chase the light

Once upon a time…

We used to own this insanely great cabin that is right at the base of Snow Summit. I learned to ski there and spent summers boating on the lake. I can’t even explain how much we used it and I miss it terribly to this day. I used to leave L.A. at about 9pm on Friday nights, after traffic, and drive the two hours just to get up there for the weekend. It was magic to wake up Saturday mornings in the mountains with all that fresh air. In the winter, when I could get up there before a snow storm, I’d get a fire started. I’d just sleep on the couch downstairs because it was cozy as a three dog night in front of that wood fire. Watching the embers fade at night and then waking up to a couple feet of snow was the ultimate treat. Digging the car out Sunday to get home was not so much. The cabin was sold after I moved to San Francisco and I now see what a mistake that was.

Anyway, sigh. We thought it might be a good day to head up to Big Bear today because it was going to be pretty hot out. So let’s go up the mountain for old times sake. It’s been probably 30 years since the last time I was there and my parents used to go regularly but, ya know, age and all.

We got in a few hours later and stopped for a quick break in the town and had lunch. Amazingly the OG Mexican place was still there and was insanely good. Mountain resorts aren’t known for their food, but damn. It used to be called Bueno’s and they had this thing called the Bandito Club where if you finished their super massive black hole burrito you got your name on the board. Well after a day of skiing, sometime in the early 90s, my friend George and I stopped by and he took up the challenge! He’s never met a food challenge he wouldn’t try to beat. He ate and he ate and he ate. Baby Cheezits the mother f’er did it! He had driven there but handed me the keys and said I had to drive to the cabin because he would surely vomit. So he got in the passenger seat and laid it flat and moaned the whole way home. He said he could feel the food still in his throat. Oh man. Don’t do that kids.

So back to today… it’s all about my dad really. We stopped by the cabin and Dad got out of the car and walked up to the front of the cabin. I felt a little sad because of the memories that lie inside. Christmases there were idyllic and truly magic like some classic holiday film. It’s an AirBnB now so that holiday film is probably more Hallmark variety. But if you’d like to stay…

In a strange twist of fate someone walked out from the back of the cabin and got in the car parked in the drive and noticed my dad. They struck up a conversation and it happened to be one of the owners of the house! I couldn’t hear the conversation but if this is going where I think it’s going it’s gonna be insane. A few minutes later my dad turns and motions us to get out of the car and she invited us all in! WTF?! We’re going in! We’re going in! Wait, is this going to be amazing or super weird? It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. The owners, after learning about us being the ones who built the house, were incredibly gracious and showed us around the house. Wow, there was that fireplace, the steep stairs, the deck out back. It was amazing as ever but just a bit more worn in. I think Mom and Dad felt happy it was loved. The woman was missing both arms and had claws which I shook hands with. She seemed eager to shake hands maybe because she’s very used to people noticing this and it breaks the ice. She seemed of the age that it might be from Thalidomide. Tragic. So kind though. We spent a good hour there chatting and drove away. I think it felt like good closure on a chapter of our lives that maybe needed an ending.

Dad’s ankle made him not want to walk up the hill to the ski lift but after my Mom and I rode up to the top of the mountain I think he felt like he could do it. So back up I go. More than happy too because it’s fun. We took it slow and he got on the lift with no problems and off we went! Dangling his leg off the chair lift feels good on his ankle so another thing in Big Bear that ended up being a chicken soup for the soul activity. The drive home was quiet and I can’t imagine any of us will make it back up there, so it was great day of saying goodbye to our beloved mountain top getaway. This was good day even while silently acknowledging this is probably it.

The end.

In a long run on sentence we went to; Old Town Temecula, the Promenade Temecula Mall, the biggest old school arcade I’ve ever seen with half of it being claw machines, a bowling alley and then finally the cinema. Not that you want to watch a 4 minute walk through of an arcade, but damn that’s just Crazy Taxi. The sheer size of this arcade makes me sad about my childhood arcades Starcade and Tilt. They were tiny but I was the Pengo champ at Starcade, which was the size of a large living room. Smashed so many Sno-bees and probably paid for 5 or 6 Playstations in the amount of quarters I put in that button bandit.

After another chill day with my parents my mom and I went to see Toy Story 5. Wow, look at all those people on a Sunday afternoon. Go to the cinema people! Use it or lose it!

I thought it would be fun to ride my bike around with dad and get some footage of him out and about in the neighbourhood. It all came out rather nice and after we got back he said you know Sixthreezero bikes has offered to pay me $500 to do a video promoting the bike. What!? Let’s do it! $500 bucks and you’ve got your first collab! So we went back out and shot the narration bits and damn if he didn’t nail it! Hilariously proud of him and he seems like a chill dude just out riding his trike. After getting the video to them and then posting it to their youtube channel shure enough $500 rolled into my PayPal account. Nice! Dad ended up gifting the money to me as I did a lot of the heavy lifting. Anyway, job well done from him and I’m still amazed that you can shoot and edit everything on an iPhone. I mean it’s pretty clunky compared to Final Cut and all but what the what, amazing. Sitting in the back yard watching the sunset and editing a film. Awesome possum.

The bike itself is named Rollo after the Norse viking. He gave my son the task of coming up with three names and then he’d chose one. So Rollo it is. And that was the end of a fun day. Oh, and Happy 4th of July. Unfortunately that Orange Turd has completely fumbled the ball on the 250th birthday for the United States as only he can, but we still have the memories of the mighty 200th year birthday in 1976. Even my school photos had eagles and 1776 splashed in the background. That was only 2 years after another dipshit Republican president had to resign.

Not much to report today. After being on the road for so long today is my day of rest. I got the car washed and I think it’s the first time I’ve had a full service wash since buying it. Nowadays it’s just run it through the car wash and maybe I do a quick vacuum. This was awesome having people climb all over the inside of my car and get every nook and cranny. I need to get back to this pre-inshittification world. Even bought a little pine tree air freshener, ya know for nostalgia’s sake. I of course headed off to the supermarket and was astounded by all the Americana the day before the Fourth. “America, fuck yeah!” just kept going off in my brain. It’s Apple Pie and drivin’ my Chevy to the levee day and tomorrow, mayhem. Enjoy your day off.

