shit!
My train dropped me off at my concourse which was A. I said to myself, "Okay, I have about 15 minutes. Let me stop at McDonald's real quick." Don't you know that all of the restaurants were over in concourse B? FML!
I ended up passing a Graeter's and picked up a donut and a bottle of orange juice. "That should hold me until I land. I'll only be in the air for 4 hours."
As soon as I arrived to the correct terminal I noticed that they were already boarding. I hopped right in line. I heard someone holler my name. "Who was that??" I turned around and realized that it was one of my co-workers. I remembered her mentioning that she would be catching the same flight heading to LA. So I did a quick "Hey girl hey!" And proceeded onto the plane.
Aside from being hungry, I was really anxious to take off and land. I boarded the plane and saw that I was assigned a middle seat. As the other people were boarding I noticed that no one stopped at my row. You mean I get the entire row to myself??? Cool!
Ah wait! Too good to be true! A woman stops. She was assigned the window seat. She asked me if I'd like to get the window seat and she take the middle. I said sure! Now I can record my take off and landing.
About an hour and a half in the sky and I became really anxious. "Is the flight almost over??? I'm ready to get off of this plane! Ugh!"
I truly believe that I felt the time change. Although the amount of time didn't increase. We actually landed earlier. I guess it felt later than what it really was and as a result felt like I traveled longer than I really did. Yall... Tell me if this makes sense?
Anyway, we finally landed. FINALLY! I was ready to check into my hotel and then EAT!
As soon as I walked off of the plane I called my oldest daughter. I then contemplated taking a Lyft to the hotel so that I could grab something to eat before check in. But seeing that I landed almost an hour earlier than expected and check in wasn't until 12pm I opted to call the hotel to see if it would be okay for me to check in early. The ladies at the hotel were really nice and said that it would be okay. They also sent for me a shuttle. I went ahead and accepted it because I was ready to leave the hustle and bustle of LAX. It also saved me a few bucks.
I waited and saw a Holiday Inn shuttle bus. Ah! Just in time. I climbed in. The driver asked, "You're going to the Holiday Inn?" I said yes and sat down. The other person on the bus got off and the driver asked, "Which Holiday Inn are you going to?" I told him and he said, "Oh this is the wrong shuttle. You want to get the one that says Holiday Inn Express." Oh no! Luckily we hadn't left the airport yet so I hopped off at another shuttle stop, thanked him, and called the hotel again. I told the lady at the front desk that I caught the wrong shuttle and where I was located. She said that he was on his way.
Ah okay NOW I have the right shuttle! We laughed about my mix up and we were off.
Man I'm hungry!
I arrived at the hotel. When I walked in the ladies at the front desk greeted me with, "You made it!" We all laughed and I said, "Yes finally!" I got all checked in and made my way to my room.
The hotel was really quiet. My room overlooked a Sizzler lol. No worries. I wasn't there for the hotel view. I just needed a place to crash for the night. I put my things down and looked over the place. Everything was good!
I sat down on my bed and breathed a sigh of relief. "I made it here! On my own!" I smiled to myself and gave myself a pat on the back. "Well done, Jay. Well done!"
I then realized.... I'm hungry!
What did I want? Some In N Out Burger! That place had been calling my name for the longest! Guess that's what's for lunch! So I requested a Lyft.
My Lyft driver was a middle aged black woman. I felt so comfortable. We chatted about me being here to visit. She was really sweet and funny. We gawked at how close In N Out was to LAX. Those planes were so low! I live in a part of town where the air traffic is heavy. I'm used to noise of a low flying airplane, but to see those planes so close... Everyone sitting outside didn't seem phased at all. My driver however told me she never gets used to seeing aircraft flying so low. I didn't blame her! We both ended up ordering from In N Out. She said to me, "Now see I was trying to be good and not eat take out. This is all your fault. But those shakes and fries are too good!" We laughed and talked some more until she dropped me back off at my hotel.
I sat on my bed and smashed. Hooomahgawd! That double double and those fries were SO GOOD!
I looked at the clock and saw that it was only about 12:45pm. I decided to take an hour nap.
