So it has come to this. And no better way.
We started out with the pump replaced and the leak fixed. Richard
hooked it up and it runs like a champion again, no constant pump
noise, ride smooth like butter. Whatever the fuck that means. We
headed from Long Beach to San Clemente where Aren's sister Amy and her
family, Jeff and the kids, live. Their house was gorgeous and they are
very beautiful, hospitable people. I mean seriously, who allows a
touring band into their house while they're not there? And tells you
where the beer is? We love those guys.
We got in some much needed recharging of batteries, internal and
electronic, some laundry, and general catching up on personal needs.
Their weiner dog Hobie was freaked out completely and went into his
little carrier to hide and growl. Didn't want anything to do with us.
Oh well, we tried to be nice. He probably smelled a real man on us in
the form of Pit Burr.
Did I mention they had an amazing house? I was admiring their pond for
a while thinking about the one Kerry and I were working on.
So how is that? Crazy huh? Speaking of which I had wanted to put photos in here all along but I wasn't quite savvy yet and we didn't have the photos posted in the beginning. So I'm thinking about going back and posting a few here and there and trying to keep up with putting them in. All of the other ones should be on Flickr too by the way, so go check 'em out and drop some knowledge on it.
From there we left for Fannies. We knew it was going to be a punk rock bill so it would definitely be interesting. Very punk rock, bands did their own sound which is fine except I hate running other peoples boards. So sound was a little wacky but once we got going it didn't matter anymore. We're used to it, its just nice to actually hear whats going on. Other bands were cool, Hocus and Dead Daze. The Fuck Lordz were supposed to close the night but they decided not to show up so we ended up playing two hour long sets to close out the night. Fucking exhausting but they were a supportive cast so no complaints ah?
My favorite part of the evening was probably when the hag bartender started yelling that everyone who wasn't in a band needed to leave when everyone standing around her listening to her shrill harpie screams were in our band and were trying to make it so we would never see that place again. I told her we were all in the band and she didn't have to yell at us and she told me take a chill pill. My favorite. When people causing problems are being annoying pieces of shit and tell YOU to relax. I can't relax when my ears are filled with discordant hag calls. So after many requests and sexual offers we were left with no place to sleep.
As I said in the start, "So it has come to this". We went for twenty days without having to worry about a place to stay through the kindness of friends and family and our own determination and iron will. It was an amazing run but now we finally had to figure out the dreaded idea of how to fit us all comfortably. We drank all the rest of our beer and got a whole new level of lifted. We did some in-bus campfire cooking with shockingly amazing results. Ramen is not only cheap, it really knows how to tie the whole meal together. We spent the whole night cracking each other up with silly shit and feelings good about where we're at. Unfortunately part of the funny shit was getting A-Rod high enough that he would be able to sleep under the bus. His idea, not ours. But he was gung-ho and when we asked him if he was sure he answered in the words of the Ultimate Warrior: "Oh yeah". Sounds more like the Kool-Aid Man but I assure you, Ultimate Warrior. So then they stuffed my ass in the cave so I could snore away with comatose Ginny above me on the shelf. Nelson, J, and Taylor got all cozy in the main area. I don't think any of us would call if "comfortable" but it worked and we all slept really late. For some godawful reason Fannies is open at six am which is insane to me. I couldn't imagine working the opening shift for something like that but apparently someone does it. Probably better than selling bagels that early in some ways.
So we didn't even wake up til almost eleven. We cleaned up the bus and ourselves a touch before we left to head to Wendys for some food. We've been talking about going to the beach since before we left so we decided it was about time. We headed north and went to Carlsbad State Beach Park. It was very beautiful, weather was great, water was COLD. We all felt refreshed even without going swimming. I wanted to but it wasn't quite hot enough outside. The weather was perfect for just sitting and enjoying the sun and the breeze. Warm but not hot, cool but not chilly, bright but not blinding. Damn California, if only your weather could move to CU instead of all your snobby girls.
We're meandering our way towards San Marcos to set ourselves up early for a relaxed load in and schmooze session. Woozle wazzle.
En Alto en los Diversos