Oh hey, I got a lens for Black Belle! I think I might have just named her. So good morning… Magic Mountain!! It’s been ages since I’ve seen your intestine twirling rollercoasters. Every Mother’s Day my friends and I used to go to Magic Mountain. Why would you leave momma hangin’ on her special day? Because the park is a ghost town! No moms want to go have their brains rattled by steel coasters. They want to go to Disneyland which is redonkulously over crowded. So every year we’d call our moms from the park and then go stuff our face with cotton candy. Hey Ma! Happy Mother’s Day! It was such our little secret. My mom had to admit it was a good idea though. Ha!

Today’s goal? Get to my parents’ house as I’m hella sick of motels and their damn muffins in a crinkly bag breakfast. Although I do need to make a few quick stops on the way through town. Hey look it’s 11am! In-N-Out is open. They make the best breakfast burgers. I mean it’s just a burger but still. First stop in town is the Getty Center to see a docent friend of mine, Lee. She provides a guided experience to school children who visit the center on field trips. Ugh. I screwed up our day though because schools were out of session and I was behind on my schedule. Nevertheless it was nice to poke around the travertine halls again. The amount of miles I pushed Xavier around the galleries in his pram would be extraordinary. It’s not surprising how astute he is at analyzing art now. After the ride back down in the very 1977 space train I needed to get over to Pico and Sepulveda. Pico and Sepulveda. Pico and Sepulveda. Pico and Sepulveda. IYKYK. Zankou Chicken being the exact destination I’m headed for. I’m meeting Doug for a quick lunch. As I parked on Sepulveda a robot delivery was coming down the sidewalk and I was honestly shocked to see one coming the other way when I got out of the car. As seen in the above video. The reaction to the second robot was actual surprise.

Thanks little robots for the sideshow entertainment. Alright, time for some Zankou, it’s been a long time since I shawarma rolled. Future Chris just remembered the great storage unit trip of 2021 or whatever and the last stop in Burbank was Zankou. That’s the time when I opened the back of the truck and the load had shifted and half of it fell out while papers were blowing down San Fernando Blvd. Auntie Em!! Auntie Em! All my friends turned towards me and gave me that look of well I’m not going to go get them. So while I chased those down my friends repacked the truck. Ugh. Anyway, oh chicken tarna wrap how do I love thee and your magic garlic spread. I’m still kinda full from breakfast burger but whatev right? It’s vacation. Nice to see Doug even though he steered me wrong about the chocolate factory! Dammit Doug. Okay L.A that’s all I have time for today I’ll be back up shortly for some deeper dives in the coming weeks after I get some rest.

Hey Siri use ChatGPT, are there any used camera stores in between West LA and Long Beach? Okay, Paul’s. I’m going to try and get a lens for the OM-4. And damn did I score. $65 for a 28mm! Nice prices Paul. And now we can shoot! I super lovey dove that camera. And thank you for your enthusiasm for Olympus cameras. You’re a fine film connoisseur yourself, aren’t you?

I was actually kind of late now because the camera shop was so far out of the way. I also had to drive through Long Beach so I went and pointed at the Queen Mary. I shot a lot of “Hey!” photos for my Instasham account. Go look at that above and tell me nice things. Then of course San Onofre with the infamous “Everything I see reminds me of her” reactors from Naked Gun. It’s decommissioned so someday they’re not going to be there and the joke will just fade into history. Then the gridlock came. What the hell San Diego County you’re awful. Where is everyone going? It’s always like this and people… I have a Big Gulp inside me. I’m prio man! Let me tell you, being able to see a rest stop but not be able to get to it because it says it’s 20 minutes away is the longest mile ever. It’s right there! gah I survived. Welp, that’s it for today. Chilling with my parents now on a patio watching the sunset. They’re happy I’m here and I’m happy to be here and yet another amazing mexican dinner in ma belly. Might be a day of rest tomorrow.

Awww hello former house in San Francisco. Today will be full of nostalgia.

It’s also Canada Day. Sorry suckers I’m in ‘Merica. It’s he start of a hell month of nothing but traffic and crowds in Vancouver because of events. Canada Day, cruise ships, the fireworks shows, a couple of marathons blocking all roads out, Pride, just…. all our summer time, summer time madness… Really happy to be out of town for once. Some days you can’t even leave your neighbourhood because so many streets are blocked. But that’s not here, is it!?

Today’s plan is get to L.A. but first a few more visits around the city. I wanted to get out of that crap motel in Berkeley as soon as possible so I got up early but had to wait for a small camera shop to open down the road. Nice store but there was a better one in the city that opens at 11am and that’s what I’m really aiming for. I did need some film so I picked up a few rolls just in case and then headed into the city. There are no toll booths on the bridges anymore and you have to pay with a transponder or wait for them to send you a bill in the mail based on your licence plate. (Future me has not received a bill in the mail and from what I’ve read online it seems maybe Canadian plates cannot be tracked to a home address). Hooray!

First stop is Pier 39 as I told my son I’d pick up some ducks for him from the duck shop. What did I discover at Pier 39? No sea lions! What the what?! They’ve always been there since the earthquake!! In 1989 after the earthquake they just showed up and never left but it turns out they still migrate in the summer and most disappear. Well that’s disappointing. I’ve spent enough time at Pier 39 so I just went to the duck shop …THAT WAS CLOSED! OMG. Oh, no, they just moved, whew. Okay, ducks acquired, Alcatraz looked at, and now on to that crooked street. It’s actually hard to take a picture of Lombard Street to show off its crookedy features. I thought a resident’s SUV that was parked there was particularly funny because its left rear tail light area is totally getting smashed by drivers not paying attention. That sums up touristy Lombard Street pretty well.

Next stop my house by Golden Gate Park. Oh god, sigh, such an amazing time there and some of the most amazing memories of my life. Oof, right in the feels. When I moved there I wanted to be in the city even though the commute to work was long. This was also the first place I ever lived alone. Not that I did anything to the place but it did feel uniquely mine. That was new to me because I did feel isolated at times. I didn’t know many people left from my school days but I could walk to Golden Gate Park and Haight Ashbury and all the museums were right there. Alone but surrounded by many. I could call Zip most nights, or Keith and Shelli nearby but it was very different working there compared to when I went to school. I actually had money, but as a student I was surviving on Costco tortilla chips and Otter Pops. Made my stomach hurt. As it should. The house was very quirky and if I ran the microwave and the toaster at the same time I’d have to go downstairs to a little breezeway to reset the electrical panel. It was dark down there. Old home things like that. The bedroom had a chandelier because it used to be the dining room. Ha! When you went in the front door it had this super long ass hallway all the way to the back of the house. The front room was amazing with a big bay window and the rain would pound against it during violent storms. I had one of those 35” tube TVs which just seems ridiculously small now but then it was state of the art. Watched so many films late into the night curled up on the couch and sometimes I’d pull out the bed and sleep there. One of the windows you could even see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge so the location was fantastic.