My alarm went off at 1:45pm. I opened up the curtains. It was so nice and sunny outside. The concert didn't start until 6:30pm so why not venture out a bit? I picked out some capri joggers and a tee, packed my bookbag with my wallet and camera and requested my ride.
20 minutes later I arrived at Manhattan Beach. Passing by one of the steep streets that led to the beach, my driver explained to me that he never knew there was a beach there. I thought everyone knew! LOL. The view from the hill that we were on was absolutely beautiful. You could see a line of sand, the sun reflecting off of the waters, and the crashing waves. My driver dropped me off. I thanked him and went about my way.
It was 2:45pm. I was going to give myself until 4:30pm to stay there.
I walked down the steps of the pier onto the sand. The beach was nice and warm. A comfortable type of warm. I know what it's like to be on the beach when it's much hotter out because the sand burns the shit out of your feet. I didn't experience that. I damn near fell over a few times not being used to walking in sand though.
When I made it to the water I wondered, "What is that smell??" I know it's been years since I've been to a beach, but I truly don't remember it smelling like this. It had a weird mildew type of smell. Is this exclusive only to Manhattan Beach? I swear I don't remember the other beaches that I've been to smelling like that, but whatever!
I put my feet in the water. It caught me off guard because I didn't expect it to feel so cool. The tide also came in much higher than I thought it would and greeted me by soaking the bottom of my joggers.
I cased the beach letting the shallow waters rush across my feet and watched the kids have the time of their lives trying to beat the next wave coming in. I wrote my kids names in the sand. Sort of playing a game of "how quickly can I write their names before the next tide comes to wash it away." After a few losses I ended up winning.
I picked up a few shells to take back home to the kids as souvenirs. I wanted to wash the sand off of them so I waited for the next wave to hit. Underestimating the height of the next wave, I leaned over anticipating the water to hit my hand and wash the shells. Imagine my surprise when the wave came rolling in and hit right over my butt. I let out a shriek and laughed at myself. I was soaked!
I did a little more walking and people watching in hopes of drying off a bit because I didn't bring a towel with me to sit on during my ride back.
I think I lost myself in the experience of being there because I looked at my phone and realized that it was 5:00pm. "The concert begins at 6:30!" I needed time to actually get back to the hotel and shower and get ready! So I made my way back to the pier. The walk seemed to take forever. When I walked onto the pier I sat down on one of the benches and dusted all of the sand off of my joggers.
I tried requesting a ride back, but my mobile internet was not cooperating. Granted I do have a local service, but it's on a national network. So why wasn't it working? "Does this area just not have good coverage?" My service worked just fine in Inglewood.
I began freaking out because not only was my data not working, but my battery was dying. "Why did I leave my portable charger in the hotel room?" I began speed walking up one of the hills in hopes of catching a better signal, but I received nothing! Omg! I mean if push came to shove and my battery died before requesting a ride then there were plenty of bars that I was sure I could go to in order to call a taxi, but I'd hate to pay so much.
I noticed that my phone connected to someone's wifi. Yes!!! Let me hurry up and request one. But much to my dismay it was one of the cable provider wifi connections where you had to have some sort of service with them in order to sign in.
"Is this really gonna happen today? Right now? Will I seriously end up stranded here and miss my concert? FML!"
I walked a little further and saw that my mobile internet began working again. "Let me gone head and request one before I can't again!" I got into my Lyft app and requested a ride. Ugh! They were charging 150% prime time. My ride was going to be a good $100. Not really, but it would be a lot. I messaged my driver and told him exactly where I'd be in case my phone shuts off before he arrived.
At 5:25pm I hopped into my driver's car and off we were. He told me about different places and other beaches that I should consider visiting if I ever come back. He was really nice as well.
I made it to my hotel at around 5:45pm.
I walked in and rushed to the shower. I spent 15 minutes in the shower and got out to get dressed. I had a couple of mix and match pieces to choose from and had the hardest time trying to figure what to wear. Mind you it was about 6:15pm now and the concert was set to start at 6:30pm. The plus was that the place wasn't far from the hotel. Only about 10 or less minutes away. Concerts rarely start on time so I tried not to be too hard on myself.
