So a few weekends ago a good friend from the mission, Elder David Wyder, gave his homecoming talk in Cypress, CA, right next to Anaheim. It was also conveniently the weekend right before my birthday, so we combined the two reasons and decided to roadtrip down to play on the beach.... and to see him speak of course. But most importantly to go to the beach. Here are a few pictures, with obnoxious commentary. Enjoy.

Meet the gang:



Sharon with the aviators, me and bug guts, and Julie and Lacey. It was quite possibly the best roadtrip crew I've ever had. Sharon provided the amazingly-spacious-gas-efficient Santa Fe, Julie's always got some kind of connection, and Lacey our own personal photographer.

Julie gave us our Vegas hook-up. Not only did she help us stay in the Mariott for the Associate rate, but her friend worked at some fancy club in Vegas. We showed up, dropped a name and we were in. It rocked.

Some of our great stops included the "World-Famous" Alien Fresh Jerky, in the town of Baker California. We weren't sure if the Jerky was fresh from the Aliens, or if it was actually Alien. After realizing the deliciousness of the free samples, we thought it better not to ask.

Downtown Disney, which, compared to actual Disney, is not quite as exciting, but free. It also included the Lego Store (also, not qutie as cool as LegoLand, but free),

which as you can see, had a ginormous giraffe constructed entirely of Legos. Inspirational really.

Julie had her fortune told by an alien, which actually yelled at you if you walked past it and didn't put money into it. We bought into the scam. The fortune was lame, but entertaining

nevertheless.

Also had the pleasure of dining at Bubba Gump Shrimp, where the food is not quite so tasty, and hugely over-priced. But the staff and large amounts of random paraphenalia are enough to

distract you.

And after all fun was had, we made it to the beach. Chilly, but oh-so worth it.

After another disgustingly cheap stay at the Marriot, and delicious homemade crossaints, we arrived at the homecoming, had dinner with the fam, and then braved the 10 hr drive straight throught the night. Which lead to my first, and possibly last experience with a Rockstar. And we rounded the whole thing out with a little 2am birthday bash for my big 2-3.