The continuing.

Hwy 1

I’m back. Again. I just get so caught up in all there is to do in these new locations that I forget to record my fun! When I last wrote, I had finished my assignment in LA and was headed north to Monterey, California. Little did I know, I was about to embark on the most beautiful I drive I will probably ever take (and by drive, I mean sit in awe of my surroundings in the passenger seat while my dad drove).

Solvang

My dad flew out to meet me in LA and make the drive up Highway 1. It was a few hours longer than the direct route, but I’m not here to take the fastest route, I’m in this for the experience! We drove through Brentwood and Malibu and stopped at the Santa Barbara Wharf for lunch. We veered slightly off course to experience Solvang, which was settled as a Danish colony and seems to have changed very little from that time, windmills and all. Somehow we made the best turn we could have possibly made as dusk started to fall and stumbled upon the absolute most charming area that California has to offer. If you’ve never heard of Cambria I need you to drop what you are doing and book a trip. And a rental car because there is literally nothing around here but the most adorable love-story-style inns and family-owned shops. We stayed at Sand Pebbles Inn. Yep, it’s as cute as it sounds, real key and all. All of the inns look out over an incredible rocky coastline, and it was while we were walking from the one restaurant in the area, that I realized I hadn’t seen the stars in a good six months – I forgot about them. The rediscovery was a magnificent start to another unforgettable journey.

Cambria

Roman Pool
Hearst Castle

The next day, we explored Hearst Castle, whose grounds and views are as astonishing as the buildings themselves. One thing I wish I were better at is conveying the beauty that I see almost daily. I can only say “amazing” or “beautiful” or “astonishing” so many times, I need stronger words! Maybe I’ll test out “amazeballs” or create “astonishificent.” I’ll keep you posted.

Pebble Beach 18th Hole

Next up was San Simeon and the stinky cool elephant seals and after that we made it to the fairytale neighborhood of Carmel-by-Sea.  Pebble Beach and 17-Mile Drive were next on the list and I felt pretty fancy checking it out. Then it was time to return Dad to the real world, which involved a trip to San Francisco. Which, if you haven’t been, is a whole different world. The streets seem like they are at 90 degree angles and the houses look like paintings. No wonder the Tanner Family loved it there. From the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, the Painted Ladies, Alcatraz, the cable cars, and Haight Ashbury, I would never be able to choose a favorite. We may not have much history compared to some other countries, but America has packed some seriously cool stuff into the short time we’ve been around.

The reflecting. Part 2.

After Christmas I returned to LA to dive head first into all that is the City of Angels. I had an apartment downtown and a job on Sunset Boulevard. Yep, THE Sunset Blvd. I drove it everyday and marveled at how lucky I was to be in Los Angeles and immerse myself in the ever-changing culture, art, food, and people. I watched football in West Hollywood, drank cucumber margaritas on Hollywood Blvd, played Heads Up! at Hookah Bars, ate breakfast on Sunset, gallivanted around Disneyland, danced at a music festival/snowboarding competition at the Rose Bowl, ate ramen at Grand Central Market, got winded at Runyon Canyon, drank wine on a rooftop in Koreatown, gawked at the Capitol Records building, sat within a 4 feet of Jesse Metcalfe at the Nice Guy, laughed at Dane Cook, Judd Apatow, Jeff Ross, Adam Devine, and Iliza Shlesinger at the Hollywood Improv, drove the short way to San Diego for a weekend trip, and was an extra in a movie at Dodger Stadium. And that was just the first half of the assignment.

Shaun White was here somewhere...

Dane Cook!

The hospital I worked at was LAMC, also known as Kaiser Sunset. It is a teaching hospital located near Children's Hospital, and is designated for high-risk deliveries. Just the place I needed to be. Honestly. I loved it. The people there were in the mindset to help with half the rooms but the same number of nurses as my previous assignment. Plus I was a day-walker this time which made all the difference for me. I learned so much more here.

My favorite thing at The Getty - The Vexed Man

When my mom and sister came to visit we made the "LA list" even longer, with a trip to The Getty Museum, dinner downtown, Wicked at Pantages Theatre, entertaining Uber rides, martinis in a revolving bar high atop the Westin, toes in the sand in Santa Monica, and hanging out with Jesse Tyler Ferguson. I finished off my assignment with a trip to Las Vegas to learn all things March Madness related.

