And the travels continue ...

I recently returned to Tennessee from one of the best trips of my life: Two weeks in San Diego, Orange County, L.A. and Vegas -- pretty, pretty good. I'd never spent time in California before, and relaxing on the beach in the month of December and swimming on New Year's Eve, for a cat from Michigan, was surreal. (So was the sight of 100 or so surfers in wet suits at Huntington Beach on a day where the temperature got no higher than 55 degrees. Radical.) I got to spend solid time with my high school buddy Brandon at his place in Costa Mesa and see what the O.C. is all about: A fun, diverse area with mostly down-to-earth people comfortable in their own skin. I enjoyed going into different restaurants and bars and clubs with no real clue of the type of people that would be there. I liked that. "Type-ing" is something I'd prefer to not do, and that was easy in SoCal.

The O.C. is also a MASSIVE county, with lots of different 100,000-plus cities. Suburbia for miles. Its separation from L.A. is noticeable because of the traffic. That kept us from venturing North too much, but when I finally did -- to spend some time with my uncle David, who lives in Van Nuys -- it was well worth it. David is a musician who has played with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Boz Scaggs, George Benson and Natalie Cole through the years. He's recently been working with Smokey Robinson, and as luck would have it, he and Smokey had a recording session when I was in L.A. visiting. Sitting in on their session and listening to them arrange two songs and then lay down tracks on each tune was the equivalent of being in the locker room at halftime with Coach K and his Duke team at the Final Four. Magical.

When they finished, David took me around L.A. and showed me some of his former haunts, some cool neighborhoods and finally, his favorite sushi restaurant in Little Tokyo. I'd never had "toro" before, and it was magnificent: A fine tuna, the filet mignon of sushi.

I spent the next two nights in Las Vegas, and let's just say I had a fantastic time. Left with a little more dough in my pockets, too.

My next stop is Washington D.C., for Barack Obama's inauguration and to catch up with a few old friends. Haven't been to "OUR NATION'S CAP-IT-TAL" -- as Forrest Gump would say -- since I was a wee lad, and I'm pumped. I feel like what goes down on Jan. 20 will be as inspiring and uplifting as what occurred on Election Day -- if not more. Obama taking office means a lot to me because he seems so much more human than any other politician I've observed. He seems to understand what is real and what is realistic, and I have no doubt he will do all he can, in his power, to right the many troubling wrongs that have made our country's current footing unstable. It's time to stand strong again, and I have so much hope for the next four -- and let's hope eight -- years.

After D.C., it will be on to Cleveland to see some family and then back to my college town of Kalamazoo for our alumni basketball weekend. That's in nine days, so I'd better go get my jump shot right. I'll holler again from the road.