Email
rob AT blissism DOT com

 
Santa Barbara
I can't believe that I'm posting this from bloody Kinko's on State Street. I spent so much time in these places the first time I came to the US...

Got to LA, spent the late afternoon chilling at Venice Beach, right here in fact & then headed north to SB & grabbed a room at the Lemon Tree Motel, built on the site of the first Californian motel.

Despite no sleep we were up after 6 hours, on the beach at 8 and into Sambos for Jonn's first big American Breakfast. Endless coffee, stack o' pankakes & syrup, home fries, an omlette you could camp in, muffins & some SB street life. And if you are wondering about the use of 'Sambos' as an eating establishment name - and I was - look here and here.

Got a bonus on the way back to the motel as we went past Pershing Park & saw a softball tournament in progress. We parked up & sat on the bleachers with Jonn giggling away like a kid, chuffed to bits at having his own American Dream of beach, ball game & guys called Chuck & Hutch giving it high fives all round. As a lover of skateboarding, The Doors, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, relaxed living & good looking women, he thinks he's found his spiritual roots. I'm inclined to agree & on top of my own enjoyment at being back here, it's good fun seeing Jonn having a ball. Stops me getting all 'been there' on our ass.

It's good to be back...very good. Now we head north up Route 1.

 
California [& Nevada] Dreamin'

Oh yess. 24 hours and Jonn & I will be sitting on a 747 ready to be jetted over to LA. A few days to drive up the coast to Palo Alto to meet up with Hélène & her husband Vinz and then we get our collective [word for the week it seems] arse together for the trip out the Black Rock City, NV. We're ganging up with a sound system who are will be camped up at 300' & Esplanade. It's finally hitting home that I'm going back after 4 long years. Excited is a verb that only just touches the periphery of how I'm feeling at the moment...and I'm not the only one it seems.

This is what was going on last time I was there. I DJed just after the burn on this fantastic work of art which was an experience in itself. Everyone was dressed up & in such a party mood and I got what seemed like the whole city passing in front of me all going for it big time. Wonder what the Finley Fryer folks are doing this year..?

I have a 'plane ticket, a passport, my driving licence and functioning credit cards therefore I am ready. I just wish Love of Life were coming too *sigh*...

 
seven inch collective | Rog, the brain behind and owner of the sound system, represented at the West Pier this afternoon. More on this in the future...

 
Comments added. The march of technology continues...click on the comments link at the end of each post to, er, comment...

Updates on football, including some nifty panoramas of Withdean & Madejski stadiums, and some more mush to follow. Love of Life is on the beach running our summer market stall & I've been given special dispensation to get all of my shit together for the US trip today so I'd best not be 'blogging until I can do it on work time...

However, this man deserves to be the next US president for this comment regarding this topic. We can but dream.