The parking was atrocious though and my car got broken into 11 times. One time they tore the whole dashboard off to get my stereo and it cost me something like $1200. It was a car stereo that had one of those removable faceplates. I had it in the house with me!! Total geniuses. I missed home too much to stay and on my penultimate day there I took a long walk around the area to soak it all in because I felt like that would be last time I’d be there for awhile. And it was. I remember there was a crew screening for Shrek the day I was leaving and I pulled up in my moving truck and said goodbye to people in line at the AMC Kabuki cinemas. That closed that chapter in my life. Many core memories.

Well then, let me wipe away those tears and I’m outta here. First a quick stop to a funny little place in the Sunset District. That place where Patty Hearst liked to do her banking. Three SLA members and Patty Hearst AKA “Tania” entered the Hibernia Bank and she was caught on camera with her rifle. I always found it so weird it was just some tiny bank on a corner by my school. Now it’s just some Medical Services building but has a lone Bank of America ATM on the outside. I suppose she could still fall off the wagon and rob the ATM for old time sakes.

I had planned to go the Casa de Fruta route through the Pacheco Pass but the traffic was so bad going through San Jose I headed east through Livermore. I was supposed to get to L.A. tonight but I was wrapped up in all things me and San Francisco and was way behind schedule. Stopped in Santa Nella of course to stretch the legs. My friends and I have a thing where as you pass through Santa Nella you have to take a photo of the windmill at Pea Soup Anderson’s. It’s a fun tradition we’ve been doing for many years. It was late in the day so I was able to get the sun through the blades which is rare for any of us.

Oh and back in San Francisco I bought a camera. A black Olympus OM-4. I love it but no lens. So I have a job ahead me to source a lens.

I really tried to get to L.A. tonight but I could only make it to Vallejo so I slept in the shadow of Magic Mountain. Just too tired. It’s also cheaper than staying in L.A. I can’t believe two nights ago I was in the redwoods. Two long days of driving, friggin’ hell California is big.

Big day today. I’ve got about 6 hours of driving with stops along the way so I’m up early. This might be a little less verbose today. I needed to do some laundry first so I got that started and the motel provides breakfast. Nothing like motel pancakes! Nothing. Absolutely nothing like them. Especially machine made motel pancakes.

The goal today was to get to a little swimming bar along the Eel River near the Avenue of the Giants. It’s an amazing place to swim so that was the plan. I went back to the area I was at yesterday and remembered I took a picture of my S2000 parked in front of that fallen tree I stopped at yesterday so I thought I’d take the same or a similar photo with Lava Honda. And tah dah… pssst, in the gallery. 21 years ago. One problem, daaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmnnnnnn iiiiittttt!!!! I forgot my laundry in the dryer at the motel. That’s an hour and a half round trip mistake. Gah. “ChatGPT, who’s a dumbass?” “You. You are a dumbass.”

Alright back I go.

Now, where were we? Yes, so I couldn’t find the entrance to the river because it’s kind of hidden. For good reason. I drove by it twice not noticing it then finally saw it and headed down the gravel path to where I swam a few years ago. I stopped and got out to check the ground because there was NO ONE around. I better not get my wheels stuck in here or I’m going to be flagging down cars up on the road. It seemed okay… but it wasn’t. Oh man, the wheels started digging into the deep gravel and I thought this was it so I bailed on the whole idea and gunned it and got out of that area, whew. After getting back to the more hard packed area I reassessed and realized a better area was off to the left. It was solid so I was able to get to the waters edge. So nice. I really thought more people would be here on a sunny summer day but no one ever showed up so I thought better of actually going swimming. Safety first, right. I just hung out instead and enjoyed the quiet and rustle of wind through the trees.

Next drink stop was at the Grandfather Tree. More importantly is the One-Log House next to it. It’s the real reason to stop. Ya see the greatest animated TV series ever was based on some of the local roadside attractions around here and the influence can be seen in the series. I’m sayin’ it here, Gravity Falls is the greatest animated series ever produced. All two seasons of it. Seriously, I’ll fight you. Confusion Hill has fully embraced the mystery shack vibes and oddball things that happen in the forest so I had to stop to pay homage to this legendary series.

Onward. Next tourist stop the also very legendary Chandelier Tree. Drive through trees! Love ’em! Gotta do it, and the car fit! Whew! Grabbed a few souvenirs and then I also quickly passed through Willits and saw the western terminus for the Skunk Train. Awww, some nice nostalgia right there. The gift shop wasn’t open but it would have been nice to get a pin or magnet. Next small town was Noyo which had a nice art deco theatre that is still in business. I love a good neon theatre marquee. I would have liked to have seen this at night but ain’t nobody got time for that. I’m a man on a mission right now.

And there she is…

Good grief, finally. There’s nothing quite like coming through the tunnels of Marin and seeing the Golden Gate rise in front of you. The formerly named Waldo Tunnel is now named the Robin Williams Tunnel so that’s nice to drive through and see the towers approaching. After admiring the views for probably way too long and help people take pictures of themselves in front of it I drove into town. I just stopped at random places including ILM in the Presidio and grabbed a burrito at my favorite Mexican place in the world. La Cumbre! The added bonus being I was there while Mexico won that days match in the World Cup. The Mission District exploded. Awesome timing!

I was staying over in Berkeley so I could meet up with friends but that ended up falling apart. This becomes a trend. On my way there I decided to stop on Treasure Island and get some views of the city at sunset. Did. not. disappoint. Was absolutely gorgeous and so much has changed out there. Alcatraz was silhouetted in the sun and the city skyline was 10+. Love it. I didn’t take any skyline photos because I took some with the XPan which as we now know shit the bed, as the kids say. So… the partial image on the film I ran through Gemini and got a fairly accurate complete image of what I shot. The funny thing being it added an extra tower to the Bay Bridge. Hilariously sad. Now go train on these wrong images ya stupid ‘puters. Okay Berkeley Motor Inn or whatever you are, goodnight. The award for most sketchy motel of the trip goes to you. I unloaded the whole car this time and even brought the bike in. Berkeley just told Crescent City to “hold my beer”.

