the first female president?

with all of the political blogs out there, i generally try to keep my political comments to a minimum (except for the “favorite quotes” in my sidebar, which seems to ruffle a few feathers of my friends and online buddies).

i have to make an exception tonight as i believe i may have just witnessed a speech by the first female president of the united states!

sarah palin has got more balls than barack o(my-god-you’ve-got-to-be-kidding)bama and more charisma than hillary clinton.

sarah compared herself as a pit bull with lipstick. unlike hillary, who is a yappy shi tzu in a pantsuit, i think sarah has what it takes to run this country instead of running this country into the ground.

i am not a republican. but, i am an anti-democrat. in my opinion: john mccain is too liberal for me. but, he is far from the socialistic offerings of the empty suit running against him who has only his race and eloquence as a speaker going for him.

here is my prediction for 2012 (or, 2016): sarah palin and newt gingrich.

until the libertarian party gets their shit together, this is the best we can hope for.

hum me a few bars

the hummingbird feeder that kathryn sent me the other day is getting a thorough working-over.

i half-filled the feeder friday evening just after sunset. by monday morning i needed to refill the darn thing.

i never realized how aggressive those little guys are. one of them has already staked it out for himself and fights the others tooth-and-nail (or is that bill-and-claw) to defend “his” nectar.

the “overseer” perches in the top of the tree near the feeder and when one of the other birds comes up he chases them away. but, right after he does that another comes up to partake in the nectar until the nectar-boss returns.

before i moved to this area i had never seen a hummingbird perch. we used to have one that frequented the bottlebrush bush at the castle and he used to perch all the time. the same with these hummers.

they are letting me get really close to them as they feed. i’ve been as close as 30-inches from the feeder. they also fly close enough that i can feel the ever-so-slight breeze coming off of their wings as they pass.

i guess i’m going to have to look into getting a seed-feeder for the songbirds.

and maybe a carrion-feeder for the buzzards and turkey vultures that endlessly circle the skies above carmel valley.

kathryn comes to town

my friend, kathryn of reno, came to visit me for a few days last weekend.

very nice to see her again after so long.

actually, i did see her briefly back in march or april on a quick trip up to nevada. prior to that trip, the last time i saw kathryn was a couple of days before i moved to the coast. she, rick and helen and i sat above virginia city watching the 4th of july fireworks. that’s right: above virginia city! about 1000 feet above virginia city. interesting to see fireworks coming up at you instead of over your head.

i picked up kathryn at the san jose airport friday at a couple of minutes after 2. from there we headed over to giorgio’s on foxworthy for a great pizza before driving over to los gatos and then saratoga for a cup of coffee (tea for kathryn) at the big basin cafe then up hwy. 9 into the redwoods and big basin state park.

before long we were in santa cruz and heading south on rt. 1 on our way to the peninsula. by the time we reached monterey it was dark, giving kathryn an opportunity to see cannery row at night. we also grabbed the doc rickett’s crossing cache before heading east to carmel valley.

the next morning, after kathryn had the courage to try one of my cups of coffee (i started her off with 1-shot of espresso and 1-shot of water to about 10 ounces of 2%) and hanging out on the bench with the hummingbirds, we were off to big sur for waterfalls, more redwoods and a few more caches for kathryn.

on the way back we stopped off in carmel for a drink at the hog’s breath and a cruise through town to grab a cup of coffee at ron’s favorite coffee house before hitting the grocery store for dinner. i made some kind of stir fried beef dish with noodles and cookies for desert.

on sunday we were off to the monterey bay aquarium. but, not before coffee and hummingbirds, this time with a blacktail deer for good measure.
although we had passes for the aquarium (thanks phil and linda!), we walked in like we owned the place. hey, if you look like you know what you’re doing nobody questions you. i wish i would have remembered to grab the tripod from the car before we got there as it was just too dark and i had to use a really slow shutter speed, which made the shots a little blurry. i had a ray swim directly up to where i was standing. that should have been a great shot but. . .

on the way back to the car we stopped to grab a cache across from the american tin cannery then drove over to seaside for mexican food. after taqueria-style tacos we headed over to del rey oaks for a geocache hidden in an industrial park near one of the secluded break areas. after finding the cache and enjoying a dessert of cookies we were back on the caching/sightseeing tour.

back to monterey and asilomar.

kathryn is actually enjoying lattes.

we left the coastal road and came up lighthouse to frank’s coffee house, pacific grove juice and java. this time kathryn had them step up the coffee content to two shots; i had a triple.

then we headed over to pebble beach for a cache or two and gawking at houses then back home. i don’t remember what, if anything, we had for dinner on sunday.

after coffee (another double for kathryn) and communing with the hummingbirds we were all too soon off to san jose with a quick stop at mazda raceway laguna seca and a quite drive to the airport.

