My transformation back to voracious American consumer started just after we stepped off the plane. Strip malls filled with small-business killers like Target and Best Buy littered the sides of the 405 freeway, enticing us with their gigantic iconic logos as we drove from LAX to San Diego. We miraculously arrived without spending a penny; many thanks to Hayley’s sister Lauren for picking us up and not stopping during our “oooooh”‘s and “ahhhhh”‘s when passing the aforementioned shops.
I met up with my buddies Brandon and Owen at CPK on Friday. We discussed work, Australia, America and the usual, and it was great seeing them. Afterward, Owen and I carpooled downtown to see the Pads destroy the Orioles in an interleague matchup. After the game, we boarded the wrong Trolley line heading eastbound. Upon realizing our mistake, we got off the trolley somewhere east of San Diego. A pimped out Escalade rolled by and some hardcore Mexican guy asked us for change. Being two short and not-especially-strong white guys, we were happy when the trolley arrived and took us back to the city. Much to our delight, we arrived back at the stadium just in time for San Diego public service to shut down for the night. We hailed a cab on Fifth Avenue and had the driver take us past my old house to Owen’s car in Fashion Valley.
Our seats in Petco Park.
We met Sean, Amber and their new baby at the Pizza Port in Carlsbad the following day. We chit-chatted for a couple hours about this and that while feasting on the Pizza Carlsbad, a pesto, artichoke, feta and chicken masterpiece on wheat crust. Afterward, we shopped at the Carlsbad outlets, where I purchased a pair of comfortable Lucky jeans. At night, we had a nice family dinner with the Jacksons at C-Level lounge on the San Diego harbour. As usual the food was fantastic, as was the company.
I surfed in Pacific Beach on Sunday, taking advantage of the rare northern summer swell. My trusty old Santa Cruz epoxy was just as good as I remember, which temporarily rekindled my passion for (i.e. addiction to) the sport. The waves were clean and chest high, just what I needed. Unfortunately, I don’t have a car in Sydney and I work in the CBD so I valued every minute in the water, furiously paddling back out after catching waves.
On Monday, Hayley and Andy went skydiving near the Mexican border. I filmed as best I could from the ground (yes, I have no desire to go skydiving); check out the video below. Both Hayley and Andy loved it. Hayley said that she would go again if I went with her… which will not be happening anytime soon.
Hayley and Andy skydiving near the Mexican border.
After a week in sunny San Diego, we said our goodbyes to Andy and Jackie and departed for Santa Fe, New Mexico for my brother’s wedding. The streets of Santa Fe were flooded from a fast-moving freak storm that just passed through the town. We checked into our room at the Inn of the Governor’s and met up with the rest of my family. Santa Fe’s unique architecture is modeled after the surrounding Native American pueblos and no building- including the state capital building- is taller than a specific old church in town. The low skyline exposes an expansive view of the surrounding mountains from pretty much any point in the town. Old architecture is a rare sight in America, where old buildings are demolished by natural disasters, or to make way for Wal-Marts.
Is this a shed or a door? Either way, it looks pretty cool.
Most of our time in Santa Fe was spent site-seeing and eating local cuisine. On our first morning, we took a tour of the town and art galleries. The guide made claims such as “Santa Fe has the third largest art market in the world behind France and New York” and “no shops ever go out of business in Santa Fe, despite the bad economy.” Many stores sport permanent going-out-of-business signs in the windows, so I think she may have been subtly hinting at the scam. Either way, I have not verified these statements but I’m a bit skeptical.
We drove out to Taos one day and played frolf in the Ski Valley (reminder: it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere). The mountains and rock formations outside Santa Fe are stunning, including the expansive Rio Grande Gorge west of the freeway. Stretched for time, we only spent a few hours in Taos but it was definitely a highlight of the trip.
The following day, we attended my brother’s wedding at the Loretto Chapel. The chapel’s claim to fame is a legendary spiral staircase built by a Jesus-like “drifter carpenter,” who used no nails in the construction. Nobody seems to know how the staircase was built, and the drifter left shortly after it was built.
The mysterious spiral staircase at the Loretto chapel. Jesus may have visited Santa Fe at the turn of the century to build it, although the truth is unknown.
The wedding had an elegant southwestern style with talented mariachis, premium margaritas and hors d’oeuvre quesadillas. We danced and celebrated the newlyweds and caught up with family. We recovered the following day, then said our goodbyes on Monday. Next stop was the Bay Area, California where I grew up.