Ahhh back in the redwoods. It’s been too long. Good Morning California! I’m in you! This morning’s Ask ChatGPT, “What’s the best breakfast burrito in Crescent City?” Aztec Grill, eh? That’s across the street inside that Jacksons Market?! Jacksons Market being like a 7-Eleven. Weird, but awesome! No burrito photo but chose your soda size. Big, Bigger, Really Big and Giant. And yes I got the free banana with any size puchase. My belly is full of a lovely breakfast burrito and thanks Crescent City for not breaking into my car last. I read things about you.

First stop is a long time family vacation stop. I think most children in California grew up with a trip to Trees of Mystery. It’s an OG and real legend in the roadside attractions world. Last time here? 1976. They used to attach a Trees of Mystery thing on the bumper of your car. Back when bumpers weren’t just formed to the front of your car so you could wrap wire around them. I was so excited to see that after we came out to the parking lot. People would be pissed about that now. They lean into that little bumper thing now with magnets and keychains in the gift shop. They do give them out for free and I grabbed a couple of them. I got there early in the morning and was the first car in the parking lot. I want to get some miles behind me today so it’s going to be a quick visit. Babe the blue ox is undergoing a multi year restoration as he’s falling apart. They’ve added a tree walk and a gondola that you take to the top of the trails and there is absolutely no view whatsoever! Why did they even install this? lol What a waste! The ride was fun.

What lies ahead? Well, it’s lunch time. So the next city has a treat in the form of In-N-Out! I passed by some golden bears at a bridge and one of many logging trucks on this trip. How amazing does that Double Double look? Insert awful joke about bulimia and In-N-Out possibly being worth it. Popped over to the Victorian era Carson House/Ingomar Club and Pinc Lady homes after eating. Yes Pinc with a C. Pretty amazing, but it’s in Eureka… They certainly had high hopes for Eureka didn’t they? While there I was chatting with my Slack group of friends and one said to go visit the chocolate shop so I did. Like I said earlier just go do things on this trip. Whenever something pops up do it. And… well there wasn’t much there. What the hell Doug!? Ha, so I bought a peanut butter bar from a chocolate shop and headed south.

Next stop the Avenue of the Giants! Last time I was here was in 2005 as I took my s2000 on its first road trip. Amazing having a convertible in the redwoods! Extremely large sun roof isn’t bad but top down was next level. Really beautiful in this area of course! Words here don’t really describe the redwoods. It’s more of a vibe thing that you have to just do. Two of the most beautiful places in the world are in California. These redwoods and scuba diving off the coast in California’s kelp forests. They’re very similar in that looking up with the sunlight streaming through the branches is total magic.

Okay hokiness done, where are we staying tonight? The last real town was Fortuna and it’s dinner time. “ChatGPT are there any good Mexican restaurants in Fortuna?” Of course there are because ChatGPT never says anything mean. So El Paisano here I come. They were just closing for the day so I took it back to the 5 star Super 8 by Wyndham. Ha, who knew Wyndham was budget. Uh, damn that was a good meal. Time to walk it off. I still had a lot of daylight so let’s do it… “Hey ChatGPT are there any interesting towns around here?” Yes, Ferndale! What’s in Ferndale? Well, they shot the film The Majestic with Jim Carrey here and it’s Guy Fieri’s home town. Okay. Anyway, cute town and they drive around with dogs in the back of their trucks. That’s kinda Guy Fieri-like right?

Let’s get some sleep you light chasers we’ve got a long ass drive tomorrow! The second city I still call home after L.A. Take it away Scott McKenzie, “If you’re going to San Francisco…”

Oooo look, one of the survivors from the XPan rolls! I’m glad one of these came out actually. This is a log processing area in Coos Bay, Oregon. More on that later.

Today’s drive was not fun. I was tired of not being south of Portland yet so I said I’d try to get across the California border today. Turns out, not a lot of interesting things from Tillamook to Crescent City. First bit of business though is to get to the Tillamook Creamery and hit up the tour. I checked out of the axolotl motel and arrived at the factory in about 3 minutes. That’s how big Tillamook is. I was pretty gung ho to try their grilled cheese and go on the tour. Turns out the gift shop is the best part of the whole experience. Lots of fun branded products and mostly not A.I. stickers. They had a small “museum” of early years products which had some amazing design. Go with that you fools. I finally went upstairs for the tour and what? It’s just a bunch of windows looking down into a sectioned off part of the factory with a few people doing some things. Like every morning they draw straws as to who is going into this fishbowl. All you do is read the informational sign and then walk to the next window. This is not a tour. Boo on you Tillamook. Lame. I read about two of them and then just left for the café area. So yes, let’s check out this café and it’s uh-mazing grilled cheese sandwich. Well I saw someone walk by with said sandwich and it was so tiny and anemic there was no way I was paying $20 for that. So I got a breakfast burrito and it was the size of a fat hot dog. What is this? A burrito for ants? So overall I give the Tillamook Creamery and factory tour 1 cheese curd out of 5. Visit the gift shop then keep driving.

Well that was a lot of complaining so onward we go. Somewhere along the line I saw an airplane sticking out the side of a building so I thought heck yeah, let’s stop. It turns out the inside the cockpit is Robert’s office. Ya know the one who owns the book shop and has his own parking space? This bookshop was beyond nuts. I can’t really describe so a video is better.

Moving on, the next stop Depoe Bay! Why? Because movies, that’s why. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to be exact. If it’s been awhile you might not remember that all the patients take a boat trip. They set of from this tiniest of harbours that the city promotes as “the world’s smallest navigable harbor”. According to the good people of Depoe Bay but who the hell knows. It is small though and I kinda loved it. About 5 miles south I hit up the Devils Punchbowl. Future Oregon travelers, don’t bother. I got a clam chowder in a sourdough bowl which I think was supposed to represent the Devils Punchbowl by shape or something. Dumb connection and it wasn’t very good. Oof it’s getting late and I’m nowhere near where I need to be so next stop Coos Bay. If I had not wanted to get to California I probably would have stayed in Coos Bay. And maybe at the motel with all the sci-fi murals but I also spotted the aaaaamaxing Egyptian Theatre. Much to my surprise on the schedule this month is a screening of Dinosaur! Way to go scheduler person at the Egyptian Theatre in Coos Bay. Next time give me a call I’ll do a talk about how that film spent four years in production and how over budget it went. I secretly still think it’s the most expensive movie ever made. Oh yes, logs. The first thing I saw coming into town was the above log processing area. It was very quiet out and I felt like I was doing something wrong taking pictures of logging but ya know public street and all, logs, stacked, cool looking. Please leave me alone 40 year old weirdo riding his bike around in circles on this deserted street. I swear to God I’ll bludgeon you with this camera. This, this… already broken camera.