friday afternoon a package came for me from kathryn. it was a hummingbird feeder. it’s only been up for two days and i already have a war going on with several hummers who want to take control of the feeder. i never realized how territorial they are. that must be why they need all the energy: to fend-of the other hummers.

it seems i have more visitors coming soon: willy just told me he’ll be in town this coming weekend and rick is coming in october for the alms race at mazda raceway laguna seca.

time for a change

ok, ok, ok!

i know i’ve been remiss in my blog postings.

it’s been a strange few months, to say the least.

i’ll try to get caught up in the coming weeks as my schedule allows.

but, in the meantime. . .

i have moved out to carmel valley.

the new pad

ron and i moved out of the castle and susie and the kids moved out of the dollhouse back in may; ron and susie and the kids moved into, what we now call, “the embassy”, and i have been staying in my friend, richard’s, hotel: the lone oak lodge.

until saturday, that is.

a few weeks ago, my friend, frank, who owns the coffee house ron likes to call “coffee girl”, told me his tenant in his guesthouse was moving out and asked if i’d like to move in.

so, i’m here.

and i love it already!

the view from my kitchen window

this is much more of a monty-type-place than pebble beach. sure, pebble beach is beautiful, but i like living where the sun shines during the summer and the temperature reflects that season. for example: the day i moved in – last saturday – it was almost 70˚ in pebble; out here in carmel valley, about a dozen linear-miles east-southeast from the embassy, it was in the mid-nineties.

i may not have whales and dolphins swimming practically out my backdoor and i may not be serenaded by crashing waves and barking seals as i sleep, but the wildlife here – mountain lions, bobcats, lizards (the other day, ron called as i was about to jump in the shower. “well. how do you like it?” he asked. “i’m in heaven!” i replied. “i’m sitting naked on the edge of my bed and i’m watching a lizard crawl across one of the rocks in my backyard.” i don’t think ron got it!) and king snakes (which means there is little likelihood of rattlesnakes) – is more montyish. it is also as quiet as it was when i used to live in fallon.

the view from my back porch

frank is a pretty cool guy, too!

we share a love of progressive rock (he’s a big “yes” fan as i would also consider myself) and we are going to give a crack at songwriting. frank is a really good guitar player and i’ve been known to sing and write lyrics from time to time. we’ll have to see what we can come up with. he has a recording studio in the main house.

frank is also learning how to use adobe final cut, a video editing program and i’ll soon start working on the same program. as soon as ron buys the right apple computer on which to use the program.

yes. i said apple computer.

that’s going to be the tough part as i’ve never used a mac before.

i’ve been sitting in front of a pc since 1993 and the two computer types are as dissimilar as they are similar.

well, i was 40-years-old when i first sat in front of a pc; i guess i can do the same with a mac at 55, which i am only a month away from.

that’s right! i turn double-nickels in a month from tomorrow!

it seems like it was just a couple of years ago i was anticipating my 21st birthday.

where did the time go?

tonight's sunset from my backyard

road trip: b&n modified roadster --- part 1

i’m delivering this story in 3 parts - acts, if you will.

when i was a kid, in the 1960s. . . back when i first started going out to the bonneville salt flats, the baddest of modified roadsters (usually, a 1927 model-t body that has been streamlined ahead of the windshield. you can do anything you want as long as you don’t cover the tires and wheels. the cockpit can also have a tonneau cover and roll cage faring.) was the b&n automotive #120 modified.

a brief bio:

after several years in and around the world of drag racing, in its pioneering years, northern californians bert peterson and noel black came together to form b&n automotive and started racing on the salt flats.

after success with a blown gas hiboy, they wanted higher speeds and therefore built, what would become, the world’s fastest roadster.

a few weeks ago, while talking on the phone with my dad, i learned that our partner, jim lattin, had rick peterson (no relation to bert peterson), a veritable magician when it comes to fabrication, restore the historic modified and would be inducting it into his antique race car museum in encinitas, california with a reception at the museum.

after receiving further details from jim and b&n automotive archivist, john sprenger (later a partner with bert following noel’s death in 1970), i decided i needed to be there for the ceremony.

john sprenger

the year noel was killed was my first year to become a part of what would be known as “the b&n bad guys.” i was just a kid shagging parts and receiving melvins from bert’s son, steve, and steve’s friend, frank “jive-ass” silva as we ran the motion 1 streamliner, which was hoped to break the wheel-driven land speed record of 354 mph.

frank "jive ass" silva

it was the greatest time of my youth!

mee sook and i left pebble beach on friday, march 14 at around 1030 hours under a cloud of clouds and intermittent showers on the day prior to the roadster’s induction. we were going to take rt. 1 down to santa maria, then cut over to i-5, but with such a late start we headed east to salinas and jumped on hwy. 101 going south. by the time we reached soledad, the sun was shining and the wildflowers were beginning to open.

