Why did I ever come back?
I have no idea why I came back home from California. Although having a job and a full-year apartment lease might have
something to do with it... Behind the cut - the vacation diary...
Tuesday: So good to be back in San Diego...
Arrived in mid-PM.
I took a long slow walk down the Mission Bay blvd with Stereo Realist. Wow, you can actually walk outside in July! I had to keep reminding myself it's indeed July. Went to look at the ocean. Looking at the ocean became such a vital necessity I have to do it at least once a year just to retain sanity. Spotted a Peruvian restaurant but it was already closing... we settled for Rubio's and were pleasantly surprised to discover the newest addition to the menu: gourmet vegetarian items with portobello & poblano mushrooms and avocado slices in a sinfully good sauce. Rubio's rating went up several notches.
Wednesday: I'm a radioactive lobster...
I got such a hideous sunburn it hurt for 5 days. Dermis must have been affected because I noticed a very slight edema, besides the usual furious red coloring and merciless pain. Nick said I looked like a lobster. I thought I primed myself for the sun with a short exposure at home at the pool but I guess it wasn't enough. Probably sustained DNA damage to set up for melanoma some 10 years later. But that's about the only negative event of the whole week. Great lobster/salmon/Mexican beer dinner right on the beach, watching the waves through the restaurant windows.
Thursday: Lou's Records rocks
After lengthy discussion and hesitation decided not to go to Hippyfest. As much as I wouldn't mind seeing Eric Burdon and Jack Bruce, it was more like "let's see them because they're here" rather than "I've been dying for years to see these two" plus it wasn't exactly cheap to make going on a whim a wise thing. We spent more than the tickets' value at Lou's Records in Encinitas. The catch of the day: Glastonbury Fayre - the entire film; two of each of Queen, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd - all DVDs of their 60s-70s gigs (bootlegs of course) - the kind of stuff you'll only see for sale once in a lifetime. Late lunch - Japanese food at Mitsuwa marketplace in San Diego.
Friday: Rock the Casbah!
The night time highlight dims the memories of the earlier events. Oh yeah, we did go back to Mitsuwa's general area - Convoy street which boasts a load of Japanese stores/markets/eateries etc. Marukai supermarkets and Book Off book store (the latter ships its inventory directly from Japan). My fav find: Queer Eye for a Straight Guy. Especially ironic and amusing in the light of what happened later that night... After shopping, late lunch at some Japanese buffet.
We found out only 2 days prior that Mr.Tube and the Flying Objects were to play at the Casbah on Friday. The venue itself (located at Kettner and Laurel near the airport) is small but seriously legendary. Mr.Tube is yet another side project of Pall Jenkins...
Simply put, Pall is one of my all time favorite musicians and one of my favorite symbols of San Diego. I know it sounds odd but honestly it does make sense. I still stubbornly consider Three Mile Pilot his main band though last time they performed was in 1999... still, I refuse to call even Black Heart Procession anything but his side project (same goes for Zach Smith and his Pinback) despite the fact that when we first met him it was after the BHP gig. Pall has a sweet, mellow, sincerely friendly and kind personality... dangerous when put in charge of the band merchandise stand because he'd try to give away the stuff for free "yeah this is 10 bucks but you can have it..." He and his girlfriend made it possible for us to go to Casbah for the first time (in 1999) because they babyset our daughter while we saw Rocket From the Crypt... I don't think she'd ever forget that night.
This time it would have been our 2nd time at the Casbah, except... we were 1 1/2 hours late and the show sold out. (Took us over an hour to find Casbah through a maze of 1-way streets, without a map) It wasn't totally unexpected; Pall's band wasn't the headliner - merely a 2nd band, but we didn't come to see the headliners. Still, we stood there quite disappointed. Right then Pall walked by and goggled at us (we didn't exactly made him aware of our vacation plans and it's been at least 3 years since we saw him last). Turned out we only missed the 1st band. He was already very tipsy but sweet as usual and after a group hug and announcing repeatedly and loudly that he needed to pee but would be right back got us on the guest list and into the venue. It's fabulous just to be inside... genuine, unadulterated, un-touristy slice of San Diego.
Something really odd happened after the show, and this part is the reason for the strict friends-locking of this post... we caught up with Pall in the crowd to say goodbye... then I saw his arm on Nick's shoulder, pulling him into a semi-hug - I couldn't see from behind their backs and thought they were posing for a photo. When I got closer I realized there was no camera in sight. Pall noticed me and started talking to both of us, though it was mostly repeating one phrase: "Gay is okay..." I don't remember ever seeing him this drunk, nor being this amused. OMG I just love this guy! Priceless sums it up the best...where was the camera when I needed it the most?
