California Adventures: Life's A Beach!

I've known "Alabama" for over 5 yrs now, and though he and I never lived in the same city, we have always kept up communication and maintained an acquaintance-ship. I hadn't seen him in over a year, and when he got wind that I would be on the West Coast, he jumped at the opportunity to meet up with me since he too, was in Southern California at the time.

He sent me a message asking if I was still in L.A. When I replied yes, he immediately sent me another message that said "San Diego?" I texted him back, "Are you inviting me to San Diego? If so when?" He said "of course I am! I will be there this Thurs and will prob stay until Sat or possibly even Sun. Bring your swim suit." That was music to my ears. I had yet to make it to the beach since being out here, and my body was thirsting for UV rays. So the following Thursday, I packed a small bag that mainly consisted of flimsy summer dresses and a couple of swim suits in anticipation of my beach trip. I brought along a novel, and some info on the product launch from my company to read while basking in the sun. I was siked!

I was able to weasel my way out of a seminar and a few team building activities scheduled for Friday, jump into my rented car and embark on a road trip down the 101 heading South to San Diego. Armed with my trusty Ipod and a bottle of Evian, I was ready to roll. I updated the Tom Tom on where I needed to be....La Jolla, CA- baby!

I arrived shortly after 10pm. Even though Tom Tom told me it would take about an hour and 38 minutes, with the 101 traffic, it took me nearly 3.5 hrs instead. YIKES! A little flustered from the ride, my frown turned upside down at the sight of Alabama walking toward me in the parking lot. He greeted me with a huge bear hug and that mega-watt smile of his. He grabbed my bags and led me into the condo and introduced me to the three young men sitting on the couch. They were all called Coach so-and -so, which led me to believe that they were all colleagues.

Alabama was on a recruiting trip, which is the reason he was in Southern California. He accompanied by his grad assistant to seal the deal between his school's athletic program and one of their prospects. The other guys were coaches at the prospect's current school and had been friends of Alabama's from his college days.

They were waiting on me to arrive so that we could have a night out on the town. I ran upstairs, changed my clothes and joined them in the living room where they were discussing....sports. The only girl in a group of men, I eventually became comfortable as the night progressed. They were taking shots called Jäger-Bombs; Jägermeister and beer. I knew immediately that I would be the designated driver. The night went on and turned in to morning. We stopped to grab a bite to eat before stumbling in at 5am. Two of the guys never made it out of the backseat of the SUV; they spent the night in the truck.

Alabama woke me up at about 10am and told me to get dressed because the place we were staying in had been rented out for the weekend. I overheard him telling one of his co-workers the night before, that we would be relocating to the nearby Embassy Suites Hotel. So, I got up, took a shower and proceeded to put on my Happy Face (what I call my make-up application). Alabama came into the room to grab my bag and put it in the trunk of my car. I was assuming that I would follow him and the grad assistant to the Embassy Suites Hotel as they checked into the room that we were to stay in for the next night or two.

Seated in my car, ready to follow them, Alabama walks up to the driver's side window and taps on it. I rolled it down and he proceeded to lean in and give me a kiss. He said "Thanks for coming to see me, drive safely."
SCCCCREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAACCCHHHHHH!!!!!!
"Huh?", I replied confused as hell. "Where am I going?" He looked at me and said "Back to L.A." I gave him a blank stare. He proceeded with "I mean, I'm going to hit the road to drive back home myself. We don't have a place to stay."

It turned out that the Booster whose condo it was that we stayed in the night before, had rented out the condo to a couple on vacation for the weekend. Alabama had just been told of the arrangements the night before, and had made no other accommodations for us to stay elsewhere. When asked about the Embassy Suites deal, he said that it was $300 a night and he wouldn't be reimbursed for it. I sat there in disbelief with him staring back at me.

After a few minutes of silence, I bid my farewell to Alabama, as I mentally prepared myself to hit the road. Here it was, a little over 12 hours since I had arrived, and I was about to get back on the 101 and spend another 3.5 hrs in traffic before making it back to L.A. WTF?!

Reading my facial expression, I am sure Alabama knew that I was PISSED. He looked at me and said "Don't tell me that it wasn't worth it," with a sly grin. I let him know very politely that, no one and nothing is worth such a turn around trip and the time I wasted. I took off a day, spent $100 plus dollars all to play designated driver for a night??? I think not!

I drove down the winding road in La Jolla lined with sandy white beaches and asked myself "Why are you leaving again?" After all, I had been looking forward to hitting the beach for days. I got on the phone, called my dad, and asked him if he could book me a hotel room at the Embassy Suites. I found a Wal-Mart, bought myself a beach umbrella and a towel and headed for the Beach!

I sat under the umbrella most of the day with my notepad and a pencil. I spent some time with myself re-evaluating my life and my (mis)-adventures in dating. It was very tranquil. I was able to create several goals for myself, both long-term and short-term. But most importantly, I was able to reflect on my worth and my value.

One of the most important lessons that a father can set for his daughter is the standard by which men should treat her. It is through her father, that a woman learns what to accept and what not to accept from men. It is by his example that she sees the way a man is supposed to interact with a woman he is dating or married to. Because of the example that my father has set for me, I know that if I was not worth a simple $300 hotel room to him than he is NOT a man that I should even be associated with.

I am not a prima-donna, but I know how a man is suppose to treat me. My dad has taught me that if a man can't do what he has done for me or better, than I have no need for said man in my life. I understand that the economy is bad and people don't have as much cash flow as they need to. But I also understand that it is about simple communication. Had Alabama come to me shooting straight from the hip about the accommodations, then I would have been able to tell him that my father was an HHonors member and enough points for us to have a free hotel room for a couple of nights. But instead, he chose not to say anything and assume that I knew we had no where to go.

I spent the night in La Jolla and woke up the next morning to hit the beach for a final time before getting back on the road. Though the trip didn't end up the way it was planned, it had a much better ending. I was able to see Alabama's true colors, but most importantly, I was able to spend some time with ME.