i drove east on 46 from paso robles for the most scenic stretch of the day’s drive. the mostly ag-country was bright and green after a fairly moist spring and speckled with fields of mustard blooms and california poppies that were so brilliant the fields looked like they were ablaze.

a quick stop at a fruit and nut stand, alleged to be james dean’s last stop before being killed just west of there, we were on i-5 and heading over the grapevine.

after jumping off of i-5 and onto i-210, it wasn’t long (now approaching 1600 hours) before we were knee deep in traffic as we headed east out of pasadena.

i cannot believe ron wants to move us down to this mess!

before heading down to our hotel in san marcos, we were on our way to my old neighborhood in west covina to visit some very dear friends; popsie and leo, whom i have not seen since june, 1981. before going to their house, however, we stopped by the old thriftimart, now some other small chain grocery store, to grab a bouquet of flowers for popsie (we picked up some chili and lime pistachio nuts at james dean’s last stop for leo). as the automatic door opened to allow us entry, i passed an old mexican man on his way out who was looking at me like he knew me. i’m sure i looked like i was looking at him like i knew him, too.

“is that you, greg?” the old mexican asked.

it was leo!

what are the odds of that?

he had run down the road to grab some avocados for guacamole and was on his way out as we were on our way in.

amazing!

after hugs in the doorway, leo split to get the avocados to popsie while mee sook and i, the only non-spanish speaking people in the market, grabbed a bunch of flowers and headed over to the old neighborhood.

i first met popsie and leo around 1972, not long after they moved into the neighborhood. they quickly became the big brother and sister i never had! i did a lot of growing up at their house. i learned about jazz, how to cook real mexican food and more things than i can mention in this blog. i have missed them dearly and i am so happy to be back in-touch with them after all these years!

it was like i had been over there only a week ago! except that we were all older (gj, their son, who was born after i first became a part of the family, is now the age popsie and leo were when i first started hanging out with them) and leo had remodeled the house, nothing has changed; popsie is still as beautiful as she was when we were young and leo is still the short mexican with big arms and a heart to match.

just like in the old days, we listened to music, ate enchiladas (with popsie’s special sauce) and talked, talked, talked!

i have never loved two people so much, who are not a part of my family, as i do them.

they are the family i have chosen to compliment my family.

their oldest daughter, yvette, whom i used to baby-sit along with her sister nicky, now lives in, of all places, reno and has been there for the past 5-years, or so. i cannot believe it! there’s a good chance yvette used to listen to me on the radio and never knew it was me, since i don’t use my real name on the air.

small world!

far too soon, we had to leave to drive the rest of the way down to san marcos.

the ride down was bittersweet, having seen my good friends and missing them already! i love them dearly!

not-so-bright and not-so-early the next morning mee sook (a little hungover from the wine at popsie and leo’s and the jack daniels and mota in the hotel room) and i headed down to carlsbad to have breakfast with “the gunslinger”, a friend whom, up to that morning, i had not yet met.

i have known of bill for several years and have been carrying on a phone relationship with him since july, but this was the first time we were to meet face-to-face.

again, it was a great time with a great friend! the food, pretty good and satisfying, was not nearly as close to my heart as popsie’s enchiladas. still, i would be willing to return for another meal. it’s just a tough one to top popsie’s cooking! sorry, al!

after breakfast we drove down the coast another couple of miles and up the hill to find jim’s museum. after making sure of its locat, which was not as easy as googlemaps lead me to believe, we went to the hotel for a brief nap before coming back for the festivities.

upon our return, jim’s museum was all i expected and more! what a great collection of historic race cars and antique motorcycles. i had seen several of the cars and bikes at jim’s old museum in pomona, but it was not as extensive as the new locat here in encinitas; indy cars, including ralph de palma’s 2-man miller roadster (besides building winning cars, harry miller designed the engine that would later be known as the offenhausser, which ruled indy in the 40s and 50s), sprinters, midgets (in all variations) and several cars i have been fortunate enough to have driven over the years, including, of course, the redhead streamliner!

mee sook, who knew absolutely nothing about any of the cars, or the places where they raced, for that matter, was completely captivated by all the vehicles, especially the more exotic cars, like the redhead.

but, it was the b&n modified we were all there to see!

and what a great job rick did recreating the look of the car from its heydays back in the mid-60s! the paint (ice blue and midnight blue accents with black cobwebbing in the lighter color) matched the 1967 paint job with the lettering it had in 1965.

i was also able to visit with more friends i have not seen in years! too many to name, but they all asked if my dad was there. when i said “no” they all wanted me to tell him hi, which i would do in two days time.

i was able, of course, to spend time with jim and his son, bill, and john sprenger and frank “jive ass” silva from the b&n bad guys.

