In the morning we all roused and made for the record shop where Josh works – an astonishing selection of vinyl lay before us. We perused extensively. After sufficient time with the vinyl we follow Casey and Travis to a sandwich store where we purchased intense sandos – very delicious – and then headed to Bodega Bay. Here we watched the ocean, breathed in the salty air, and revelled in the splendour that is life on the road.
Here's Masa looking cool -
We took the curvy coastal highway towards San Francisco, breezed through traffic and located a reasonable parking space.
It was at this point that things took a brief detour from the plan.
While parking, a loud and unidentified noise was emitted from the Safari, resulting in the loss of brakes and power steering. Compounding the cruel twist of fate was that it was 6pm on Friday of the fourth of July weekend. Fortunately we broke down directly outside a mechanic type shop who agreed to service old Nick on Saturday morning (although its repute was called into question). We loaded in the gear to the venue and left the van in their garage.
The show was very enjoyable, Killa Ghost Bastard twisted sound, You Are Plural made beautiful music, and Oakland locals Clarissa Explains It All tech-freaked my brain place (again). After all was said and done, we stashed gear at a friendly fellow named Henry's place and headed to Oakland with the gents from Clarrisa to party on. And on and on and on.
Here's come lazer snaps of Clarissa -
Their van has track lighting. . .
Day 31 – Off and On and Off
Back to the garage to try and sort out Nick and maybe get to our San Diego show that evening? Unfortunately that would not be the case. We spent the entire day between the bar across the street and the garage. It was frustrating to miss the show, but we were very thankful to be alive and well – we could have easily lost the brakes and power steering on the coastal highway, and that really could have been the end.
Travis of The Americas was a rad enough dude to stick around with us, feeding us beer and providing splendid conversation. Such a good soul.
Julian got dug in with the mechanics, hoping to expedite the process, but it came time for all to go home for the evening. Henry was nice enough to let us crash at his place and I slept very heavily.
Day 32 – On and Off and On
We arrived at the garage early, but ended up waiting a while for the mechanics to arrive. We had all consumed a decent amount of beer the day before and assumed they were still sleeping it off. I ate a large piece of bread shaped like a turtle and it was delicious.
Once the mechanics showed up things started moving, and things were looking good. Tragically not good enough for us to make the 8 hour drive to LA for our gig there, but it looked like the van would ride again. In that we took much comfort.
Here's one of the garage's owners posing with another local -
By 5pm we were ready to roll, and after an attempt at jumping on a couple bills, we headed to the best burrito shop known to us - Dona Teres Market (21st and Florida in the Mission District) - and gorged our selves on the most amazing super burritos.
After we were sufficiently gorged we rolled with Travis to Petaluma (Casey's home) and the comfort of a place to lay our heads and 20 cold Tecates.
Day 33 – The fourth.
Unable to secure a show on the this most auspicious of American holidays, we were left to ponder what to do with ourselves. Pilar (one of Casey's roommate) was so kind, making us vegan french toast and potatos. The most delicious. After breaky and dishes we procured directions to a nearby swimming ground and made our departure. As we were leaving an invitation was extended to a party for the fourth. We heartily accepted.
Swimming was splendid (and we did much better with the sunscreen). The roads here are so twisty and turny, and every time you come around a corner another gorgeous vista is exposed.
After a short drive and some grabbing of offerings at a local grocery store, we headed to the aforementioned party.
Justin and Cara were the hosts of an annual fourth of july party at what amounts to a colonial mansion. They play in a band together, run a studio out of the house, and have a lemon tree, a MASSIVE dog and a splendid garden. The party included local beer, foods and desserts, sangria, music and carnival games. They certainly went all out.
Highlights included a hilarious balloon toss, a toss-the-sack-and-knock-down-the-hand-made-doll game, and a flexibility challenge (where you had to pick up a box with you mouth and both feet on the ground). Canada was represented by our own Scott Petrie, who made it to the semi finals, but was ultimately knocked out (despite stripping to his underpants to enhance flexibility).
Numerous beers later we all climbed the hill behind their house and watched distant fireworks. We lit sparklers and laughed and laughed and laughed and then hugged and went our separate ways. We again felt so fortunate to be invited to such a wonderful party with such delightful people.
Josh and Sarah had again offered up their house for us to crash at; we returned there to talk about album art, drink beers, watch comedy dvds, and sleep more than comfortably.
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