I can't find the words to communicate how grateful I am to have family that is able and willing to come visit me as I explore the west coast, and concluded my SoCal experience with a visit from my Dad which began a Monterey-bound adventure up the coast on Highway 1.

The reflecting. Part 1.

I'm back. It's safe to say that my lack of blogging is directly related to all the fun I've been having, but I plan to make a valiant effort to regularly record the amazing experiences that go along with traveling the country and delivering babies. So to catch up, here is what I didn't document:

• Angels vs Dodgers in the MLB play-offs
• Craig's for dinner, first round of celebrity sightings (Craig Robinson, Mike O'Malley, Jeff Ross), and an impressive car accident
• My sister came for a visit!!
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off on the Santa Monica Pier
• Exploring and astonishment of Beverly Hills
• Watching football and teaching those around us what they need to know about college football before Julia left
• Manhattan Beach Pier lighting for Christmas (they pretend they have seasons)
• Thanksgiving in Venice Beach with Cousin Brooke's awesome family (how lucky am I that they came here?!?)
• A really sweet, appreciative send-off from possibly the most challenging assignment I'll have

After finishing my first assignment, I was sure I could handle almost any situation given to me. I thought I was confident in my skills before this, but God knew how far to push me without causing me to doubt myself. There were times when I had 2 active laboring patients who both needed attention without the advantage of a supportive charge nurse while all of my fellow nurses were either in the OR or attending to their own patients but always able to lend a hand. The other nurses are 100% what upheld me during this experience and I am so thankful for them and their assistance and education. I also gained some great friends from this assignment! The end of this assignment brought me to Christmas and a much needed trip home.

I have some amazing friends and family who took time to catch up and hang out with me, and I'm so glad they did! I definitely wouldn't have the confidence to continue this adventure if it wasn't for the support and some serious encouragement from my family (friends included in that category). I also got to see my B'wood coworkers and it felt so good.

The balancing.

       When I say, "end to an awesome trip," I mean it was time to take my chauffeur/cross-country travel buddy/dinner date/fellow explorer/mom to the airport. It was bittersweet, but I was a little excited about going to the LAX. I kept telling her to keep her eyes peeled for all the celebs because I was sure she would make best friends with Ashton and Mila and they would ask me to be their live-in nanny. Or at least the Governator and he would offer to fund some kind of extravagant life for me. Unfortunately this didn't happen, but I did get some cool Hollywood magnets in the mail the next week. After successfully navigating the chaos that is LAX traffic, she made it to the gate and successfully back to sweet home Alabama.
       I, on the other hand, continued exploring. I decided to drive west until I hit the water and then go south, towards Long Beach. This ended up being the greatest of ideas and I stumbled upon the gem that is Manhattan Beach. Anyone who ever visits this little gem of a neighborhood and doesn't want to immediately to take up residence in one of the seaside bungalows fits in the Lohan/Bynes category. I mean this place is the adorable town where you can walk to breakfast and sit outside year-round, then stroll to some neat boutiques, and finish your day with a picnic on the beach, all with your puppy along side. And most people do.

With a day before beginning my first ever night shift, I took the opportunity to do absolutely nothing all day long. On Monday, I decided to begin the day of my all-nighter with a walk on the beach and an outdoor lunch at The GreenHouse with my Kindle. Then a nap and my first night at work. It went well but I began feeling a cold coming that progressed into the worst I can ever remember feeling. Lots of sleep followed and after about a week, I had decided that I wasn't on the verge of death. This could have been because of a combination of night shifts and the change of climate/extreme lack of humidity that is abundant in Alabama, but after it was over, I was finally able to drive home without being convinced my head was trying to explode through my sinuses.

The acclimating.

       As a local, I decided we should be doing the things that locals do. I mean, working a day here put me in the category of local, right? Regardless of the fact that I had been here a whopping five days, I was going to do all things native. With a little guidance of a more "long-term" local from work whom I had badgered to find out what us inhabitants do, Mom and I found a fun pizza place with quite the inspirational wall: Pieology. Think subway for pizza with just as many toppings and a great price. I've learned that a positive sign to look for is the packed restaurant at lunchtime, and this one definitely met that criteria.
       After lunch we found the beach again, which I've since learned does not have waves because of multiple small man made islands outside the Port. This was followed by a restaurant recommended by our AirBNB hosts called Belmont Brewing Company. It is on the beach with minimal parking, which required an experiment to see if my car would be the noble recipient of a wrong-way-parallel-parking ticket. It wasn't, luckily. But the view from the restaurant was stunning. This view inspired Mom's suppressed instagram talent and produced this beauty.