damn, we’re all getting old!

when the time seemed right, mee sook and i slipped quietly out and took a short drive down to san diego before returning to the hotel room in san marcos.

it was a wonderful day, but we had more driving to do the next day!

road trip: b&n modified roadster --- part 2

we did get to bed a little earlier saturday night than on the previous night, but we were still pretty ragged when we awoke on sunday for our next stretch of the trip.

neither of us yet ready for breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed east toward anza borrego state park. by the time we reached ramona, we were ready for something to eat. we found a grocery store with a starbucks and, while mee sook shopped for mobile breakfast food items, i ordered coffee for me and tea for her. it was at this time that i realized that i did not have my visa card with me.

i had used it earlier, back in san marcos, when i walked across the street to get coffee at that starbucks, but it was not in my bundle of ids and other essentials.

back to san marcos!

i got a key to our room before housekeeping entered and, there it was, sitting on top of the entertainment center.

well, that put us back about an hour. but, at least i got my card back!

on our way to anza borrego we passed several cars topped with snow that were coming in our direction. later, when we arrived in mojave to spend the night, the news would have several stories about the snow in san diego county.

it had been years since i had been to anza borrego and didn’t remember too much about the trip i took with my grandmother and great-aunt jo-jo back when i was about 15. so, i had no idea where we were to go to see the wildflower bloom, which was supposed to be just falling off of peak from a few days earlier.

the original plan was to hookup with one of my geocaching friends, fossillady, who lives there and works for the california state park system. but, since we were so late getting there, having had to turn around to go back and get my visa card, there was no time to visit with her and get the bird’s-eye-low-down (a firesign theatre reference) on where to look. so, i just trusted my judgment and instincts.

i drove north out of borrego springs until i noticed about a dozen cars parked on the side of the road.

this must be the place. or, at least, one of the places!

and it was!

we were a little too early for the cacti to be in full bloom, although we did see a couple of beaver tail cacti and one cholla sporting flowers, but the desert floor was alive with orange, yellow, purple and white flowers. not being a horticulturalist, i cannot tell you what they were except: beautiful!

we made two huge loops through the desert, stopped for a few minutes in a shallow wash for a motabreak and to get close to some of the little belly-flowers and headed back to the car.

as we drove toward the salton sea, we came upon another group of cars; this time about 50 of them parked along the road. i think this was what is called henderson canyon.

again, we were treated with orange and purple and, this time, a type of primrose (i only know this because we get an evening primrose in northern nevada that smells lovely when they open at night).

another quick loop into the des and we were back on the road again!

we worked our way around the western shore of the salton sea and over to i-10 and drove up to san bernardino before heading east on i-15, over cajon pass and onto the mojave desert; my old stomping grounds and friend!

it was full-on dark by the time we reached our hotel room in the town of mojave.

slumber came quickly that night. unfortunately, even though we slept-in a little later than we had the two previous mornings, so did morning!

road trip: b&n modified roadster --- part 3

there is no coffee suitable for drinking in mojave!

so, we (mostly myself) bit the big one and headed west to the “mountain spirit” korean buddhist temple, which is in a lone canyon outside of tehachapi.

mee sook had been talking about this temple for about two weeks as we began planning our trip. it was built by an american who is a korean buddhist monk.

and what a job he did in creating the wonderful site.

unlike the other buddhist temples i had visited with mee sook, this one looked like what i would expect!

unfortunately for mee sook, the monk she was hoping to meet was not there. we did, however, meet a very charismatic monk who, despite not speaking much english, could have convinced me to do just about anything!

he did teach me some very basic techniques for meditating and totally entranced mee sook. he was all she talked about for the next several hours after leaving.

before we did leave, however, we were invited to join him for lunch. since we did not have breakfast, it was quite welcome and very tasty.

but, i could not wait to get down to rosamond to find a place where i could buy a cup of coffee. i attempted to find the starbucks, which i was told by david heavener, who has a home and movie studio in tehachapi, does exist in tehachapi. but, i was not successful in finding its locat.

by the time we got coffee (even mee sook was ready for a cup at this point) and was back in mojave, heading north on 395, it was after 1300 hours.

it was still another 6-hours to fallon, nevada and my father, brother and best friend willy, where we would spend that night.

it was about mid-trip that mee sook pulled the rug from under me: she told me that she had decided to ask the monk that we met to be her “master.” this meant that there was no room for me in her life!

what?????????

not an hour earlier, she was telling me how she wanted to live with me and build a life that would, eventually, take us to moab, utah.

now, she’s telling me that it’s been great but it’s all over!

all very clinical!

all very oriental!

great! not only do i have to deal with the feelings of a broken heart, i’ve got to do it while trying to see my brother, father (whom i have not seen since i left nevada last july) and best friend (whom i have not seen since he made his ill-fated move to colorado in 2006) willy of “the adventures of monty and willy”!

maybe i can just drive off of one of the cliffs along walker lake!