Further south on the “Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq Veterans Memorial Highway” (I shit you not, look it up) I started to head inland just as the sun was setting so I pulled over. The whole 101 Oregon highway from the Washington border to the California border is called that. AKA The Oregon Coast Hwy as it’s more commonly called.

I’m so freaking bored of driving. At this point I just kept my foot on the gas until I arrived in Crescent City, California. Hell-a-fookin-knew-ya. I’m also south of Portland! Anyway what a long ass day so what better treat than a late night visit to a grocery store. Safeway, you’re up. And guess what?!? It’s-It ice cream sandwiches! You know you’re in California when that’s in stock. I was only window shopping though and ready to rest my head at the Bay View Inn that has “reasonable rates and walk in specials” according to the sign. No axolotls though. Now that you read the ramblings view my visual documentation below and relive the boring part of the Oregon Coast.

Good morning! First things first. Breakfast. “Ask ChatGPT. What’s the best breakfast burrito in Astoria, Oregon that is currently open?” Turns out ChatGPT is a life changer on a road trip. It was at this point I discovered I could be in the absolute middle of nowhere and ask ChatGPT what sights there are to see and it came up with the best things. I asked it so many things on the trip. “What are the best beaches to watch the sunset near Fortuna, CA?” Boom, three beaches listed and why one might be better than the others.” I won’t bore y’all with listing everything I asked it in a month’s time period but I got to see Guy Fieri’s hometown because of it.

Where was I? Oh yes, breakfast burrito at Taqueria Los Compas. Well yes, it couldn’t have been better, thanks ChatGPT! As I was sitting at the table eating I spotted a Quonset hut behind the food truck and noticed a sign that said visitors welcome. What the what? Are they building a train down there?! Well not exactly they were refurbishing one from the ground up. I walked right down there and blurted out “Your sign says visitors welcome can I have a poke around!?” Sure! Come on in the old prospector train engineer looking dude told me. Man, I got more than I could have ever expected. He told me absolutely EVERYTHING about this train. At one point I was thinking whoa dude I’ve got to kinda hit the road… But he was too kind and it was all so awesome. Really nice guys and I asked what the end goal is for the train and he smiled and said, “…for it go down track making chugga chugga chugga chugga chugga noises”. Haha! My man, I dropped $20 in the tip jar and thanked him for his time and generosity. Train people are into it.

Next up, the Goonies house which I didn’t get to yesterday. They really embrace the whole Goonies thing in Astoria. I think most have just come to welcome it now. I don’t think that was true in the past and the current owner of the house has made the interior up to match the film. He was a fan and bought the house. I liked all the neighborhood signs saying don’t block our driveways and things but they’re all in the spirit of the film. After visiting the house I went back down to the Courthouse Film Commision and found a woman painting a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mural. So I pulled over and said hey! Then she said hey back! She invited me into the fenced area and we talked about what she was doing. She used to be a set painter on films but lives in Astoria now and does murals. Her husband does too and he was painting the Goonies one but wasn’t there at the moment. So cool. My photo of her and her mural got had by my broken camera so a little sad about that. Inside the courthouse I picked up a few momentos and of course a Baby Ruth.

I headed back to the downtown core and found a little sailing club and popped my head in. First through the building though was a workshop like space. Maybe a community centre. I found a woman in there making a cover for a stool and she quite happily told me what they do in there and I was thinking man I’d be in here every weekend. Cool space. Lots of clamps. Ya have to love clamps.

Outside the doors was why I stopped. They had a little pond for radio controlled boats. Not the fast ones mind you just the little bobbing boats for relaxing. Hung out for a bit watching and it was quite relaxing. But I’m a ramblin’ guy and have to hit the road…

I fueled up and on the way out of town I stopped at KFC to get a drink. My goal is to drink as much Iced Tea as possible in the States as Iced Tea is not a thing in Canada, Ugh, stupid Canada. Whyyyy? Much to my delight when I went inside I said what’s your largest Iced Tea and she showed me a half gallon container of Iced Tea! Whaaaaa? God, KFC you get me. Give me that thing!! What a treat. And a large cup of ice. The spoils of America. Next up Ecola State Park. Home of more scenes from The Goonies but also the final scene from Point Break. So yep, I’ve stood on the beach where Bohdi and Johnny Utah fight and say their goodbyes. Vaya con Dios.

After purchasing the Chester Copperpot Key from the Oregon Film Commission I was able to line up the rock formations near haystack rock just like the movie. Then I made my way down to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. Nice beach to walk along but not much else there. Very touristy little town and bit like Laguna but shit. Saw a carved puffin then left.

Then, THEN! Roadside attraction alert! Is that a giant corndog on top of a small roadside eatery? Why yes it is. Not only that but that right there is the birthplace of the corn dog! Originally known as the Pronto Pup! Who knew?! Look it up! Oregon, you surprise yet again. They even had a small children’s ride out front. I indulged and I can say it was mighty goood. So sorry Original Hot Dog on a Stick in Santa Monica this OG wipes the floor with you, but Disneyland Corn Dog Cart? You’re still king.

I got to Tillamook too late to tour the cheese factory so I’ll do that first thing in the morning. The hotel is probably the nicest I’ll stay in and the room is actually huge. They have an aquarium room for some reason with axolotls and the 4 were named after characters from How to Train your Dragon. I included Toothless in the photo gallery. Then I did my obligatory late night shop at the local grocery which happened to be a Walmart Superstore. Found some film just in the nick of time because I was running out today. (Future me says, “Great, $50 of film to put in MY BROKEN CAMERA!!! dammit”) Annoying thought of the evening is that I’m still not really any further south than Portland at the moment. After all that driving I’ll be trying to dream of cheese tonight.

After a wonderful night of sleep in the upstairs Air BNB guest room, Sean and I walked to get some breakfast. Fantastic food and I actually didn’t want to leave Portland today to be honest. Next time will be a few nights to explore more. At least it’s in a days drive.

I brought my 4×5 camera along and set up an American Gothic style photo of Sean and Jill replete with a spikey rake for authenticity. One of my other goals for this trip was to shoot 4×5 pictures of all my friends on their front porches/yard/stairs/etc. It turned out I didn’t get to see many people so I kept the camera in it’s backpack for the rest of the trip.

