Hey guys, Nate here. I'm proud to announce that I'm now the Program Director of Scrawny To Brawny. From now on all of my blogs and articles will be posted on the brand-new Scrawny To Brawny Blog. So if you enjoyed what you read here, please go check it out. (It's awesome, if I say so myself.) I'm keeping the NGE website alive for resource reasons, but will no longer be actively updating it. The best way to get in touch with me is through leaving a comment on the Scrawny To Brawny blog or by posting on the S2B Facebook page. See you guys over at the new blog!
California Love - 17+ Spots to Check Out
Highway 1 - A beautiful drive
Road Trippin'
My friends and I hopped a plane from Missoula, MT to California last week under the pretense of attending the Perform Better Summit in Long Beach. With that as our only plan (and no real place to be), we got into our rental car and decided to see what kind of trouble we could get into.
Here are the highlights (with some links to some cool places to visit if you're ever in the area).
Wednesday
- Finish an article on the plane, land in LAX, pick up rental car, and immediately stop at In-N-Out Burger. (Later, after spending an hour in the bathroom, Mike thinks he knows exactly why they decided to call it that.)
- Buy a six-pack of Sierra Nevada beer and have a few on the way to La Jolla. (No, the driver didn't drink...) Listened to a lot of horrible (yet catchy) pop-rap on the radio.
- Show up in La Jolla and hang out at the Living Room Hookah bar. Get a hook-up from a friend for a discounted hotel rate that we don't end up using.
- Walk along the beach in bare feet.
Thursday
- Early morning training session at the La Jolla Sports Club followed by breakfast at Cody's.
- Head to San Diego where we book a room at the very nice Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
- Dinner at Gaslamp Strip Club (not what it sounds like) where you grill your own meat. My question to the waitress: "What happens if I fuck it up?" Her response: "Then you need to take more cooking lessons." She was feisty. And my steak was awesome. Sipped Stone IPA and talked about life.
- After a tip from a cabbie we head to Double Deuce bar where they have a mechanical bull. Naturally, I sign us up for the rodeo. We ride like champs and think we have a fighting chance of winning till an attractive girl falls out of her top while riding. We lose, but don't mind. At all.
Mike Enjoying His Rare Steak
Friday
- Drive back to La Jolla and meet with TC, editor for T-Nation, for lunch at the Brick and Bell café. Awesome.
- I buy a shirt from Armani Exchange and get the checkout girl's phone number. She never replies back to my text message. (For shame, Yanet!) Not sure I'd know what to do if she did.
- We make it to Long Beach in time for the Perform Better social. Hang out with Alwyn Cosgrove, Robert Dos Remedios, Martin Rooney, Craig Weller, Jen Sinkler, Tyler English, Luka Hocevar, and too many other people to name.
- Drinks and dinner at the Yardhouse. 178 beers on tap. Are you freakin' kidding me?
Saturday
- Early morning training session at Gold's Gym.
- Hang out at the seminar and meet people. Someone buys me a burrito because "you're fucking Nate Green, man!" Which is the weirdest reason for which I've ever been bought a burrito.
- Watch the UFC fights at Hooters with the whole crew. Meet the creator of the TRX. Have a late dinner, drinks, and an awesome brainstorming session with Luka and Tyler English. Smart guys.
Sunday
- Early morning training session at Gold's Gym.
- Breakfast at the Omelet Inn, which, in my opinion, serves the best damn omelets I've ever tasted. Get a $67 parking ticket.
- Drive to San Francisco (about 8 hours away.) Halfway through the trip we pass Harris Ranch aka "Cowschwitz", a feedlot that produces over 100,000 head of cattle per year. They also supply all of the beef for In-N-Out burger. I suddenly feel sick. Amazing to see where your food comes from. I finish another article on the drive. (Sitting in the backseat has its advantages.)
- On the recommendation of a friend, we book a room at the W, quite possibly the coolest hotel I've ever stayed in.
- Tapas and drinks at the Thirsty Bear organic brewpub. Amazing nitro-stout and great service. We were very thirsty bears.
- Mike and I find the hot tub where we meet two very nice girls. (And, unfortunately, their two very nice boyfriends.)
Getting a little work done at the W in SF.
Monday
- Meet with Tim Ferriss for lunch at Osha Thai. Great two-hour talk. Lots of stuff to think about and do.
- Finish writing project while sitting by the fireplace, eating an awesome burger and sipping on a Chimay in the W hotel café. See legendary basketball star Bill Walton. Text my little brother (a huge basketball fan). He replies and tells me to "ask Bill about his LSD use in college." No f'ing way.
- Dinner at Annabelle's Bistro. Have an Anchor Steam beer and a great steak.
- Sip on a delicious rye-Manhattan at the RedWood Room where the portraits on the wall are dynamic. Meaning, the person posing in the picture slightly changes positions every few minutes. It scares the shit out of me the first time I notice.