# # # # #

so, i didn’t drive off of the cliff.

it was about 2030 by the time we pulled into fallon for a quick stop to see my dad and brother before heading over to willy’s to spend the night in his spare bedroom.

we hung out for an hour or so before we all hit the sack.

i was up early the next morning so i could spend some more time with willy before he had to go to work then it was back to my dad’s to visit with him before he went to the doctor for a checkup, which gave me a little time to hang with mark before loading a few boxes of cd’s in the back of the taurus and heading back to california.

after a brief stop at mustang (home of the infamous “mustang ranch” brothel) to visit with my friends jim and gerri for a few minutes we were back on the road and heading to the monterey peninsula.

appropriately enough, i suppose, i loaded mee sook’s luggage into her car as the sun was setting; the end of a weekend that took my emotions from one extreme to another.

whata weekend!

i had another amazingly wonderful weekend with mee sook!

you may notice that i have changed the spelling of her name. i was confused as to how to spell her name from when i first met her. the reason: when she first came to the united states in 1978, immigration misspelled her name. knowing how people can be prejudiced-jerks, i assumed they misspelled it: mesuk, as in: me suck. they did, however, misspell it misuk.

mee sook tells me that her name translates the following way:

mee = beautiful me.

sook = clearly.

clearly, she is!

we attempted to begin friday night with a view of the sunset, but the sun was not to be seen. so, we went over to allegro at the barnyard in the mouth of carmel valley for vittles.

following a mediocre italian dinner we drove out to “our beach” (mine and ron’s), wrapped up in a blanket and watched the waves for an hour or so.

on saturday we went hiking for the third time in garrapata state park between carmel-by-the-sea and big sur. we hiked up the canyon into the redwoods, ate berries and sourdough bread next to soberanes creek sitting on a fallen redwood and hiked up to our “secret spot.” i’d tell you where it is, but it is a secret spot!

we returned to the peninsula in time to watch the sunset at “our beach.”

today, mee sook called me to say that she needed to run up to santa clara to pick up some items for a friend whose mother is dying of cancer.

while we were in korea town we stopped by the buddhist temple then went over to one of the korean barbeque house. i thoroughly enjoyed a beef dish, which name i cannot remember and mee sook had a cold buckwheat noodle dish with beef strips. the dishes came with a variety of peripheral dishes, which included: 3 types of kimchi (napa cabbage, turnip and cooked napa cabbage), soy beans, steamed spinach, dried anchovies, fish cakes, some kind of soufflé and green tea. my dish also came with steamed rice. the meals were brought to a close with cups of rice water that is similar to mexican horchata, but without the condensed milk.

i enjoyed most of the meal completely. i was not all that into the dried anchovies and the turnip kimchi. but, i really enjoyed the shredded beef, the fish cakes, napa cabbage kimchi and the soufflé!

on our way back we needed to stop in gilroy. since, we took her car (i drove), we needed to go back to watsonville, where i left my car. so, i drove over hwy. 152 up into the redwoods.

as we reached the crest i saw a sign for mt. madonna county park, onto which i quickly turned.


we hadn’t been in the park for 10-minutes before a bobcat ran up the road in front of us.


we parked overlooking gilroy for several minutes, watched a banana slug, then drove to one of the hiking trails and strolled amongst the redwoods for about 90-minutes.


we left the park from the west side of the mountain and arrived into watsonville through a very scenic area.


the perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

adrian belew in san francisco

not only has it been a long time since i have contributed to my blog, it has been even longer since seeing my friend, adrian belew, in concert.

not any more!

but, it almost didn’t come to this point.

i awoke saturday morning with one of my head- aches knowing i would not only have to drive all the way to san francisco, and try to keep a positive attitude for my friend mee sook, i was also going to have to sit-out a lecture with sosso (ron. someday, i’ll tell the story of nicknames. . . maybe) at california state university of monterey bay for their entertainment business (or, something-or-an-other) class.

i met misook not-so-bright-and-early at 0900-hours at the safeway in pacific grove, as it is so difficult to find the castle out here in pebble beach. after mee sook (pron: mee-sook) arrived in the parking lot, we headed out to pebble to park her car and then drove up to marina and the former site of fort ord for ron’s lecture.

as per usual: ron talked forever!

we scheduled him to talk for ½-hour. that turned into 1-hour-and-45-minutes.

well, it looks like we might have scored an intern or two to help on our projects and the instructor, when ron pointed-out my personally-stitched patchwork levis was because i was attending the abpt concert, announced that she was aware of adrian, robert fripp, king crimson, the bears and even the league of gentlemen i knew it was a good sign and the day would, eventually, improve.