So, I’m in Oregon, but now I’ve got to go back into Washington to get back into Oregon to get back into Washington to finally end up back in Oregon tonight. Where I end up is appropriately called Cape Disappointment. Heading north I once again stop at the same northern most In-N-Out Burger for a 11am breakfast hamburger. See, it’s a thing. Back in Washington I turn west and get back into Oregon in about an hour because Oregon has a pokey uppy bit along the coast. I finally arrive in Astoria!

Side story. I used to work at a movie theater in the mid 80s. Right in the prime 80s time of Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, Back to the Future and The Goonies. All legends. I saw them all tons of times and Back to the Future you could just go to the Universal Lot and Pasadena to see filming locations but the Goonies! Oooh the Goonies… That seemed like a real place, and it was. Astoria, OR. I always wanted to go there and 41 years later here I am. The next few days is all about The Goonies.

I got to Astoria pretty late in the day so I checked into the motel first. I’m staying in low key simple accomodations because I won’t be spending anytime in the motels except to sleep. I’m always going to grab breakfast on the way out of town anyway. Motel story coming up.

I did a quick tool around town and found some vintage shops. Rescued a little camera from one of them. A Yashica FX-2 which I already have but with the state of cameras it’s good to have a back up copy of one incase you need to raid it for parts. Besides the fact that it was $20 and after a bit of coaxing the winder and exercising the aperture in store I got it back to working order. I think they thought it was really dead so they priced it like that. (BUT WAIT! A month later I’m watching Justin Scarred’s post about Astoria, Goonies and the Short Circuit 40th Anniversary which took place a couple weeks before I was there and look what I spotted on the shelves! OMG! The camera I bought! That was random.)

Onto the first sight was a house just a block away which was in the film Short Circuit! Another 1986 time period film. Johnny 5! So cool. Then off to the Astoria Jail from Goonies and although it was closed I got my pictures. The Fratelli’s car was parked out front so I parked mine out there too! Across the street was the city hall and then off to the bowling alley I went. In the opening scene of The Goonies Chunk is at the bowling alley… well, just have a look below. That was pretty cool. They had some great merch including Chunk’s shirt but the bowling alley itself was selling old pins for a $1. One dollar?! So yes, I bought one.

I also went by the Kindergarten Cop school. A 1990 film but we’ll allow that. I drooled at a custard place but too late as it was closed. Booo to small towns for that reason alone.

Next up I wanted to see where the big bridge in Astoria leads to. It’s in all the films but they never really mention where it goes. It was right above the hotel so I drove over it and it leads right back to another part of Washington! Ha. Cape Disappointment to be exact. So I thought oh what the hell let’s go! I drove for about an hour and it was nice and all but the Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment had a party tent set up right in front it and blocked the views of the really nice lighthouse. What?! Laaaayme. Not going to lie it was a pretty long hike to the lighthouse and it was getting dark really fast. Knowing how far I’d walked to get there and how far I have to walk back to the car and drive back to Astoria… Eek. Anyway found a nice deadman’s style cove and got a good picture of the tree on the tiny island. I scurried back to car in case pirates a la One-Eyed Willy were about.

I got back to Astoria in Oregon again and it was pretty late now and as it’s a little town everything closes up except for the grocery store. I always love a late night visit to grocery stores but first I need to stop back at the motel to drop off cameras.

Okay, motel story time… I stayed at the Atomic Motel in Astoria. Looked cool had a retro space vibe and some themed rooms. Well, cheaply themed but clean place. There are no keys so they write your door passcode on a sheet with the wifi code and other information. I take a picture on my phone of the piece of paper in case I forget the code. Smart right? Right? Then I memorise the code over and over and over. 8437 8437 8437 8437 8437 8437 8437 8437 Also to note is that the office closes at 7pm and there’ll be nobody on site. Oh you know where this is going. So off to the grocery store I go and buy a few things like some cereal, milk, snacks, etc. It’s now about midnight and I get back and grab my things and head to the room. Uh, where’s my phone? Oh no it’s in the room. I forgot it but no problem I memorised the number, right? Right? 8347 enter, red blnking. What?! 8347 enter, red blinking. That’s the number I swear. Maybe it’s like a demagnetized hotel key and the system is broken? 8347. Nope. 8744? Nope. Oh no the door has lock locked because of too many tries. I have to wait ten minutes. Try again 8347? I know it’s 8 at the beginning. 8438? 8743? 8734? Locked out again for 10 minutes. Ooo this sucks. Well clearly the door is just not working.

Alright, am I stuck sleeping in the car tonight? I do have a pad and sleeping bag. I went and read the sign in the office and sure enough they have a phone number to call but I. don’t. have. my. phone. I see one room upstairs with a light on. Do I bother them? Hell yeah I do, their light is on! So I knock fairly confidently so it didn’t seem weird and some dude answers and I apologize and explain the situation and if he can call the manager’s number. He agrees (whew) and I wait and wait and wait. He eventually comes out and says hey the manager is on the way back here. She’s going to give me a lift somewhere anyway so you lucked out! Uh, dude, where are you going at 1:30 in the morning with a hotel manager? Suss. Anyway, what a relief I just have to wait for her to arrive so I just go back to the room and decided to give it another try. The 10 minute lock period is over and I try again. 8437, green blinks, click. MOTHER FLETCHER!

Epilogue: I slip inside the room embarrassed, turn the lights on, have some cereal, leave the door slightly ajar, wait for the inevitable knock on the door from the building manager, which happens, apologize to them, no problem. Two hours of late night stress, done.

Current time line interjection… See that? I brought my XPan along on my trip and shot 13 rolls of film! 13! One of the main points of this trip was for it to be a photo adventure to take loads of film pictures. I went out of my way so many times to get panoramic photos like these. Unbeknownst to me my camera’s shutter had silently died and gave no indication or sound that it was broken. I just went on my merry way not knowing there was a fatal error going on. So, much to my dismay when I got home and took everything to the lab and $200+ dollars later… there was this photo and a couple more on the first roll but after that nothing but 1/2 frames and shutter blurred images. I can’t even believe it. It was totally devastating. The amount of time I spent shooting with that camera was profound and now its life had just ended on the first day of using it and I had no idea. Ugh. So… the rest is all just iPhone. So sad and just not the same. I’ll make a little memorial gallery at the end as my R.I.P. for my beloved XPan. The handful of “artsy-smeary” photos I could salvage deserve a place in the world. Some are still quite good in that state, but ugh, just gutted. Okay, well, with that said, Day 2!