I finally decided on what to wear. Some jean shorts, black tights, a black tank, a jean button down tunic (that I wore open), and black boots. I wore a bad ass purple and black ombre, lacefront, bob wig. I did my make up. Nothing extravagant. Just some foundation, winged liner, and dark lippie. I was cute lol!
I looked up and it was 6:45pm. Okay, not too bad. I knew Bone would not be on first so I didn't beat myself up too bad for running a little behind.
I looked at my phone and saw that I had a text message. It was from my middle daughter telling me goodnite and that she was going to bed. Bed? It's only 6:45pm. LOL. Then I remembered that Cincinnati is 3 hours ahead. I text her back goodnite.
I made sure that I had everything I needed. That included my portable charger. I wasn't gonna make that mistake again!
The sunset on the way to the arena was beautiful.
The driver attempted to pull into the parking lot, but one of the people working the event pointed him to the drop off zone. I got out of the car and tried to contain my excitement hoping that there would be a Bizzy or Layzie sighting before I actually made it inside. I mean a girl can dream, right? My luck wasn't that great, but to my surprise I wasn't late despite arriving at 7:00pm. People were still filing in and the show was just beginning.
As I walked through security I was given a ticket. Apparently the radio show hosting the event was raffling off a VIP package that included front row seats. I was pretty close to the stage, but I would be so excited to be able to get up closer. So I filled out my information and hoped like hell that they would call my name.
I walked in and asked for help to my seat. I simply could not wait!
I'll spare the intricate details of the concert. Just know that it was an amazing late 80's/early 90's blast from the past.
My many exes in Cincinnati and my long distance ex smoked weed all of the time. It wasn't like what I was around that night. No ma'am and no sir. Cali has some grade A, organic, never tested on animals, blessed... Yall that stuff had me feeling amazing off of the contact alone. So you know I had a good time.
As soon as we saw the backdrop of the next act the crowd went wild... As did I. BTNH were set to come on next. I scanned that stage hard. I saw their manager case the stage to see that everything was in working order. "Okay! Come on! I wanna see my faves!" Music started and they walked onto the stage. "Wait.... There's only 3? Where's Bizzy? Omg Where's Lay???"
I was PRESSEDT about being able to see them and they weren't there. My heart actually sank a little.
Wish announced that some things came up, but they're still going to give us a good show. And he didn't lie because they did. I still really enjoyed myself!
A nice long concert from roughly 7pm until 12am. I was tired by the end, but had such a good time!
My way back home was anything, but uneventful. Life would not have been right if nothing happened, so of course something did!
I requested my ride as I walked out of the arena. As I made it to the sidewalk I noticed that the driver was close by. I decided to call him to let him know exactly where I was because there was a large crowd of concert goers and I knew he wouldn't be able to pick me out of the bunch. And let me tell you! Bunch is not even an accurate description. It was more like a hoard. Crossing the intersection of Manchester and S Prairie, I thought, would take a couple of minutes. I sat for about 8 minutes waiting to cross with the giant crowd. The driver told me to walk to a side street called Kelso.
Now, clearly I'm not from Los Angeles and did not know that the street was just a block down from the corner that I crossed. I paced a short distance down S Prairie and then back up to Manchester. I had no clue where I was supposed to go and too prideful to ask the many people walking up and down the street from the concert.
I finally swallowed that pride and asked a group of girls where Kelso St was. I'm such an airhead! If I would have walked a few feet further down S Prairie then I would have met my driver much sooner!
I called my driver and let him know that I was almost to Kelso and he urged for me to hurry because the police were bugging people about sitting idle on that street. As I picked up my step a group of girls (who seemed very happy and drunk) yelled out of their window, "I love your hair girl!!!" I yelled back, "Thank you boo!"
I finally made it to the car and apologized for taking so long. He told me not to worry about it and that he expected me to come with an entourage of friends. I explained to him that this was a solo trip just for me. He seemed surprised and asked, "So you traveled here and went to a concert by yourself?" I said, "Yep! And I had the time of my life!" I asked him if I could make a detour to In N Out Burger because I was starving! He said no problem!