when sosso finally wrapped up the lecture, mee sook and i hit the road for san francisco and our room at the hotel whitcomb.

all the way there mee sook, a licensed personal-care nurse and masseuse, massaged my head and shoulders while we listened to adrian’s 4 most recent releases: “side 1”, “side 2”, “side 3” and "side 4 (live)”.

when we arrived at the whitcomb, we were surrounded by rastafarian-types (dressed in the, apparently, obligatory black, red, yellow and green) also having their cars parked and checking into their rooms; it seems that, there was a reggae concert nearby, perhaps at the warwick, where i, along with my brother mark/ivan, last saw adrian when he was playing with king crimson (more on the krim later). all the time we were in the whitcomb the entire building carried the aroma of very-high-quality marijuana. not that i know that from experience.

no sooner had we entered our room than mee sook chased me into the bathroom to take an extra hot shower. upon my return she had stripped my bed and had me lay upon the top as she began the best and longest massage (almost 2-hours) i have ever experienced. by the time she was done, i was so relaxed it didn’t matter if i had a headache or not; i was more relaxed than i imagined possible.

and the headache was (mostly) gone.

we went downstairs for a wonderful dinner; i had seafood alfredo and mee sook had some-kind of grilled salmon: the other pink meat.

while we were eating i got a call from my tribal-friend rena (tickledrop) saying she was also eating dinner and would arrive at slim’s at about the same time i anticipated mee sook and i would.

after dinner we went upstairs to grab our umbrellas (did i forget to say a major storm was marching its way across the california coast?) and back down to the concierge to have him call for a cab.

eric, the hotel’s concierge, however, was unable to get the cab company to answer their phone. so, we decided to walk the 8-blocks, instead of waiting. fortunately, the rain had let-up to a fine mist, albeit quite windy.

as we wove our way in-and-out of buildings and streets we bucked the wind as we got closer and closer to slim’s. at one point the umbrella mee sook was holding (not sure why as it was not raining at this point) began to collapse against itself until she retracted it.

no sooner had we arrived at slim’s, to stand in line with about 30 other fans, than rena and her friend laurie/lori walked up to joins us. moments later, jen, my singing friend, and her boyfriend rené called saying they were just around the corner and would be joining us soon.

when the doors finally opened and we all began to enter, i was stopped by security and told i could not enter with my camera. apparently, only small pocket cams were allowed; the slr didn’t fit that description. so, they confiscated it and held onto it until the concert was over-and-done-with. not that i could have shot anything with it from either of the seats we occupied.

the pictures of the trio on this blog-post are courtesy of mark coleman from the planet crimson website.

i’m getting too old to want to stand at the front of the stage (after the show, adrian asked me where i was during the concert. i pointed to the balcony and said i’m getting to old to stand at the boards. his reply: “i’m getting to old to stand on stage!”) so, mee sook and i took the first table we could find, which was too short to see the tops of the mic stands. we stuck it out at that table through saul zonana’s performance (which i have to say i really love the sound of his guitar but i’m not sure i care that much for his musical style), but jennifer and renée were gracious enough to surrender their seats in the balcony to us and we were able to watch the trio while they danced on the floor below.

thanks, jen!

when we assumed our new positions up in the balcony, i received a tap on my shoulder and turned to find andrea standing there with geoff sitting just a few tables away; it’s always great to meet up with old and new friends at adrian belew/king crimson concerts!

and what a concert it was!

the trio hit the stage smokin’ and never let up! julie and eric slick - sister and brother rhythm section (bass and drums, respectively) - have all the prowess it takes to keep up with the master who is some 16-years older than their combined ages. these kids are going to go a long way in the music business! you deserve to be proud, robin!

they played all of the songs you can hear on “side 4 (live)” and even more, including the first live version i have heard in person of the krim song “neurotica”. they must have played at least half-a-dozen king crimson songs and, despite just being a trio with one lead-instrument, never lacked energy, execution, excitement, exuberance (these are words with an “e” this time), extrusiveness, effusiveness, effervescence, enthusiasm, or entertainment!

what surprised me the most was how much mee sook enjoyed the concert; she was dancing in her seat all night and never stopped telling me how much she liked the music. even the atonal pieces/sections put broad smiles on her face. “it’s so beautiful!” she kept saying. on our walk back to the hotel, she told me that she had seen kenny rogers, dolly parton (i’m sorry to hear that, mee sook), eric clapton (getting better) and (uncle) ray charles (right on!) and none of them were anywhere near as good as adrian! “i never dreamed anyone could make music like that or make the guitar sound the way he made it!”

i dream of it all the time!

before adrian came out to say hi to those of us still in the building, young eric was out on the stage breaking down his trap set. mee sook said she wanted to meet him. during the show she kept saying how impressed she was with the “the boy playing drums.” so, i introduced myself and told him that mee sook wanted to shake his hand. she said she was never going to wash her hand!

