So I haven't written anything in days because I've done absolutely nothing. Really. You wouldn't want to read about how I spent the weekend on the couch reading magazines or playing Xbox or delving into early fantasy baseball player rankings and strategies in getting a one-month jump on draft preparation. That was my weekend, along with Alias second-season DVD watching and a two-hour afternoon trek to Target and the mall through all the traffic and crowds of Bergen County. On Sunday, we did take a nice, 45-minute walk to get out in the late-afternoon sun and promptly froze our thighs numb because we wore uninsulated nylon pants. But we did see three cats sitting on stoops. And discovered some nice houses just steps away from our little suburban ghetto street.

Part of the hermitude was in anticipation of Winter Vacation '04: California Bound. Or, There's Not Going To Be An Ark Involved, Is There? Unlike last year, when our week in Florida featured maybe two short afternoon stormbursts, the forecast in L.A. is calling for rain our first two days there. And of course, rain is a Big Deal in Southern California. I bet Peter Gallagher's eyebrows get so heavy soaking up the water. What it means, though, is that the normally aggravating traffic becomes irritating, if not a flat-out legally accepted defense for committing certain minor crimes.

"Your Honor, I know it was unethical, perhaps unlawful of me to literally drive through the In-and-Out restaurant � Yes, I understand the name is not literal � but, you see, I had been driving a rented Geo Metro for four hours just to get to the 405, and the lines were short so I took the opportunity for a shortcut the second I saw it."

The plan, at the moment, is to land and then drive up to the Getty Museum � despite the fact that one of its best exhibits, The View (created by God and Man, not by Barbara Walters), will likely be hidden behind the gray curtain. At least we'll be inside. Thursday's agenda called for a fun-filled day at Disneyland. But now there's an 80 percent chance of rain Thursday (up from the 30 percent originally forecast over the weekend) and the temperature high keeps falling (from the upper 60s). If we can rearrange the schedule and take the Warner Bros. studio tour Thursday morning and keep the rental car until Saturday instead of Friday, we might be able to hit the Magic Kingdom Friday and then continue with our originally scheduled itinerary. Or we can continue to be punished for, as far as I can tell, doing nothing wrong. Ah well, weather happens.

So while, in many ways, our interests and even our lives here share much in common with the adventures of Heather and Lauren, Jessica and the rest in L.A., I can't promise any updates before we return home next Tuesday night. It'll be March then. Hopefully we'll riding the tailwind of springtime.