del playa

For those of you who don't know Spanish, playa is pronounced "ply-a" and not "play-a." On that note, Ben, Corey, and Jonathan and I went to visit our friend May in Santa Barbara last weekend for her graduation.

This is the view from May's house on Del Playa, which is right across the street from the beach...

...and this is the wonderful futon on her porch that we "watched" the view from while Corey and May took the couches inside.

IV (Isla Vista to you non-Santa Barbara folk) is known for several things. First, it's the student living area of one of the biggest "party schools" in the country. Second, it's literally right on the beach. And third, there are parties going on all day, every day. One thing the parties are known for (other than alcohol and loud music) is the couch burning. Especially around graduation/move-out time, one can walk the streets of IV and see random fires EVERYWHERE. One will be able to hear several fire trucks in the distance, but may never actually see one through the throngs of drunken college students. Upon closer inspection of the fire, however, one can see that these flames in the middle of the streets were actually the remains of couches. Rather than said couches being moved back home, or wherever the students came from, they get thrown (literally) off the balconies and set on fire wherever they land. They burn on the street, in driveways, on the beach, and even in dumpsters. This, really, is a phenomenon that can only make sense once you have witnessed it. So next time you plan a vacation in the mid-to-southern California region, take a trip to Del Playa and see the location known for the worlds most couch-burnings per year.

All in all it was a great trip. Got to see friends, the beach, lots of fire trucks, and burning couches. Partayyyy

as embarassed as i am to say it...

Earlier this year, my best friend, May, and I finally got some time to hang out. I went down to Santa Barbara to visit, and we spent the weekend in LA. We went to Disneyland, Manhattan Beach, and Hollywood. While we were there, we wanted to do something really "touristy."

SO

As embarassing as it is to say, anyone who watches the Christopher Lowell show (or anyone who can bear it for an hour..) make sure to tune into it on Wednesday, the 18th, at 2pm central time..we're in the 4th row. good times..

america is on high alert

Santa Barbara has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Tuesday, we drove down to Hollywood and spent the whole day just kinda' hanging around being tourists. Thankfully, I'm really good with a map or we would have gotten very lost quite a few times. LA is definitely an adventure in itself to us small town Reno-ites. We stayed the night at a friend's house in Santa Clarita (half hour north or so) and then yesterday, we drove back down to Anaheim and went to Disneyland all day. It was a blast..I haven't been there in ages. It's amazing how different it is to visit the place once you're no longer an awe-struck child. So many things I remember about the place no longer seem so amazing. At the same time, I had a great time, and quite possibly enjoyed the trip even more than I did when I was 6. To make matters even better, the lines half the size because the park is on "high alert" with all the war chaos..but there were no problems and it was great we didn't have to stand in hour long lines for each ride. Yay for high alert! Ok, maybe not.

Today we're going down to Ventura to check out the outlet malls and everything..and I'm hoping to get my hair cut..and then heading home sometime tomorrow. Road trip music is the best, don't you think?

the face of the planet

Hi..this is pretty much to let you (you, as in all 3 of you who read my blog) know that I haven't fallen off the face of the planet..though that would definitely be an interesting site to see. I've been housesitting and the woman must be the only person in the world who doesn't have a computer..but I'm home for about 5 more minutes so I thought I'd update. I'm going down to Santa Barbara for a week on Sunday.. We are planning to stop by Disneyland on Wednesday, so if any of you want to meet us down there, let me know!

PS My aunt in California is really good friends with Shirley Jones (from Oklahoma, Music Man, etc) and apparently Shirley is staying with my aunt this week, so I might get to meet her when I see my aunt on Sunday! Good times

sleeping cities

So there was a convention in California that my store was invited to. Since I've been there for years and am probably one of the top employees as far as product knowledge goes, I was invited to accompany the owners to Anaheim. It just so happened that my best friend, May, works at a store in Santa Barbara that is also connected with the convention. She was also invited to the convention, so this, of course, meant a night on the town with my best friend (after all the work was done, of course.)

It's amazing how quiet Anaheim gets after Disneyland closes. The streets are barren and it hardly seems to be a city in the bustling LA proper. I mean, LA never sleeps. Even in the wee hours of the morning you will find tourists galore crowding the streets and gangs prowling the alleys. This was different though. We drove for hours, talking about the most mundane things, which at the moment, seemed to be the perfect things to discuss. That happens with best friends. We found ourselves in front of the mobile home park my great grandfather once lived in, when I was young enough to sit on his lap while he told me stories of his youth. We bought California Lottery tickets, which, for some reason, has become a tradition whenever we see each other. We saw the "drive thru worship" area of the Crystal Cathedral, a moment I will always remember (and laugh at). We finally ended up at a Denney's when we found we could drive no longer. We ate cake, drank coffee, and took bad pictures of it all. It was a beautiful evening.