Saturday: Costa Mesa and LA.
It was a bit reckless to try to squeeze other destinations into the same vacation... but we did. Costa Mesa: another Book Off and a fabulous wine-and-spirits store called Hi-Time Wine Cellars. LA: driving around in circles, another Book Off, then lunch at Mitsuwa supermarket food court. There was a real Japanese green tea at the casual drink dispenser there, the kind you'd get iced tea from at Jack in the Box. Then we drove as far east as we could before it got too late to stay for the night. One of those California desert shit holes... though mind you it wasn't the shit hole of my choice... We stayed at Redlands. Never heard of it? Don't even bother. At the motel: late dinner with take-out sashimi and beer from Mitsuwa.
The most amazing thing happened after dinner... suddenly while flipping through local TV channels we heard Russian. It was a classic 1968 film The Golden Calf - part one. After the film, non-stop commercials in... Armenian. We only figured it was Armenian from the last names used - any last name ending with -ian is bound to be Armenian. It was announced that the channel was based in 29 Palms... which made us wonder: is there an Armenian restaurant in 29 Palms? There was only one way to find out.
Sunday: More California desert shit holes...
So the next destination desert town was 29 Palms. In a word, a disappointment. Nothing more exotic than a couple of Thai restaurants. Overall, where more businesses offer to tattoo every inch of your skin than serve any food...
Back to I-10 and still haven't eaten lunch... so naturally we needed to check out more desert towns while we're at it (why stop?) - the decision which took us to CA state highway 111. Palm Springs stands out somewhat - it's supposed to be a destination for LA/Hollywood celebrities to have a "break from LA" without driving too far yet without being recognized too much. Reminded me of Sedona, AZ - a classier than average but also a bit pretentious town (though more relaxed), vaguely New Agey and quite touristy may be despite its purpose. Lunch at a Cuban family-operated restaurant (tasty and very friendly)... then walked down the main strip, got a handful of T-shirts, browsed antiques... Drove on, got lost, missed Cathedral City entirely... in Rancho Mirage finally gave up and decided to get a newer and more detailed map at Walgreens. At that moment we were actually within spitting distance of Palm Desert... but upon exiting Walgreens we quit trying to find the lost CA-111, drove back to I-10 and were on our way home.
something to do with it... Behind the cut - the vacation diary...
Tuesday: So good to be back in San Diego...
Arrived in mid-PM.
I took a long slow walk down the Mission Bay blvd with Stereo Realist. Wow, you can actually walk outside in July! I had to keep reminding myself it's indeed July. Went to look at the ocean. Looking at the ocean became such a vital necessity I have to do it at least once a year just to retain sanity. Spotted a Peruvian restaurant but it was already closing... we settled for Rubio's and were pleasantly surprised to discover the newest addition to the menu: gourmet vegetarian items with portobello & poblano mushrooms and avocado slices in a sinfully good sauce. Rubio's rating went up several notches.
Wednesday: I'm a radioactive lobster...
I got such a hideous sunburn it hurt for 5 days. Dermis must have been affected because I noticed a very slight edema, besides the usual furious red coloring and merciless pain. Nick said I looked like a lobster. I thought I primed myself for the sun with a short exposure at home at the pool but I guess it wasn't enough. Probably sustained DNA damage to set up for melanoma some 10 years later. But that's about the only negative event of the whole week. Great lobster/salmon/Mexican beer dinner right on the beach, watching the waves through the restaurant windows.
Thursday: Lou's Records rocks
After lengthy discussion and hesitation decided not to go to Hippyfest. As much as I wouldn't mind seeing Eric Burdon and Jack Bruce, it was more like "let's see them because they're here" rather than "I've been dying for years to see these two" plus it wasn't exactly cheap to make going on a whim a wise thing. We spent more than the tickets' value at Lou's Records in Encinitas. The catch of the day: Glastonbury Fayre - the entire film; two of each of Queen, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd - all DVDs of their 60s-70s gigs (bootlegs of course) - the kind of stuff you'll only see for sale once in a lifetime. Late lunch - Japanese food at Mitsuwa marketplace in San Diego.
Friday: Rock the Casbah!
The night time highlight dims the memories of the earlier events. Oh yeah, we did go back to Mitsuwa's general area - Convoy street which boasts a load of Japanese stores/markets/eateries etc. Marukai supermarkets and Book Off book store (the latter ships its inventory directly from Japan). My fav find: Queer Eye for a Straight Guy. Especially ironic and amusing in the light of what happened later that night... After shopping, late lunch at some Japanese buffet.
