This time last year, I was able to see my friends Megan and Don get engaged and the whole time that was happening, Ben and I were both thinking, “How did the two of us bums get invited to this special moment in their lives? They literally found me/Starr at a festival and just welcomed me/her into their lives!” Their terrible lapse of judgment aside, I am really thrilled to be able to attend their wedding in Los Angeles in just a few short days!

This wedding trip is going to mark a lot of firsts for me:

• First visit to LA ever
• First visit to California since YouTube was invented (haha ohmygod)
• First visit to Vegas without my parents (aka my second visit to Vegas ever)
• First visit to Disneyland and California Adventure (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
• First time using AirBnB (I am a latecomer to all sharing economy businesses because I am a stubborn granny, okay?)
• First time meeting some really awesome people
• First time seeing some friends in years and years

There will obviously be plenty of other firsts, but those are kind of the big, broad ones! Not only will we be in LA for a few days, we’ll be doing bachelor/bachelorette party merriment in Vegas before the wedding and a magical day at Disney after! It is really difficult to articulate how excited I am to experience all of these firsts AND to see these great friends get married solely because of the sheer power of their friendliness when I was working at a festival.

I am trying to make sure we do all the must-see/must-eat things on our trip without overwhelming myself with a checklist that I feel obligated to have complete before I head home. After all, I want to feel rested after a vacation. Or at the very least, not more stressed than when I left!

Do you have any recommendations for Las Vegas, Los Angeles, or Disney?
Conversely, what are some over-hyped attractions/restaurants that I definitely don’t need to spend time on?