I love San Diego. There are so many shops and restaurants downtown. We have been walking everywhere. I love being able to walk around to get all your errands done.

The first day we were in San Diego we drove by and saw this guy doing a jig on the street corner, then yesterday we were walking back from TGI Fridays and bumped into him (no not literally) so I had to score a pic.

On the 5 South about 20 minutes from San Deigo. You could feel the heat. It was intense.

Today we head to LA (and the last hotel of the trip! I think I’ve slept in like 8 different beds in the last 2 weeks). We’re going to the Neko Case/Sonny Smith concert tonite. See ya soon.

I will buy an XBOX 360 just for this. It looks absolutely amazing. Odds are it will be out around Christmas time.

We visited the Taylor Guitar factory today. It’s located about 20 minutes north of Downtown San Diego. It was a lot of fun. We met co-founders Kurt Listug (CEO) and Bob Taylor (President) and actually got to go into a meeting where they were trying to name a few new models of guitars. We took the standard tour which was very extensive and informative and then Kurt showed as around behind the scenes a bit more. He also gave us free t-shirts, thanks Kurt!

You can view a few more pictures here.

We stopped off in Santa Barbara last night. It is truly beautiful here. We saw “Nacho Libre” in town but I was so tired from the weekend that I only saw the first half hour or so. It seemed funny enough but I couldn’t honestly say.

I think this is the highest I’ve seen so far. I filled up once for $3.75 but that was in Aspen in the winter and that was for premium. I’l keep on eye out to see if I can find any higher. It’s half-way to being the number of the beast.

And it all started at HomeTown.

Then the party went down. Amber and I cooked, homemade mind you, cornbread with honey butter, baked beans, coleslaw, cajun rice, cajun fries, grilled veggies, BBQ chicken (with a homemade BBQ sauce), pulled pork sandwiches (with a homemade rub), ice cream sandwiches and the best damn cheesecakes ever. My mom and Candice helped a lot too and Morgan and Corey lent a couple hands towards crunch time there.

I had the most fun just preparing all of it. We were cooking for four days straight. I would love to throw another party like this but maybe one where I don’t have to be the host too. What’s next, 4th of July? Thank you to everyone who showed up and especially to everyone whp helped.

Lindsay took this.

Lindsay took this too.

We decided to drive all day (10 1/2 hours) and just go straight on through to San Jose. We did stop in Redding for KFC. We really wanted Boston Market but believe it or not they don’t have a BM in Redding, guess they’re not BAs like us.

San Jose is so nice, the weather is amazing. I love my Chloe. I need to go find Sherb, maybe I’ll do that right now. I’m in the middle of cooking 6 cheesecakes for my party. It’s pretty much gonna take all day. HomeTown tomorrow bitches. I’ll try to post a few photos shortly.

We had a pretty fun day. We walked from downtown to the Hawthorne district. The Hawthorne district for the less informed is a small strip of odd shops, book stores, record stores, restaurants and cafes. It’s very quaint and we probably could’ve spent another week there searching through all the shops. Sam bought a bunch of new vinyls and cds and I held myself to two new books, ‘Slant’ by Greg Bear and ‘World’s Fair 1992′ by Robert Silverberg.

One shop we found was named Periodicals and contained an enormous selection of used books and old magazines. Sam found a few old Spin magazines containing articles on Elliott Smith, Kurt Cobain and Saddle Creek Records.

Another amazing little shop was Really Good Stuff way at the bottom of Hawthorne. They have an endless amount of knicknacks ranging from the below accordian to the lunch pails.

And since we are in the coffee capital of the world, the Northwest, it’s only fitting to tell you of a recent article I read. Starbucks has 8000 stores nationwide. The next highest is Caribou Coffee with 322! That’s quite a difference.

We drove to Portland this morning and got here just in time for lunch. We ate at Romano’s Macaroni Grill on SW 3rd Ave downtown. After I ate my chicken portobello and Sam had his extra pepperoni pizza we walked over to Jackpot Records on the corner of W Burnside & SW 10th Ave. Sam found a bunch of records and CDs that he really wanted and also got a t-shirt, some pins and a couple show fliers.

Right next door to Jackpot I ran into one of the coolest stores ever. It’s called Billy Galaxy and it’s full of old toys and games. They have a huge collection of old Star Wars figurines, GI Joes, comics, Atari games. They even have a working electronic Pong game. They have a website: www.billygalaxy.com

We had quite an adventure getting here. First off, because I’m moving, I’ve got five bags and they all weigh a ton. So getting around is quite difficult. Our plane was delayed and our bags didn’t make it. It took forever to get our rental car and the hotel we wanted to stay at, which I already gave the airline the address to deliver our bags, only has rooms available for one night.

