Freeway Fun

View from the Balcony, Pacific Beach Cliffs

On Saturday we drove down to San Diego for a family memorial. It was a sad occasion, but it's always good to see everyone, no matter what the circumstances. My cousin, Sasha hosted the event. He lives in a condo right on the cliffs of Ocean Beach in San Diego. In the winter, the ocean waves sometime come all the way up to his balcony. Saturday was a beautiful day. It's quite energizing and fulfilling to just stand on the cliffs and look out at the Pacific Ocean. I understand why he loves living there.

Ellen and Uncle Hi

We left San Diego at about 4:30 and made it back o L.A. in a record 2 hours. We fluffed up and then got right back in the car and drove from Mid-City L.A. over to Atwater for a b-day party. The party was fun....lots of artists and musicians, and we stayed late, even though we were really beat from all that driving earlier in the day.

Sunday, we met the folks at one of our favorite coffee shops for breakfast: Pepy's at the Mar Vista Bowling Alley. Even though I didn't have anything stronger to drink the day before than a club soda, I felt like I had a hangover. All that traveling and running around in the heat got to me. So, I ordered a nice big bowl of menudo with all the fixin's. My Mother was horrified. She has led a sheltered life. She'd never seen anyone eat tripe soup with onion, cilantro and a side of tortillas before. The waiter wanted to know if I wanted a pigfoot in the menudo. Just for the shock value, I said "Sure!" Everyone knows that a bowl of menudo is what one has the day after partying. Even at my advanced age, I'm still a rebellious kid!

mmmmmmmMenudo @ Pepy's

After breakfast, Larry and I made a few stops on the Westside....estate sale and art show, then came home to rest for a few hours. By early evening we were out the door again! This time, on our way to Hollywood to the American Cinematheque to see a double feature. The first documentary, "Love Story" (no not that tear-jerker with Ali MacGraw). This was the story of Arthur Lee and his band, Love...one of the best L.A. bands in the late 60's and early 70's. The group was legendary. They were also one of the first inter-racial rock groups to score big hits. You might recognize one of their famous covers, "My Little Red Book."

The other film documentary was called "This is Gary McFarland" about a brilliant jazz arranger and vibraphonist who died young at the top of his game when he was only 38. McFarland was one of the first arrangers to fuse jazz with pop. He's flown under my radar, so I was glad to know about him. Must go out and find some of his albums! Both movies were wonderful and so engrossing, that we forgot how tired we were. When we finally got home at midnight, we collapsed.

How was your weekend?