this morning i made jg put on one of the 7,125 tee shirts sarah flores gave me while i was in santa barbara. he found it entertaining for about a second. i managed to snatch this shot for posterity.
jc on jg
this photo essay is going to be choppy because, as usual, i didn't put any effort into using the camera. i take least pictures when i'm in sb for some reason.
ok, let's start with yesterday. one of jg's firestones exploded on me just north of king city.
i was going about 75 mph when i heard a bone rattling loud explosion. i thought someone shot the passenger door with a cannonball. i did not think for one second that it was the tire. i was so distraught i slammed on the brakes. only when i slowed down did the car start to wobble. it wobbled so badly that i could hardly pull it on to the shoulder.
7:32
so i sat in the car while eighteen wheelers took turns trying to rip my side rear view mirror off. i couldn't tell aaa exactly where i was except that i was just south of the eucalyptus patch on the 101. it took them about half hour to find me.
i sat in the passenger seat waiting, knitting. i managed to get out of the car a few times when the freeway was clear to take these:
looking east
west
north, eucalyptus patch at center right.
my hero from tino's towing
i drove with hazard lights flashing all the way back to sf at 50 mph, stopping every 40 miles or so for 15 minute breaks in order to check the spare and let it cool down. i might have been ridiculously cautious but you can't blame me. with the sort of automobile mojo i have, the spare could have easily fallen off and roll past me. and then a deer would jump over it and land on my hood.
april sb week started on sunday. i arrived without incident and checked into my motel around 6:30. this time i got a room with a kitchenette. something about the bed's proximity to the gas range unnerved me.
late one night, tuesday night i believe, i heard the folks next door doing the deed. they must have been wearing latex body suits because the rhythm sounded like two rubber balloons being rubbed together violently. the porn watcher in me was thinking, "oh yeah, there's gonna be cheering, clapping, and fireworks in this here finale." some half hour later, the commotion simply ended. no hooting or hollering. not even the default screaming for god. nothing! possibly the most anticlimactic porn immitation i've ever overheard.
tuesday g and i went to lunch at tupelo junction. we had fried green tomatoes, crab cakes, and a fried chicken salad. the waitress gave us our check before we could order dessert so we went to coldstone for icecream. we competed taking blog worthy pictures of this magnificent flowering tree.
taken in parking lot at haley+anacapa
navy car hood
close up on tubular flower, note fuzzy interior
wednesday i went for a short hike with nootz.
more blog fodder showdown
our objective
it's my all time favorite trail in sb, mcmenemy on east moutain drive. in half a mile it winds through all sorts of terrain: drive ways, back yards, creeks, oak forests, etc. there's even some rock climbing. the view from saddle rock is panoramic up and down the coast. of couse, i have no pictures to show you. here's nootz at the trail head.
taken at the end of the excursion
thursday erkan and i walked to art from scraps, a strange little business that's only open 10-2 daily. i love this place! it's full of junk, y'all!
my accomplice aka walking buddy among the goody bins
fill any paper grocery bag with colorful junk for $8
i merrily filled up a bag full of foreign maps, old ledger books, match boxes, remnant fabrics, and fine colorful electrical wires. only to put them all back because i only had $3 cash at hand. no credits cards accepted, alas.
thursday evening i had a fantastic time with g and her full lipped cousin, sarah flores. we did the usual costco ross routine plus longs and a failed attempt at finding a thrift store off patterson. we shopped so much we nearly had to strap me to the soft top to make space for the loot.
these were taken randomly on friday, when i realized i hadn't taken enough pictures for the week.
on my way to work, passing the amusement park at...
earl warren fairground at 7 am
walking to muddy waters for coffee at 7:10
standing at office front door looking up at 7:15
daily walk with erkan at 2:30
and that was that. i had a great week spending quality time with familiar faces in a comfortable town. glad to be alive in general.