too cute!

before too long, adrian came out to greet us.

as mee sook, jen, rené and i approached him, adrian looked at me from about 20 feet out, smiled and said, “gregory (he knows me by my real name)! where the hell have you been?” it will be 5-years next month since adrian and i have spoken, so it was a treat to not have to remind him who i am. mark/ivan and i tried to talk with adrian after the kc warwick show back in november of 2003 but he snuKc out between rain showers. and willy and i tried to meet with adrian at slim’s in october 2005 when he was playing with the adrian belew power trio mki with no avail.

we talked for a few minutes and ade asked me where i’m living now.

“pebble beach.”

“you mean the home of concours?”

nodding with a smile i said “yap!”

“i’ve wanted to go to concours all of my life! what time of year is it?

“it’s the third week in august! i’ll get you passes and you’ll be my guest!

“ooh. . . i can’t promise anything yet. king crimson has a 10-day tour in august and i can’t remember the dates.”

half jokingly i said, “well, play one of those dates at concours!”

“oh, they’re already booked so i can’t change them.”

“bummer!”

“but, if the dates don’t conflict i promise i will take you up on your offer!”

so, i may have the opportunity to be adrian’s tour guide around pebble beach and see the cars at concours d’elegance.

longer than most of our post-concert conversations, but still all to quickly we said our goodbyes and we left slim’s.

before leaving, i finally had a chance to meet adrians wife, martha; lovely woman!

we walked with jen and rené to their car, said goodbye, and walked back to the hotel as the rain had subsided and it was not too cold and actually felt good to be in the air.

the next morning, after having breakfast and packing up the bags to leave, we waited for an empty elevator to reach our floor. eventually, we decided to take the stairs (we were only on the 3rd floor). i grabbed all of the bags so mee sook could take the doors.

she opened the door walked into the hall, turned to hold the door open for me and tumbled ass-over-teakettle halfway down the staircase. i was certain we’d be calling the ambulance to take her out of there!

she was only banged-up a bit and took a little skin off of one of her fingers from the strap of her purse, i assume.

we stepped out onto the 2nd floor and i put her in the next elevator while i walked down the rest of the way with all of the bags.

her right ankle was pretty swollen and she had a small bump on her head but was, all things considered, in pretty good shape. she was pretty sore yesterday but says she's much better today.

on the way out of town we stopped by a buddhist temple, but it was packed with people there for some special lunch, so we decided to split. but, not before heading over to the marina and up to fort point, where the waves were so fierce, even here in the bay, they were coming up over the road.

we drove around the north end of the peninsula, into golden gate park and out to the coast.

the waves were amazingly high at ocean beach, so high that the pier was closed.

we continued south, taking the long way all the way back to the monterey peninsula via route 1, enjoying the views all the way.

on our way we stopped at moss landing for lunch and watched two mother otters and their babies as they floated on their backs in the still water of the marina and continued our southerly drive into carmel valley and over to the korean buddhist temple.

we lit candles and incense and shared tea with one of the monks.

this was my first visit to a buddhist temple, something i have been interested in for the past few years, but the monk spoke very little english, so mee sook had to translate everything from korean.

he did, however, make me feel very comfortable and gave me a copy of the prajnaparamita sutra printed, in english on a very large sheet of rice paper (suitable for framing) as we shared several cups of green tea.

it was a great way to bring our san francisco/adrian belew weekend to a close!

riding the storm into 2008

it has been an interesting few weeks around the castle!

unlike with thanksgiving, i had a warning that i was going to be the christmas chef. after seeing how the prior holiday was planned i decided that i needed to take control over christmas dinner instead of christmas dinner taking control of me.

the only negative input i got on thanksgiving dinner, despite me putting it together, with practically no notice, on thanksgiving eve, was that i didn’t make enough gravy. everyone thought it was great; they just thought that i didn’t make enough.

susie’s family have this tradition on the day after thanksgiving and christmas days which requires a great amount of leftover turkey gravy; they use it to top pancakes!

i guess it’s a ritual that’s been handed-down these many years.

and with the prince coming in from, at that time, soon-to-be-submerged fernley, nevada, copious amounts of gravy would be required.

to make sure that we were going to have enough gravy, we took a drive up to watsonville to hit the hostess day old bakery. as with the other stores in this chain, they sell southeastern mills gravy products.

i have had great gravy experiences with se mills’ country and peppered gravies and their cheddar cheese sauce; all made with water.

really!

