Metro Public Art Tour and Santa Barbara: April 17 - 18, 2010

So, yet another busy weekend in April for me. I started my Saturday in North Hollywood for LA INC's Metro Public Art Tour during the morning hours, which ended at downtown's Union Station. This was an optional leg of an all-day photo tour put on by the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. The site sponsored a photo tour previously for winners of their Photo of the Day feature. Due to a last minute date change, I was not able to attend that event. I was excited to learn they were hosting another go, but of course with my crazy schedule, it happened to fall on the same day I was heading up to Santa Barbara for Thom Yorke/Atoms for Peace.

I felt a little out-of-my-league with all the serious shooters. But, I thought it was a neat experience, and it was great to get some practice in. Always learning...





Upon the completion of the Metro Public Art Tour, I headed back on the Metro's Red Line to the North Hollywood Station to begin what I thought would be a reasonably quick drive up to the Santa Barbara Bowl. Yeah... not so much. There was an accident (which I never saw) up near Seacliff that brought traffic to a standstill. Literally. What should have been about a 90 minute journey turned into a painful 3 and a half hour crawl. Good grief.

I promptly checked into the Best Western Beachside Inn. The room could barely contain all the furniture contained within it. Luckily, not too much time would be spent in the room.

Despite all that, the show was incredible, as was the Santa Barbara Bowl venue; an outdoor amphitheatre tucked away in a hilly residential neighborhood. I will admit I never fully embraced Thom's solo material, but seeing and hearing it live was an amazing treat. Flea was especially amazing, even taking on the melodica with as much fury and intensity as his bass. Coupled with Thom's dance moves, it soon made me forget the struggles earlier that afternoon.

After the show, headed to The Palace Grill for late night dinner, based on a glowing recommendation from a friend. I can't fully critique the place, as I just wanted to eat and go, and not enjoy their drinks or dessert, which are supposed to be amazing. The meal was good, and I'll make sure to give it another go the next time I'm in the area.

The following morning I was simply burned out. I half-heartedly looked at things to do in this coastal town, but I was not at all interested. I decided to head on out, but not before taking a morning walk on the beach:



After packing it up, I drove out to a secluded little place for breakfast called The Cold Spring Tavern:



Not being terribly hungry, and also generally not a breakfast person, I ordered a side of potatoes and biscuits and gravy. While the potatoes were just average, the biscuits and gravy were pretty spectacular, and also provided in generously large portions at a steal of a price. So, a big "thumbs up" for the biscuits! As I was leaving, it was starting to get busy, with people patiently waiting for the lunches that make this place legendary. I'll need to remember this for next time as well.

And *just* before heading the car for home, I had to try McConnell's Ice Cream. A bit tricky to get to (and also to leave, as I ended up going the wrong way on a one-way street, ha!), but a very sweet treat, and a great way to end *yet* another weekend away from home.

Seattle: April 9 - 11, 2010

I am notorious for always being out of town, and this weekend was no exception. This was a relatively last minute decision (for me) to go and catch Jonsi, lead singer of Sigur Ros, at the Showbox SoDo.

I started my culinary adventure as soon as I flew in last Friday night with Tom Douglas at the Dahlia Lounge. I'm not sure how he does it, but the food is light and manages to fill you up without making you feel disgusting afterwards.

The next day I got in an early start at another Tom Douglas stop, Lola. Being a fan of the Food Network, I had to try their signature dish, the "Made to Order Doughnuts." I will admit that I probably should have dug in immediately, as I noticed these deep fried goodies cooled considerably while I attended to a side of potatoes, but these were still tasty, and now I have one more item to cross off my long foodie list:



After breakfast I came to that the realization that Seattle is *not* sleepless. The city, in fact, enjoys its sleep. Which meant as I was wondering around, little was open besides coffee establishments. A quick Google search on my trusty phone brought up the Seattle Aquarium near where I was, so off I went:



I couldn't believe how quickly the building filled up with bored teenagers and screaming babies. It provided a much needed diversion and time-killer before heading to my next destinations, the Seattle Art Museum and the Seattle Public Library.

After that, I hopped on a bus out of the downtown area to re-visit 826 Seattle's storefront, the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. I'm not sure what exactly changed since the last time I visited in 2007, but for some reason it seemed smaller and less "fun" than the last time. Regardless, I purchased a ton of items, and I'm happy to know that the proceeds will be funding 826's tutoring programs:



Feeling the hunger setting in, I ventured back towards downtown to grab lunch at Serious Pie, yet another Tom Douglas eatery. I lucked out with major road construction going on right outside the pizza place and was able to snag a table by the window with a lovely view of cement being poured. Ha. I tried out the Yukon Gold Potato pizza, and while good, it could have used something vibrant or tangy to counteract the starchiness of the potatoes.



I had room for dessert, the refreshing Pear Stack Cake with a side of Butterscotch Budion:



After picking up a peanut butter eclair from Dahlia Bakery for later, I headed back to my room at the Warwick Hotel to rest up for the Jonsi show and to meet up with a friend of a friend (who I had not previously met before).

The show was amazing, despite being held at the puzzling Showbox SoDo, which is essentially a converted warehouse. After finishing our drinks and hanging out with the rest of the sequestered "21 and over" crowd in the back, we managed to get up all the way to the front and to the left once Jonsi took the stage. It was a brilliant evening, and the visual projections created specifically for this show were nothing short of fantastic, and a perfect way to end my Saturday.

I ended up having yet another early start on Sunday, with doughnuts at Top Pot, followed by a walk through the Olympic Sculpture Garden:



Did a quick walk through Pike Place Market before heading to the Ferry Terminal for some eats on Bainbridge Island. Sorry for no pictures, but definitely check out Mora Ice Cream and Cafe Nola if you happen to visit Winslow. Yum!

My trip was fast coming to an end, but not before I returned back downtown and took the bus up to Queen Anne for a stop at Kerry Park and the magnificent view on such a lovely, April Day:



After walking down the hill to Easy Street Records, I took the bus back to the Warwick and headed back off to the airport, another getaway completed.

Hello!

Hi! This is my first post. I shall be writing about the random things I do during my spare time. I hope it won't be too boring. =P