Iran meets San Diego

Today marked the first day that I flew the CRJ-700, the larger, more airplane-like version of the CRJ-200 I had been flying for the previous couple weeks. I had heard much buildup about how it is more difficult to land etc etc, but after my first landing in the plane ever, the passengers commented on the nice landing on their way out. On my second landing in Seattle, the flight attendants stated, "Nice landing, whoever did it." On my third landing back in LA, the captain said, "Ok, you have the landings down." Honestly, despite what everyone else says, the CRJ-200 is harder for me to land because it makes no sense. You fly the approach by pointing the nose at the ground until the last possible second. It feels very unnatural, but I guess it's been working out for everyone else, so I'll have to get used to it.

Today also marked the first time I was in Seattle, or Washington state in general. I was on the ground there for a whole 45 minutes. I saw the space needle, Mt. Rainier, and what I can only assume is typical Seattle weather. Mist, overcast clouds, and a balmy 50 degrees. Naturally, this post cannot be about Seattle as I barely even left the airplane. The last stop of the day was San Diego, where our long day ended around 6:30pm. I felt exhausted, but also hungry. I yelped "cheap dinner," and picked the closest one -- this happened to be an Iranian restaurant 4 blocks from the hotel.

Darband Fifth Avenue may sound like a high-class jewelry store, but it is where I acquired a chicken kabob and rice that went on for days. The term cheap dinner was a bit misleading, as this meal cost me $16. However, I was pleasantly stuffed and I was in the middle of downtown San Diego so "cheap dinner" might be relative. I know it was authentic because I was the only white guy walking into the place. Everyone else appeared to be at least 40 and smoking cigars and drinking tea. If you're ever looking to visit Iran, this is apparently all you would have to do to fit in. After I brought my meal back to the hotel, I noticed it had some peppers on the side. These, however, were not the kind of peppers that you find in a Papa John's box. I took a large bite out of one and promptly exploded. The water I had saved from the flight was not enough to douse the flames. Fortunately their was some kind of cucumber yogurt dip that calmed things down long enough for me to actually taste the rest of the meal. After polishing off the last bit of rice, I rolled myself into bed at 9:30 and prepared myself for a 4:30am wakeup call.