With only four full days in the bay, we tried to relax as much as possible. We shopped as usual, but I also watched baseball and hung around the house with my folks. A few notable events were watching my nephew Tommy’s all star game and hosting a BBQ with friends. Both events were fun in their own right, and it was great catching up with old friends at the latter.
Skip ahead a few days and I’m now on the plane, three hours outside of Auckland. I’m sitting in a middle seat in the center of the plane, my throat hurts from the lack of moisture (edit – actually, it turns out that I was getting sick), there’s a screaming child in front of me and I’m sick to death of lame movies. I suppose all good things must come to an end. No worries, mate! After a short flight from Auckland to Sydney, we’ll be back home and ready to resume our adventure down under.
Family time in the Weber family is more like a small convention than a regular get together. Only a small part of our immediate family was needed to fill a 31 person reservation. We booked one at B.J.’s last Sunday. When the kids ran by the hostess screaming and shouting, the B.J.’s staff immediately switched us to the private outside room. That’s just a normal outing for us, curve balls are just part of the game.
Circa 1982-1983
On Monday, Hayley and I took a private walk through Last Palmas park. I brought my camera along for the stroll and snapped a few shots of the majestic palm trees, the vidid pink flowers and the bastard squirrels that don’t stop harassing you until you feed them whatever it is you have in your hand. This one was recently fed and he was just chilling on the fence like a king.
Next, we drove out to Pinewood. The atmosphere is pretty much the same but everything is nicer and improved. The artificial turf field is incredible. Back in my day, we used to field ground balls on the blacktop. I have many scars from those days. Thanks Pinewood.
Afterward, we carpooled to the Tutankhamun exhibit in San Francisco. The line was totally disorganized, spread around two floors. Near the end of the line we picked up the audio headsets from the museum curators, high school students on summer break who have no appreciation for the exhibit. The entitled princess who gave the introduction showed little enthusiasm, chewing gum through the entire forty-five second presentation. Regardless, it was pretty interesting. National Geographic did a good job of describing the lineage of the Pharaoh and explaining the significance of the excavated items on display. They avoided controversy and speculation almost entirely; for example, the death of the child king and the curse of his excavation were barely mentioned.
We ate Turkish food for the second night in a row and it was delicious. We went to New Kapadokia in Redwood City. Check it out on Yelp.
Almost there, I hear every tick of the second hand.
We leave the States in less than three weeks. I have everything packed and I’ve been living off limited clothing and supplies for almost a month now to get used to my lifestyle on the road. My list includes my macbook, cell phone, PSP, two books, SLR, 10 t-shirts, 5 short or long sleeved collared shirts, 1 suit for a wedding, 2 pair of shoes, 1 pair of scandals, 2 pair of jeans, 2 pair of khakis, 1 pair of cargo pants, a belt, 3 sweaters for the winter, 5 pair of socks, 10 boxers and a hat. It all fits in Hayley’s old Canadian camping backpack and I’m itching to use it, not just because it hasn’t been washed in ten years.
I’ve sold beds, tables, desks, consumer electronics, hotel soap bars, video games and televisions at multiple garage sales, on craigslist and on ebay. The rest will be stuffed into Hayley’s old bedroom. We’re driving my Impreza up the California coast to the bay in two days, who we’ll spend the week with. I’ll meet up with friends, family, play golf while I still have a set to use, watch movies, enjoy life. Then we fly back to San Diego for one last week of work.
I’ve been feeding my obsessive surfing habit to get it out of my system, but I think it’s having the opposite effect. I’ve paddled out even in the weakest of surf and my obsession seems to be getting more and more unhealthy. The flight to London will end that, I hope. Surfing in Cape Town might bring it back, I think. And Australia, well, that will probably bring it back in full form, I’m sure.
Andy and I attended the Red Bull Air Race this weekend in downtown San Diego. It’s seriously unbelievable what these planes- and the pilots that fly them- are capable of. We hung out for about an hour on the rocks in Seaport Village and watched the insanity unfold. Enjoy the video below in HD! I’m hoping to post more of these videos, now that I have a computer capable of editing HD video.
NOTE: CLICK THE HQ BUTTON AFTER CLICKING PLAY TO WATCH IN HD