 The next day we got to move in to my home for the next twelve and a half weeks. The apartment isn't gigantic, but definitely all I need to be comfortable. Plus, it has a separate living room and bedroom, which was a luxury we took for granted until the Extended Stay and my-early-to-bed-for-early-mornings routine versus Mom's stay-up-late-because-why-not routine. We made a Target run as well as Best Buy (I have Netflix and an HD antenna in lieu of cable) and I felt like I was getting settled in. This ended with a token In-N-Out Burger run which happens to be located entirely too close to my apartment to not become a staple.

 The rest of the week was completed nicely with a good couple of days learning about the hospital and eating some great Mexican (not Tex-Mex, I think) and an adventure called Green Field's. Technically, Green Field Churrascaria, it is a Brazilian Steakhouse which means all-you-can-eat which means they have way lots of meat which means you are going to get all the protein you need for the next five seasons of your life in a super fancy setting. If you every have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it, but proceed with caution. Certainly a great end to an awesome trip with a spectacular mom.

The doing.

On Monday it was time to get down to business. Being a little nervous about the infamous "LA traffic," Mom and I decided to give ourselves plenty of drive time to get to the hospital. We quickly learned that though LA traffic is bad, it's also lazy. Traffic here doesn't start until 7 or 8 am, and we left at close to 6:00 to make it about ten miles in order to arrive by 7:00. Lucky for us there is a Starbucks on literally every third corner here so we stopped for some coffee, and not a minute too soon for Mom (the self-confessed opposite of a morning person) who had the luxury of driving me to work while she was here since we had uno caro.

It's official!

I'll be honest, the excitement outweighed the nervousness of beginning work at a new hospital. I had recently passed my RNC-OB (registered nurse certified in inpatient obstetrics) exam and felt like no matter what, I know the nationally recognized standards and, even though I may not do things exactly the way the other local nurses do, things would get done safely and efficiently. Brookwood was the only hospital I'd had the pleasure of perfecting my nursing skills and I felt very grown finally embarking on my new normal as a travel nurse. This grown up feeling translated into my parents getting my first (and most likely last) set of selfies.

Hospital-provided scrubs are awesome sauce.

When the day ended, we, of course, had to celebrate. Since our arsenal of celebratory restaurant choices was essentially empty at this point, we found a place called the Elephant Bar Restaurant. Being from Alabama, how could this not have been anything but awesome?! And it was. Minus the fact that every single restaurant and bar here cards. Every. Single. Time. So after a good dinner (and possibly closing down the restaurant) it was back to the Extended Stay with a much accomplished day behind us.

The exploring.

       And now we have made it to Sunday. Which means more touristy exploring. Being within driving distance of Hollywood, we clearly had to find it. Mission: Chinese Theatre. With the hour drive behind us, we found a parking deck half a block from Hollywood Blvd and headed towards the Theatre. While walking on the side street, Mom and I see someone who looks very much like Johnny Depp and get a tiny bit excited, only to be let down once he gets closer and we see he has a little too much meat on his bones. So we make it to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on to Chinese Theatre with all of the footprints and signatures of the Hollywood elite. This was awesome. Lots of celebrities and personalities and handprints and signatures and room for plenty more.

"Sid, may you never die till I kill you" Humphrey Bogart

From TCL Chinese Theatre, formerly Grauman's Chinese Theatre, formerly Mann's Chinese Theatre, you can see the Roosevelt Hotel, the location of filming of the Jimmy Kimmel show, El Capitan theater, and Hollywood and Highland. So pretty much all the Hollywood I could want within walking distance. Happy girl.

Yep, this is one I took a picture of.

Technically the theater is a part of The Hollywood and Highland Center which is gigantically huge. It's also where we had a good shot at the Hollywood sign. And my day was made.

Being the local SoCal girl that I am now, let me give you a little advice: If you make it to this area you have to at least drive through Griffith Park and by the Griffith Observatory. Prepare to fall in love with the view. It's amazingly astonishingly beautiful, day or night. The homes on the way there aren't bad either. 

Once we picked our jaws back up, Mom was on yelp.com again finding some where to eat. Yelp suggested an authentic Thai restaurant and we accepted. There are so many different cultures here that I've found most restaurants are very authentic.

This place is amazing.