Now the good news. We got our luggage fine the next morning and we found a hotel for the remaining nights. We’ve been to some really awesome places. We both got up really early and drove over to Pike Place farmer’s market. It’s right on Elliott Bay and it has a ton of seafood stands, fruit stands and other stands you would typically find at a farmer’s market.

We had breakfast at a really cool restaurant called Lowell’s that overlooked Elliott Bay. Sam got pancakes and I got a shrimp & mushroom omlet with a really good cinnamon spice tea. We went over to the first Starbucks.

We then headed over to the Space Needle and rode to the top. We went to the Science Fiction Museum and the Experience Music Project as well. The two were incredible. The EMP had exhibits on Hendrix, art in music and the first 10 years of Hip-Hop. They also had movies on Hendrix, Dylan and the Beatles. We saw the Hendrix and Beatles films. The Hendrix film was about 10 songs from the late sixties at various venues from Woodstock to Berkeley. The Beatles film was essentially one of their shows in Washington D.C. Here are two quotes from Jimi:

“I feel guilty when people say I’m the greatest guitarist on the scene. What’s good or bad doesn’t matter to me; what does matter is feeling and not feeling. If only people would take more of a true view and think in terms of feeling. Your name doesn’t mean a damn, it’s your talent and feeling that matters. You’ve got to know much more than just the technicalities of notes, you’ve got to know sounds and what goes between the notes.” - September 1969

“You don’t plan songwriting. You don’t get into a certain grove to write a song. You dig? You can get inspiration for a song any time, any place. It’s just what you feel.”

The Science Fiction Museum was awesome. They had so much stuff, I didn’t even get a chance to see it all. They had life size models of Yoda, R2D2, a Storm Trooper, Donatello, the alien from “Alien” (it was huge) and many more. They had an amazing exhibit on “War of the Worlds” where you could listen to the 1938 broadcast.

We saw a crazy bicycle group riding naked through the streets of Seattle. Later that evening we saw that they were on the news but I wasn’t paying attention so I didn’t hear what it was all about.

Seattle is an awesome city. They have some many coffee shops, it’s insane. On the corner or 6th and Pine you can literally see 3 Starbucks and a Barnes & Noble (which has a Starbucks inside). I sometimes feel like I’m walking in circles because we keep passing Starbucks. Next we’re on to Portland. I’ll let you know how that is.

Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever won a contest before. Who’s ready for an ice cream party? Way back in March I entered the contest.

I got this email earlier today:

“Dear Winner,

Congratulations! Your Dreyer’s Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute contest entry has been selected as a grand-prize winner!”

For the contest you must submit a 350 or less word entry of why your neighborhood deserves the ice cream party. The judging is based on the following criteria:

* Originality/Creativity 50%
* Enthusiasm 25%
* What makes your neighborhood special 25%

Here is my winning essay:

What better way to bring a community together than 12 cartons of Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light ice cream. Just the thought, the possibility, nay, the hope of such grand treasures has already brought the neighborhood closer. Ours is one of beauty, friendship and character like no other. I’m hard pressed to think of anyone else better deserving. We will celebrate our diversities, our differences, our similarities all over a bowl of delicious Dreyer’s ice cream.

I can imagine it now. It’s mid-August, it’s a perfect 85 degrees. Beautiful white clouds spot the perfectly blue sky. Children scream with anticipation while playing tag to hurry the time up. As the tables are set and ice cream is laid out in endless rows the neighborhood comes to life. The hundreds gathered have come to the party with smiles already plastered on their faces. What better way to start a jamboree? Stories of the neighborhood fill the avenue only to be interrupted by laughter.

Individuals from all backgrounds and of all ages will become closer friends. Not only for one day but for years to come. In an area as fast paced as Silicon Valley we often need reminders to slow down. Although we are all friendly with each other we rarely take the time to really get to know one another. This event will give us that opportunity.

To take an example from you as you’ve blended Girl Scouts Samoasa Cookies with Slow Churned Grand Light Ice Cream, I would like to take this opportunity to blend together my neighborhood. What better description than slow churned? This will begin a process in the community which will be described forever as the slow churning of our neighborhood.

I thank you for giving me inspiration to bring myself closer with the people who live nearest me. A neighborhood is more than just houses and families. It is shared activities, ideas and most importantly lives. You have reminded me that we must consistently work to improve and better our environment. Long after the houses have been built we must continue to build our community.

The Prize

The parties consist of door-step delivery of Twelve (12) cartons of Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light ice cream ($200.00 ARV) and one (1) “Party In A Box” (napkins, ice cream scoops, spoons, name tags, disposable camera, etc.) ($150.00 ARV). The Total Retail Value for each prizewinner is $350.00.