Journey to Cam...elot?

This is a post contributed by our good friend, Erin Riccio. Who says the journey of creating a life isn't a traveling tale on its own? Here is part 1 of her trip to producing young Cameron Riccio...

Expedition: Pregnancy - Part 1

I was so excited to hear that “3 Troopin’ Travelers” was being resurrected. While I am not one to follow many blogs, this was a blog I read religiously. Mostly because I think the writers are some of the funniest, smartest and wittiest people. I know firsthand, since I lived with all of them at one point or another. Those were some of the best years of my life, except for when they would leave me to go travel the world. While I was home alone, scared of a rapist climbing in my bedroom window, they were off in places like Argentina, Morocco and Paris.


One of the last real trips I went on was to San Diego to visit Lil’ Boozie of the 3 Troopin’ Travelers. It was a quick, fun, last minute type of trip to reunite with a good friend. My journey was complete with a few too many drinks at an airport bar, a bar crawl, a trip to the Hotel del Coronado for some (more) drinks, and of course, some Domino’s pizza. Two weeks after I got home, I found out I was pregnant, and that is where my next journey began. A very sober, 9+ months with a messy, painful, ridiculously good-looking end. Since pregnancy the only trek I have been on lately, I decided to write about it for 3 Troopin’ Travelers.

My pregnancy was a breeze. I felt great, and loved watching my belly grow bigger and bigger. Even the hormones worked in my favor. Instead of being irritated and irrational like most pregnant woman, the surge in hormones made me overly happy, and giggly. I thought everything was 10 times funnier than it actually was. Anything remotely entertaining resulted in a full on fit of laughter. My husband, John, never felt so good. He started considering a new career as a standup comedian. Things were great. So great, that it’s difficult to remember the first 3.5 months, when everything made me sick, and I threw up every day. I want to be pregnant again one day, so I am trying to erase that part from my memory.

The best part of my pregnancy excursion, aside from being a walking miracle, was all the weird food I gave myself free reign to eat. I wanted to eat barbecue potato chips dipped in ketchup? Don’t judge, I am having a “pregnancy craving”. I ate a whole pizza by myself? Well, I am growing a human life in my belly. I ate a giant pot of Kraft Mac & Cheese mixed with peas and carrots? Why not, my BABY is hungry. It was so fun! No one needed to know these were meals I would be eating anyway, in secret. Now I had no shame!

I could write all day about my love of strange foods, but I will cut myself off right there. In the conclusion of Expedition: Pregnancy, I will weave the tale of birthing a human. Stay tuned!

Say Hello, Say Hello to Hollywood

Just recently, I had the pleasure of paying a long overdue visit to a friend from home that has resided in Los Angeles for the past 5+ years. My main concern in taking the journey was transportation. Although I do have a car here with me in San Diego, I'm not the most comfortable driver. So, I decided to look into train options. 

For anyone traveling from San Diego to Los Angeles or vice versa, I would highly recommend Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner service. Especially if you'd rather eat feces than sit in traffic (sorry for the graphic, but I know you know the feeling) or anticipate some sort of hangover on at least one leg of your trip. Allowing someone else to focus on the driving is always best in this scenario.  In my opinion, it is a logical and affordable alternative to driving.  Of course prices are subject to change, but when I rode, it was $29 each way.  I would have spent at least that amount on gas each way.. I'm assuming.. as well as an unquantifiable amount on stress and anxiety.  It makes quite a few stops, but still gets you to LA in about 2 and 1/2 hours.  Plus, it offers alcoholic beverages, snacks, sandwiches, and stunning coastal views for much of the ride.  If you hit the nail on the head, then you'll have the pleasure of riding under the leadership of a hilarious conductor.  This helped to cure my hangover on the way home.  Well, that and Dominos.

Anyway, my friend lives in West Hollywood.  I was sort of mesmerized by just the idea of being in LA as I'd never been.. we could have stayed in her apartment the entire time and I still would have been star-struck.  My one touristy request was to see the Hollywood sign.. I mean, why not?

What?  You can't see it?  It's close to the top of the hill - almost blends in with the clouds.  We took the photo from Mulholland Drive.  Weather wasn't the best that weekend, but I was quite intrigued by the clouds.  It doesn't take much..

If you've never been to the Los Angeles area, then I would highly recommend brunch at Hamburger Mary's.  While it's not unique to Los Angeles, the mimosas, Bloody Marys, atmosphere, and wait staff were top-notch.  I'd also suggest a stroll along Venice Beach.  They've both changed my life forever.  You'll understand once you've experienced for yourself.

Just a Brief Post from the Left Coast

Greetings from sunny San Diego! So what if I moved here for the fictional character of Ron Burgandy.. of course I didn't. It was actually all for Brick. Anyway, almost one week ago, I left everything I knew for sun, warmth and the security of no job. Pretty much all three of these factors have remained constant for the past 6 days.

Had I planned and prepared, I would have driven cross country and had plenty of adventurous photos to share with you all. Unfortunately, planning isn't really my thing. Things either happen on a whim or just sort of fall into my lap.. I shouldn't jinx myself. I ended up flying. On a half empty JetBlue flight. I had an entire row to myself. We didn't have to wait at all for the plane to taxi. Smooth sailing.. fast forward 20 minutes into the flight. Enter Pilot.

"Hi Folks, Thank you for joining JetBlue on today's cross-country flight from Boston's Logan International Airport to San Diego's Charles Lindbergh Field. One of the sensors in the cabin is flashing signifying that one of our doors hasn't been securely fastened. I assure you this is an anomaly, but to be safe, we'll be returning to Logan".

I knew the other perks of the flight were too good to be true. We remained grounded at the gate, on the plane, for 1.5 hours only for the engineers to determine there was some ice on the sensor. All's well that ends well, I suppose. I'd ride JetBlue any day, so long as I knew I'd have an entire row to myself. Keep up the good work, JB!

In any case, for those of you semi-familiar with San Diego, I'm living in Pacific Beach by Mission Bay Park. It truly is amazing.. expensive, but amazing. Once I purchase a working camera, I'll be happy to upload photos of paradise. But for now, I'll leave you to dream as I jaunt off to meet some strangers (soon enough, they'll be friends) for a vast amount of adult beverages.

Happy Friday wherever you are!