I got up very early this morning to make my way off Whidbey and to get to Portland. Said my goodbyes to my sister and brother-n-law and got in line for the ferry. Something like 6:00am but the terrible night of sleep was going to make for a rough day. I wasn’t first in line but I did get a spot at the front of the ferry. It’s only about 20 minutes so went upstairs to the cafeteria and picked up a drink and a souvenir sticker. An unfortunate thing has happened to the souvenir world where absolutely everything is AI generated. So I vowed to try and buy obviously human designed things as much as a could. In image two you can clearly see the eyeball of the Orca on the white eye patch. Yeah, that’s not where the eyeball is silly computer. And that looks nothing like the Space Needle. Le sigh.

Pointing the car to Portland there were a lot of signs that caught my attention. Sleater-Kinney! What? I never knew the band Sleater-Kinney got their name from a road! TIL. Also Longview (Greenday), Rush Road, Castle Rock (Stephen King) etc. As it was past 10:30am I was able to stop at the farthest north In-N-Out for a breakfast burger. That’s a thing ya know. It’s also now the closest INO to Vancouver. A mere 5 hours. That done, I’m finally going to cross the Oregon border. Come take me dysentery. Spoiler alert, I survived.

The first thing I wanted to do is stop at Blue Moon Photo and Machine. I find out why “Machine” once I get there. I needed some film and just to have a look. Nice to see so many cameras, films, and… typewriters. Yep, I’ve entered Portlandia for real. Typewriters are the machine portion of the name.

Next stop was across town to the iconic Multnomah Falls. Yes, the falls with the funny name and beautiful look. If you don’t know these falls you’re lame and should un-lame yourself. I’d like to return to these and some other falls in the area as it was just too busy. Even my friend Sean gave me a heads up that I needed to book a sparking spot in advance. I’m staying with Sean tonight and will be good to chill out and relax. Picked up a little souvenir pin and headed out.

I arrived at Sean’s and it’s like we’d just seen each other last week! When in fact it’s been quite a few years. I first met Sean on the film Dinosaur at Disney. He was also my Supervisor at Imageworks and later again Dreamworks. So got to hang out with a newly minted Oregon retiree. Oregon is awesome by the way. After chatting for a bit we walked around the neighborhood and it was soooo Portland. Great cafés and shops and not single chain store. It’s like the whole city is an artisanal zone or something. Amazing. We went and checked out the Bagdad Theatre… speakeasy? It’s a bar inside the theater but behind the screen! Above the bar you can see the back side of the stage screen. Absolutely beautiful in there. Pictures 13. 14. After that we got in the car and headed downtown and just drove around a bit. Stopped to check out the Portland Theatre where Jerry Seinfeld just happened to be performing that night. Had I planned better… I’m liking Portland though. Good vibes. I’ve only driven through on the Great Storage Unit Relocation Odyssey from a few years back. After a few more sights we headed home and stopped at a 7-Eleven for drinks and the owner was Moroccan and had little Moroccan and American flags everywhere for the World Cup. Ha! Go Moroc!

So Day 2, done. Wiped out and Sean and his wife have the most lovely very Portland craftsman home that they’ve done up beautifully. Best Air BNB in Portland. Five stars!

Something wacky with the gallery, but who cares right? You’ll be okay. New gallery plug-in! You’re welcome!

It’s been about five years since I’ve had time off so it’s my turn to change that. Since I’ve set aside a whole month to do this my thought was if I saw something that piqued my interest, just stop, take a picture, and just enjoy. You have plenty of time. Turn that car around and go see the largest ball of string if it presents itself. Souvenirs will be ceramic pins, stickers and random bits and bobs. Nothing extravagant.

So first day eh… what should we do?? Well, the first day goal is to get to my sister’s by tonight. Easy first day drive and saves a night of hotel costs. I tried to save where I could because this road trip could get quickly out of hand cost wise. Especially with the cost of petrol.

I also decided I’d check Facebook Marketplace for any camera gear I might have been looking for while I plod along. I’ve been looking for a wide angle lens for my ESII and lo and behold on the far far outskirts of Vancouver metro someone had one up for sale. So before I even cross the border I’ve got a lens lined up. She found it under the house in a box and had no idea what to do with it. Like, one lens in a box, under the house that they’re selling and only just found it after a couple of decades. Well, for $20 I know what to do with it. Put it on my Pentax! After checking out the lens I pointed the car south and headed towards the border at Sumas. Never crossed there before as it’s out in the middle of nowhere. It’s also the closest I’ve ever been to Mt. Baker. It’s nice to see volcanoes fairly close up. It’s only been 6,700 years since a major eruption so fingers crossed. Not today Satan Pele.

Crossing the border is always stressful but now that I have Nexus it’s an absolute breeze. Best money ever spent. Literally less than 20 seconds with an officer and always less than a minute wait. Well hello USA! After a bit of driving I cut over towards Anacortes and headed down Whidbey Island. This was to just avoid the cost of the ferry at the bottom of the island. See? Cutting costs and I just saved $20 bucks. I arrived at a decent hour but still pretty tired as it was still about 5 hours of driving. My brother in law refurbs trailers whenever he gets a hold of one but my parents have their trailer there so I stayed in the “Casita”. I sat outside too long and got absolutely ravaged by mozzies. Oof.

Short story time. Back when I went to school in San Francisco one of my friends had a little Casio keyboard that I loved to noodle around on. (This trip will be full of nostalgia for me) Anyway, I found the exact one on ebay last year and had it sent to my sister’s. I just never got down here until now. So I caught up with my sister and then played my little keybaord late into the night. My brain just wouldn’t shut off so I got a terrible night of sleep.

Oh and I remembered a goofy little funeral dirge I made up when I lived in the dorms. Look how mucky and tiny that keyboard is! Can’t even believe it works really.

Yay for galleries, right? Ya get more pics!

3000+ miles later.

As The Proclaimers didn’t once say.
I would drive five hundred miles
And then I would drive five hundred more
Then I would even drive five hundred miles again
And then I would again drive five hundred more
Then again tag on another five hundred miles
Then I would have to drive five hundred+ more
Just to be the man who drove three thousand+
Miles to fall down at my door
Da-da da da (Da-da da da)
Da-da da da (Da-da da da)
Da-da dum diddy dum diddy dum diddy da da da

I’ll do the real math later,

Saw some things that made me happy. Saw some things that made me sad. I shot 13 rolls of film. I even got to shoot a video with my dad for an E-Trike company’s website and youtube channel! He got paid a decent amount and Ioved how personable he came across in the video. I was able to coax an Oscar worthy performance out of him. Proud of him. Ha!