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i have not used it, but i have heard that the turkey gravy is very good, too.

i used that with the practice turkey.

yes!

ron required a practice turkey on december 22.

why roast two turkeys when you can roast one?

don’t ask!

but, i saved all of the drippings from the practice turkey and the stock i cooked down from the neck for the final bird.

i was also able to use the carcass to further make a rich stock.

i roasted the carcass, along with the neck from the final bird, in a really hot oven for about 40-minutes, adding a quartered-onion, some baby carrots, celery and garlic at about 20-minutes into the process and tossing in some rosemary, thyme and sage in the roasting pan in the last 5-minutes.

i boiled that in spring water for hours, filtering and reducing until it reached a rich, brown color and lump-free in viscosity.

the next day, i showed-up at the dollhouse with a turkey, roasted prime rib, dressing (my best ever!), cranberries (my best ever!) and mashed potatoes (i was told barbie insisted on bringing the side-dishes; the green bean/toasted onion ring/cream of mushroom soup-casserole-thing; and something else. she brought: mashed potatoes and special dressing for the prince.) and two containers for the gravy-fixin’s; one containing the stock that i had been reducing for hours; the other the contents of one of the gravy mix bags and some cornstarch.

through slight-of-hand, i warmed-up the stock, slipping in spring water until it came to a boil, mixed some cold water into the dry ingredients, mixed the slurry into the stock and the gravy was gravy!

i could have made a better gravy with just the stock i made, but i had to sacrifice quality for quantity.

not only was the gravy a hit for dinner (so was the turkey, dressing and cranberries), but it was also raved-about (as i am told) during breakfast for the boxing day pancake custom.

on christmas eve, as ron and i were heading out to the hog’s breath in carmel-by-the-sea for a christmas toast, a bobcat strolled out from our backyard and across the street.

the image is the best i could get without being attacked.

proof that the wildlife around here is, indeed, wild!

i spent new years eve, one of the few that i have not worked as emcee or party host for the last 30-years, with helen (i mean: whatshername) in san josé.

new years day seems like so long ago now, now that we have emerged from the other side of the storm!

the storm hit us full-force on friday, january 4 at about 0400 hours; at 0730, power stopped being delivered to the castle.

the image is that of "bird rock", an outcropping about the size of some of the mansions around here being sucked up by a giant post-storm wave.

i spent the first couple of nights at the castle; we still had hot water and it wasn’t that cold. i was trying to look at it as a camping adventure.

but, by the time it was time to try to get the business up and running without the assistance of good-old a/c, staying in the castle all night didn’t sound as much like a camping adventure as it did a sentence.

so, we started accepting rooms offered to us by lone oak richard, who happens to own: the lone oak lodge over in monterey. a great place to stay when you are here in cypress coast country.

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but, trying not to overuse richard’s gesture of goodwill, and trusting that pg&e wouldn't let its faithful customers down, i was alternating nights between the castle and the lone oak.

by the time i spent my last night at the castle, before the return to power and glory, it was becoming quite cold; colder than outdoors in the manner that empty houses get during the winter.

when i go to bed to sleep, even during winter, i usually have just one light blanket to go over the sheets and another light blanket to go atop the first blanket in case it is really cold. i had four blankets covering me that night and i was still a little on the chilly-side!

eventually, ron chased me up to san josé to take up space in helen’s (remember whatshername?) spare bedroom.

while i was up there, my brother mark was on his way to the central coast from nevada. we met just down the road from whatshername's to recycle some non-ferrous metals and he and jojanna followed me back to the peninsula.

lo-and-behold: power actually came back up in the castle on thursday afternoon at about 1600 hours – one-week and 9-hours after it last breathed life into the drafty building.

i have no idea why, but pg&e left one of the major roadways passing through pebble beach, an emergency route needed by firecrews and ambulances, had they been needed, blocked by a tree that fell and took two power poles and the wires and cables it suspended with it. they must have had their reasons.

the image is that of the downed tree and power poles and lines, which stayed this way for a week before pg&e removed them and restored our power.

mark’s time here was like a whirlwind: here one minute and gone the next.

it was great to hang with him for the few hours that we had together and to show off a little of what i have learned about the area and be the consummate tour guide that i am.

surf was up while they were here, so they got to see some surfers (those locals not invited to mavericks, just up the coast in half moon bay, that same day) work the 25-footers off of "ghost tree" on the 17-mile drive and check out the mysteries of "the restless sea", where two, and sometimes three, currents merge in a great maelstrom of waves coming in different directions.

this image is that of "the restless sea" taken a day before the storm reached us. if you click on the pic you can zoom-in enough to see one current coming at the camera and one coming from the left.

since mark left, i have spent my time trying to get melrose media back online (oh yeah. we didn’t get dsl back, which comes in on the fax line, until saturday night!) and uploading pictures that i took in the aftermath of the storm.

my photo gallery is here. from here you can check out the various albums, each taken at the location named in the title of the album. all of the storm pictures were taken on the day after the storm, except for the one titled “damage”.