In Between an End and a Beginning: Day One

A big hello to all my fans out there!  It has been quite the week for your favorite little otter and I'm here to tell you all about it!

The end of an era was upon us.  Lindsay was about to take off from work for a 3 month hiatus and start the journey of a lifetime with me...oh, and with Zach too.  I decided that I wanted to go all out for my last weeks in LA.  I have to admit that I may have been a tad bit excessive but that's what otters and people do.  

I started my bender in preemo dugout seats at the Dodgers game.  I binge ate on 2 Dodger dogs (1 with chilli and onions and a 2nd with ketchup and relish), the best nachos I've ever had, some Caesar salad (gotta keep my bod toned) and some ice cream to top it all off.  Also, seeing Andre Ethier have an awesome game made my night the ultimate experience.  There's one thing Zach and I agree on...our man crush on Andre.  SWOON! 

Waiting for my slammin' nachos to come my way

Intently watching Andre's every masculine move

 

Stalking Andre from a comfortable distance

 

Zach and Lindsay doing their "coupley" thing

 

Right after the big win, we headed over to Valley Village for Brad's birthday bash.  Brad hosted the party at one of my favorite bars in town The Fifth.  Why do I love this place?  First, it looks like a strip club from the outside--always a plus.  Second, they are heavy handed with the liquor--a drunk otter is a happy otter.  Third, they have pretty good music on the jukebox despite Brian saying it was a very "white jukebox."  Lastly, the ladies are loose and ready to mingle with a charming otter like myself.   

Falling off the wagon once again

The men want to be me and the women want me

And then in an instant, the weekend was gone.  Zach and Lindsay had to pack up their bikes and ship them to Virginia Beach for the beginning of the trip so they didn't have a proper final training ride.  I did my part and did some crunches and some leg work at the LA Fitness.  They went back at work and I went back to lounging around Lindsay's apartment and playing some Uncharted 2 on the PS3.


Lindsay had a insanely busy last week of work at NBC and barely made it out alive.  After preparing a gazillion talent letters and keeping track of billions of excel sheets, she was finally free for her 3 month hiatus.  We were on our way to Washington D.C.!  Of course Zach came along and I was extreeeemely embarrassed because he decided that it was a great idea to look like a serial killer (see photo below).  Words don't even describe.  I usually don't like to associate myself with people like him but I had no choice in the matter. 

Zach's packing skills made for a very questionable bin

Me, Lindsay and a serial killer named Zach

Saying good bye (for now) to the City of Angels

And we were off!  We were on a red eye that left LA at 11:30, arrived in Atlanta at 7:40 and departed for D.C. at 8:40.  I definitely needed to catch some z's so I performed my pre-flight ritual and popped some Ambien and downed  some white wine spritzer.  I think I dreamt of my old home on the river or possibly some random night drinking on the streets...it's all a faint memory to me now.  

It was very fitting for us to start our grand adventure in our nation's capital!  There is no better way to pwn America than starting at her core.  Lindsay's D-Block crew (Christine, Melissa, Romeo and Amit) kindly picked us up from the airport in Amit's baller BMW.  I'm glad they realized that I only travel in style and in bougie automobiles.  We dropped Lindsay and Zach's bins off at Romeo's (who was kind enough to host us three hobos) and went to grab some grub.

Melissa and I really hit it off...too bad she has a boyfriend

The gal pals...and Zach

Scoping out the happy hour menu

Drinking my liquid lunch

I quickly realized that liter glasses full of beer are very heavy to hold

Drinking some Sam Adams Summer Ale with Lloyd and Rose

Giving into the peer pressure

By 1:00 PM I was successfully buzzed and ready to explore more of the fantastic capital of ours.  We walked the D.C. streets some more and we ended up at the Waterfront in Georgetown.  The place resembled a picturesque city on the coast of France or Cancun during Spring Break.  Our group made our way to an outdoor bar that overlooked the water.  And surprise, surprise, we started drinking again!

Roaming the rough streets of D.C.

Jumping on the rough streets of D.C.

Lloyd and his humongous backpack...he is such a scholar

Totally looking like I'm in Cannes, France

Christine and Lindsay totally looking like they're in Cancun for Spring Break 2010

 

Jumping at Spring Break 2010!

Trying to make the move on Melissa...looks like it's working

Spotted: Babycakes miserably drunk

The picture of the perfect woman

What happened next is hazy.  I remember tiramisu gelato and blueberry stoli.  There may have been some sub-par Thai food mixed in there too.  Lindsay suffered a serious headache from the sun and booze.  She passed out from exhaustion for an unknown amount of time.  Definitely a great way to start an adventure and prep for a cross country bike ride.

To be continued....