It’s good to be home though.

Fifa is arriving next month and it’s already madness in the city. They wrapped Science World up as a football. It’s done now and looks great. All sorts of construction and people are crawling all over the place. I so can’t be bothered with it all so I’m on the verge of a road trip to Southern California. Need to get out of town while this beast visits. Although Fifa is in L.A. too. No matter I’d rather be there.

Quick thoughts are stop to see my sister, stop in Portland, swing through San Francisco, hit up Casa De Fruta of course, Central Valley, zoom through L.A. at first and then visit the parents. Disneyland and time in L.A. to see friends. If anyone wants to see me, hit me up. If you don’t I’ll never know and that’s okay too. I like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain. Going to hit all the familiar neighborhoods and eats. Even Ciclavia will be on so bringing my bike along for the road trip. Just hanging out for a bit this summer.

I bought a Pentax ESII recently and I ran a test roll through it to make sure it’s working properly and the above photo proves it is. Nice! Also explained on my Instalame. The camera shot the cover of London Calling and that makes it cool. Have you even bothered to look at my Instagram? How rude, because it’s chock full of Vancouver oddities. Like and subscribe ya goon.

Of course I took the photo, I’m also not in it. Of course. Not everyone is there for our weekly lunch but this is the largest lighting team assembled in a long time. In other news, this summer a new concert venue is opening just in time for FIFA. It’s also the new venue for all the summer time outdoor concerts. Freedom Mobile Arch. Ugh, sponsership names are so terrible. Irvine Meadows > Verizon Wireless Amiphitheater. Armed with a presale code I secured a front row seat to the Queen, Sarah. Amazing, after all these years I’ve never had a front row seat to any concert but oh yeah Sarah McLachlan up close. September 6th, can’t wait, niiiice.

Every Olympics they fire up Vancouver’s Olympic Cauldron at the start of the Opening Ceremony. It costs so much to burn they only run it for two hours. A full two weeks would cost $200K. Ain’t nobody laying down the Benjamin’s for that. So every two years we get to see the flames. It is nice. By the time I arrived after work the crowd had dispersed and even more so when it started to rain. Then promply at 6:00pm out it went. See you in a few years Cauldron. You are beautiful.

We’ve had the most insane and beautiful fog recently. Walking the streets with streetlights and cars headlights glowing through fog has been amazing. Late in the day I went to the rooftop terrace. I work in a verrrrry tall building. The views were gorgeous. Off in the distance I could see the new Oakridge Centre being built with all its cranes. Way off in the distance is Orcas Island with its highest peak in the San Juan Islands. Crazy how close they are.

Not a bad year really. Some crap things but mostly got to tie up some loose ends that had been hanging around for a bit. Didn’t get to travel at all as I had to wait for some paperwork to get sorted but that finally happened. You can’t leave the country while that’s going on. That was the most crap thing really. So that’s not too horrible. I’m looking forward to some long and short distance travel this coming year. L.A.? S.F.? Vegas? Hawaii? Japan? Paris and Venice? That’s the short list but we’ll see how much of that gets checked off. Let’s forget that little bit for now.

One big thing that I didn’t accomplish was my “Walk to L.A.” I thought it would be fun to track my steps around town this year as I greatly increased my walking routine. Walk to work, walk to lunch, walk to just walk somewhere. So I set a goal to walk from home aka The Apple Store in Vancouver to my old home The Apple Store at The Grove in Mid-Wilshire of L.A. Turns out the weather and just being ill a few times greatly affected my goal. So instead of the 1250 miles/2000 kilometers I needed, I only got in 1000 miles/1609 kilometers. Hmmmm… That means I only made it to just south of San Jose in California. I like to think I at least got to Casa de Fruta. Which is still amazing to think about! I WALKED from Vancouver to like Gilroy this year. That is crazy. I only have to average about 4 miles/6.5 kilometers a day but once you get behind it’s hard to catch up so consistency is key. One week of illness can set you back 30 miles/48 kilometers. My biggest day of general walking was February 26th with 10 miles/16 kilometers. Which doesn’t seem like that much but it really is a pretty good distance if you look at it as a long string on a map. I plan to add some Lions Gate Bridge walks into the mix this year to boost the numbers. It’s about 2/3rds the length of the Golden Gate Bridge and within walking distance so it should be a decent round trip. I’ve just never done it.

I bought a fair share of cameras this year and shot most of them. I have a bit of a project in mind for all of them but who knooooows. It’s all about finding time. So much lack of time. I’ve got a few concerts coming up. One I’m oddly really excited about. In August, The Guess Who are playng at a brand new venue that is being built right now. It’s called the Freedom Mobile Arch. The Guess Who? Aren’t they some old fogey band that no one listens too? Yes, kinda. For many years now a fake band with something like the original drummer has been touring around under The Guess Who name because he somehow ended up with the performing rights. No Canadian venues would even book them so they just toured around the States year after year as one of those crap cover band billed as the original band. Anyway after many many years the two who really are The Guess Who won the rights back in a court battle! Randy Bachmann and Burton Cummings are now back in the saddle and hitting the road. I heard a recent interview with them and they were besides themselves in how excited they are about playing again. It’s surprising how many hits The Guess Who, Bachmann Turner Overdrive and Burton Cummings solo have had. So it’s going to be a good all killer no filler set! Looking forward to These Eyes, Stand Tall, Share the Land, American Woman, etc. Will be a bunch of olds grooving out but can’t wait.

Oooh ooh and in a very strange show coming to town I’ve got tickets for David Letterman and Zach Galifianakis. The code for getting presale tickets was “beards”. Yep.

I’m going to act cool and say yeah yeah I’ve been into The Beta Band since the early days! Just go with it. The Gig Hunters, the unofficial name of our WhatsApp group where we diabolically plan gig hunting, was going to see The Beta Band at The Commodore Ballroom. Either you went wow, or you went who? A rather revered band from the late 90s. So revered I’d never heard a single song from them. I’m in though because, ya now, why not? They reformed after 20 years for this tour. I enjoyed it and I didn’t enjoy it. Some parts were sort of Peter Gabriel brilliant but then they break into record scratching and almost rap and it was always taking not so great turns. Some would say awesome but some (me) would say confusing. It just didn’t work. Total vibes then poof. Anyway, I enjoyed it and I didn’t enjoy it. I’m really glad we had reserved seats for this one. Nice to hang back above the crowd.