We found out only 2 days prior that Mr.Tube and the Flying Objects were to play at the Casbah on Friday. The venue itself (located at Kettner and Laurel near the airport) is small but seriously legendary. Mr.Tube is yet another side project of Pall Jenkins...
Simply put, Pall is one of my all time favorite musicians and one of my favorite symbols of San Diego. I know it sounds odd but honestly it does make sense. I still stubbornly consider Three Mile Pilot his main band though last time they performed was in 1999... still, I refuse to call even Black Heart Procession anything but his side project (same goes for Zach Smith and his Pinback) despite the fact that when we first met him it was after the BHP gig. Pall has a sweet, mellow, sincerely friendly and kind personality... dangerous when put in charge of the band merchandise stand because he'd try to give away the stuff for free "yeah this is 10 bucks but you can have it..." He and his girlfriend made it possible for us to go to Casbah for the first time (in 1999) because they babyset our daughter while we saw Rocket From the Crypt... I don't think she'd ever forget that night.
This time it would have been our 2nd time at the Casbah, except... we were 1 1/2 hours late and the show sold out. (Took us over an hour to find Casbah through a maze of 1-way streets, without a map) It wasn't totally unexpected; Pall's band wasn't the headliner - merely a 2nd band, but we didn't come to see the headliners. Still, we stood there quite disappointed. Right then Pall walked by and goggled at us (we didn't exactly made him aware of our vacation plans and it's been at least 3 years since we saw him last). Turned out we only missed the 1st band. He was already very tipsy but sweet as usual and after a group hug and announcing repeatedly and loudly that he needed to pee but would be right back got us on the guest list and into the venue. It's fabulous just to be inside... genuine, unadulterated, un-touristy slice of San Diego.
Something really odd happened after the show, and this part is the reason for the strict friends-locking of this post... we caught up with Pall in the crowd to say goodbye... then I saw his arm on Nick's shoulder, pulling him into a semi-hug - I couldn't see from behind their backs and thought they were posing for a photo. When I got closer I realized there was no camera in sight. Pall noticed me and started talking to both of us, though it was mostly repeating one phrase: "Gay is okay..." I don't remember ever seeing him this drunk, nor being this amused. OMG I just love this guy! Priceless sums it up the best...where was the camera when I needed it the most?
Saturday: Costa Mesa and LA.
It was a bit reckless to try to squeeze other destinations into the same vacation... but we did. Costa Mesa: another Book Off and a fabulous wine-and-spirits store called Hi-Time Wine Cellars. LA: driving around in circles, another Book Off, then lunch at Mitsuwa supermarket food court. There was a real Japanese green tea at the casual drink dispenser there, the kind you'd get iced tea from at Jack in the Box. Then we drove as far east as we could before it got too late to stay for the night. One of those California desert shit holes... though mind you it wasn't the shit hole of my choice... We stayed at Redlands. Never heard of it? Don't even bother. At the motel: late dinner with take-out sashimi and beer from Mitsuwa.
The most amazing thing happened after dinner... suddenly while flipping through local TV channels we heard Russian. It was a classic 1968 film The Golden Calf - part one. After the film, non-stop commercials in... Armenian. We only figured it was Armenian from the last names used - any last name ending with -ian is bound to be Armenian. It was announced that the channel was based in 29 Palms... which made us wonder: is there an Armenian restaurant in 29 Palms? There was only one way to find out.
Sunday: More California desert shit holes...
So the next destination desert town was 29 Palms. In a word, a disappointment. Nothing more exotic than a couple of Thai restaurants. Overall, where more businesses offer to tattoo every inch of your skin than serve any food...
Back to I-10 and still haven't eaten lunch... so naturally we needed to check out more desert towns while we're at it (why stop?) - the decision which took us to CA state highway 111. Palm Springs stands out somewhat - it's supposed to be a destination for LA/Hollywood celebrities to have a "break from LA" without driving too far yet without being recognized too much. Reminded me of Sedona, AZ - a classier than average but also a bit pretentious town (though more relaxed), vaguely New Agey and quite touristy may be despite its purpose. Lunch at a Cuban family-operated restaurant (tasty and very friendly)... then walked down the main strip, got a handful of T-shirts, browsed antiques... Drove on, got lost, missed Cathedral City entirely... in Rancho Mirage finally gave up and decided to get a newer and more detailed map at Walgreens. At that moment we were actually within spitting distance of Palm Desert... but upon exiting Walgreens we quit trying to find the lost CA-111, drove back to I-10 and were on our way home.