- On the way back to our hotel, this happens:
Tuesday
- Have breakfast at Whole Foods, drive down one of the windiest roads in America, have awesome rice pudding and americanos at the Loving Cup, and drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, because, well, you gotta do stuff like that when you're in San Francisco, right?
- Take the Coastal Highway (Highway 1) for a few hours on the way back to LA and stopped at Half Moon Bay Brewing and the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Company (awesome fish tacos).
- Book a cheap-ass room at the Super 8 and watch a live car chase on Fox News.
Wednesday
- Fly back to Montana and drink about 2 gallons of water. (Know why you feel like crap when you travel? Sure, jet-lag, but you're also extremely dehydrated.)
- Slapped hands with Jason, Drew, and Mike and decided that we should not hang out for at least a few days so as not to strangle each other.
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So that's what we tried to squeeze into six days. Ever been to any of these places? Where should we have gone?
Comments for This Entry
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Pretty cool:D
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Oh and what did you think of Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, was it luck or skill?
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Great post, hope California treated you with kindness.
Awesome, you got to visit Santa Cruz--my home during the school year! Did you get a chance to check out our crazy hippie and homeless population? -
San Fransisco is awesome. You get a chance to visit Golden Gate Park when you were there? Amazing place, bro.
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Very cool post.. IMO, you saw some of the best of SD. When I lived in SoCal I loved the Gas Lamp. I'm not sure you could have done better.
I've always wanted traveling minstrels. But I want mine to vanish when I'm done with them which you look like you couldn't quite make them do. Very cool though. -
Which I had mates like this! Dude, I wish I had your life! Something to aim for. If you're ever in the UK, let me know and I'll show you around the Highlands of Scotland
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Sounds like an awesome road trip Nate!
I'm on the west coast (Vancouver) but haven't made the trip down the coast yet, through Cali etc... I'll save this article for when I make the trip.
Thanks,
- Chad -
Yo Nate it was cool meeting you and your wrecking crew. Omelett Inn was off the chain and avocado's are a must but I liked Mike's stories the best. Luka and I need to make a trip out to Missoula now!
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Those guys were great!
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Hey nate, post some weight lifting videos please! Thanks
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Haha, cool video!
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Sounds like a gr-r-r-eat business trip. Don't forget the tax write-off, LOL. Better luck with the girls next time.
The number of days I've been in California, can be counted on one hand (and I'm 42!) yet in those days, I seldom recall seeing and doing so much over so little time.
I spent my time going thru Death Valley, then San Francisco, and I have to conclude it was one of the most amazing cities I have ever visited. No wonder decent property there costs over a millions dollars. Yeah, it sucks but whattaya gonna do?
Hope you make it big, so you can move there. -
"The coldest winter I ever spent was in San Fransisco."
His Mark Twain quote was almost correct. It should have been...
"The coldest winter I ever spent was a SUMMER in San Fransisco."
I've had some interesting walks back to my hotel in SF as well. Usually it is a hooker(s) trying to offer me her services, however. :) -
Sounds like an awesome trip! Just had some friends move to Berkeley from North Carolina and they said it's like another world out there. Glad you had fun
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I used to live in Santa Cruz and worked at the Davenport Cash Store (5 yrs ago) and we had the best breakfast in town for sure. While your in California you have to try the authentic Mexican restaurants, not the big ones, but the little hole-in-the-wall places. After living here on the East Coast for 5 yrs I can say that we have the best Mexican food North of Mexico for sure.
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I used to live in Santa Cruz and worked at the Davenport Cash Store (5 yrs ago) and we had the best breakfast in town for sure. While your in California you have to try the authentic Mexican restaurants, not the big ones, but the little hole-in-the-wall places. After living here on the East Coast for 5 yrs I can say that we have the best Mexican food North of Mexico for sure.
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Pacific Beach is worth checking out next time you're in San Diego. It's just south of La Jolla. Lots of cool little hangouts right by the beach.
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Sweet.
I recently took a road trip from Detroit to San Diego, CA.
I can't say I had as much fun as you guys, but it was definitley a great time.
We stopped in Chicago, Denver and Las Vegas.
I will definitley be going back to Denver sometime soon. That place kicks ass... What an awesome night life downtown. -
Next time you find yourself driving up the coast to San Francisco, you should definitely stop by San Luis Obispo (about halfway between LA and SF). Grab lunch at Firestone's. Get the tri-tip steak sandwich for yourself and a basket of fries to share w/ your buds. You won't regret it.
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I've always wanted traveling minstrels. But I want mine to vanish when I'm done with them which you look like you couldn't quite make them do.
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I am excited about learning way more than what I have already taught myself. Thank you!
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Thank you for sharing this information. The information was very helpful and saved a lot of my time.
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Nate next time you are in the San Diego area check out "Soup Plantation". Its a giant salad and soup bar that has anything you can think of to build you own fresh salads. Meats, greens, veggies, you name it! Its worth it.
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The patent Michael Kors Totes are the quintessential tote bag
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COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
daltonh 9:43pm Aug 12, 2010