After I placed my order we had to wait for a few. I think everybody had the same thing in mind because the place was packed. We talked about the concert's line up. We in fact talked the entire time. He told me that I seemed very.... umm... Happy for a lack of better words. He said that I smelled like it as well.
I laughed out loud and said, "I can assure you that I didn't smoke anything this time, but the contact was amazing."
By the time I made it back to the hotel it was close to 1:00am. I cleaned my face, slipped into some comfortable clothes, set my alarm for 7:00am and KILLEDT that burger! I went to sleep immediately afterward.
I woke up fully rested and thought that I woke up later than planned. Much to my surprise it was about 5:00am. I woke up a whole 2 hours early! That 3 hour time change meant much more than I thought it did. I tried going back to sleep, but it didn't work. I decided to jump in the shower and get the majority of my things packed before going down to breakfast.
Breakfast was actually pretty good! Really good! I know how continental breakfasts can be hit or miss. Not this one! I've already planned to book this hotel upon my next trip here. Yes, food is one of the major factors!
After breakfast I made my way back to my room. I still had a lot of time left so I planned a trip to Randy's Donuts. That was definitely one of the places I wanted to go before heading back home. So I requested my ride.
Unlike my other drivers this one exuded California f*ckboy. Even in his old age. He wasn't mean, but it was like his ways could be detected even through his friendly disposition. I rolled with it. I just wanted donuts!
We made it. There was a line, but nothing outrageous. I knew that I could get my donuts and get back before it was time to head to the airport.
Those donuts smelled so heavenly. I ordered a few for myself and a round of donut holes to bring back to the kids. They were so hot and fresh and just perfect!
On my ride back I endured the driver's self adoration. "How old do I look?" "A lot of people tell me that I look younger than my age." "It's all because of my diet." "I consume these amount of calories." Boy if you don't...!
I made it back to my hotel with approximately 45 minutes to spare. I sat down and went over in my head the happenings of this weekend. I congratulated myself for allowing myself to experience this despite all of the mishaps. I knew that it was the confidence needed for, hopefully, future solo trips. I also kept getting a whiff of something. I couldn't quite figure exactly what it was. Maybe just the hotel? I didn't know.
Time to go! I grabbed my bag and my jacket and made my way to the lobby. As luck would have it, I had just missed the shuttle bus and the next wasn't set to leave until 25 minutes later. If I left 25 minutes later then I'd risk missing my plane. Luckily another guy who had just checked out was on his way to the airport and needed to leave much sooner than 25 minutes as well. He used his white privilege to get us an earlier ride. Yasss reparations!!
When I got to the airport I checked in at the kiosk. The airport didn't seem as busy on that end. Good!
I kept smelling the same thing I smelled in the hotel. What IS that?
I couldn't figure out where to go from the kiosk, so I asked a guy who worked for TSA where to go. He showed me and my goodness! That line was LONG!
Yo what is that smell???
I finally made it to the bins. I took my bookbag off, my jacket, my shoes.... Wait! I sniffed my shoes. "My shoes are reeking!" Yep you guessed it! Last night's weed. It wasn't EVEN light. I had plans to try to get medi bears home with me, but decided against it because I didn't want no smoke. Yet here I am smelling like a whole blunt!
I made it through with no problems in case you're wondering. LOL.
Before going to my terminal I decided to pick up See's candy. Someone suggested that I try some from LA since the factory is close by so it's guaranteed to be much fresher than See's Candy that you may get from out of state. I'm not a fan of candy so this was strictly for the kids.
Once I made it to my terminal I sat down and made a call to my brother to let him know when I'd be back.
A few short hours and a time zone change later I was back home. I landed at 9pm and arrived back to my house at about 9:45pm.
My children were excited to see me and asked what I had for them. They of course made a beeline for the candy and donuts. "Oh no yall don't! I have work in the a.m. and will not have yall bouncing off of the walls." I got into bed at approximately 10:45pm.
The next morning I woke up, got myself and my kids ready, and left out of the door for work and school as if this past weekend did not even happen.
What an eventful weekend! Although next go round I'm giving myself more than a full day out of town.
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