So you would assume that any rational college-aged kid would FANTASIZE about something along those lines (see linked picture under fantasize) ((yes that means you have to touch the mouse and go back in the text.))
Well not me.
Maybe it is a sign that I am getting older. I had an unsatisfiable urge to go on a relax vacation. Like illustrated HERE:
So I did just that. I found a plane ticket a week earlier for $228 dollars to Oakland, and put my "Save for summer plans" idea aside.
I kinda packed like a dirtbag would. I put together a bag with a few shirts and socks, packed a film camera and a moderately useless digital camera. Oh yeah and a pretty beat skateboard. I think I put a toothbrush in there too.
SF counterpart Alex picked me up in Oakland, and it was established quite early on that this SONG would be the trip's anthem. On every good trip I have been on there is an official anthem. Usually it is the pop song of the moment or whatever, but Dirt Nasty's 1980 is quite exceptional. If I had anything to do with art history I would cement it right around mannerism.
So the adventure began.
Alex was house sitting a house in the Sunset hood. You could see the beach from the house, which was a pretty wonderful thing to wake up to. Downstairs was a music room which was more than inviting for some Maiden cover opportunities. There were two dogs that lived there that shed worse than Cousin It. There were times when I thought the house was carpeted but it was an all wood floor house. The other thing about the dogs that really was out of my understanding was that they would eat anything. They were like land tiger sharks. Once we left a package of biscotti that was wrapped in five layers of individual plastic. Left for two hours and there was only 5 pieces of plastic left.
Here is a picture of the beast:
No hard feelings.
I did exactly what I intended to do: go for long cross city walks and get to figure the place out. I also ate at some banging restaurants with help of Alex's in-brain restaurant guide.
We went to Carmel where old people melt away and play 96 hole games of golf. Capitola beach (above) was on the way. That place was pretty cute. After that I got a call from Johnny, telling me that he was in the city.
Johnny "Il Baffo" showed up. I shot some film of him. Johnny is a friend I met in Rome maybe a year and 1/2 ago. The first night I met him we were taking the tram into Trastevere and I noticed he had a fat black eye. Simple explanation: He had to fight some guys for his ipod, which may or may not have been stolen, he cant really say. Johnny has some of the most outlandish stories and thats why it was so fun to run into him at Zeitgeist.
This is a photo of the skatespot 3rd and Army.
Weird things happen on Market. The guy below was playing a leaf blower like a guitar and for some unknown reason an old lady is holding a green teddy bear.
Things almost got a little wild when at 4:30 AM, every entrance to the freeway so we could get on the bridge to Oakland was closed. Personally I thought it was a done deal. Every entrance was blocked. We would speed to the next entrance, and it would be blocked. Then by a stroke of relief the last entrance was open.
