The opener was called James Clay Garrison. They were an upbeat jam band, much like a show you'd see at Summer Camp. They were great! We skipped out on a little bit of the show to take shots of Patron at The Lighthouse and to put our feet in the ocean. After getting soaked by a wave, we went back up to the beach to watch the show. After James Clay Garrison, The Spazmatics came on. The Spazmatics are an 80's cover band who frequently play at Saint Rocke. Charlie and I had seen them before, but they're a can't miss show! They all dress up as nerds (suspenders, neck brace, high waisted pants, black rimmed glasses, etc.) and play some of the most upbeat 80's tunes that you can think of. Every show they play is different, but you can always expect a good time! Some of the songs they played during this show were Sweet Dreams, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Pour Some Sugar on Me. We danced on the beach (in a huge, unexpected crowd) for the majority of the show, but we also ran over to Hennesseys to take Vegas bombs and ended up on the back of the stage at one point.
James Clay Garrison
The Spazmatics
The large crowd ...8,000 people!
Sunset after the show
It was an incredible show, the weather was great, and the sun setting at the end of it was beautiful! I got Pita Pit on my way back to the car, Charlie met me back at work (we were still house-sitting), and we had a relaxing night of doing nothing!
Monday was our last day of house-sitting. I hung out at the pool for a few hours, Charlie met me on his lunch break, then I packed up all of our clothes and food and headed home. It was nice being back at our place after 5 days of being gone. I went grocery shopping, cooked us dinner, and we relaxed! Tuesday I went to my dad's to wash my car and help him get a forum up and running. Afterwards, I met Charlie for an unexpected lunch date at a place called Chinese Cafe in Manhattan. I had driven by it hundreds of times but never actually stopped to eat there. It was cafeteria-style Chinese (much like Panda Express), but it was pretty damn delicious! After lunch, I came home to lay out (go figure), and then got ready for dinner. We walked over to El Torito on the Redondo Pier to meet my dad and Lisa for dinner. We each got a margarita and split the chicken and steak fajitas (sluuurp!). After dinner, the four of us walked around on the pier. It was a chilly but beautiful evening.
I can't remember what we did on Wednesday (besides me going to the pool), so it mustn't have been very memorable! Oh yes, Charlie had ordered me a surprise gift and it came in the mail ...we got an ice cream maker :) I'm sure I'll be making lots of fro-yo and sorbet with it.
Thursday after dinner we played a few games of pool ...we usually play best out of 3, and I won for the first time ...how exciting! After pool, we came upstairs for a little ice cream dessert.
Friday was Charlie's last day at VOX DJ's. He only worked til 10am, and when he got home, the Time Warner guy was here. After 9 months without it, we finally got cable and internet. It's nice to be civilized, but I have loved not having cable or internet. It gives us so much time to talk and spend together...maybe that's why older couples stay together for 50+ years ...back in their day, they didn't have electronics to keep them busy and distracted from spending quality, uninterrupted time together. Anyway, while the cable guy was here, Charlie was busy mixing up margaritas, and Mike showed up! The three of us were headed to San Diego for the day. Once we finally got on the road, it took us about two hours to get down there, because we hit some traffic.
Once we finally got to San Diego, we headed straight to Old Town. I am in love with Mexican food, and Old Town is my absolute favorite place to get it. I haven't found anywhere in LA that even comes close to the food in Old Town. The first place we stopped was Fred's...for some of my favorite chips, salsa, and margaritas! After two rounds of each, we walked down the street to grab some lunch. Before we got to lunch, we hit up Hot Licks. Hot Licks is a store that has over 150 hot sauces ...which you can sample. Mike and Charlie were each given a toothpick with a little sauce on it. Their mouths were still burning when we got to the restaurant, Casa de Reyes. We ordered up a pitcher of margaritas, the boys had ceviche, and Charlie and I got carne asada burritos while Mike had cheese enchiladas.
After we were all drunk and extremely full, we got in the car and headed to Del Mar racetrack for the Michael Franti show. Once inside, we headed straight to the concert stage where we got front row 'seats'! With less than 10 people there (we got there about 2 hours early), Michael Franti came out to say hello! He played his acoustic guitar and sang 'Life is Better With You'. It was probably the coolest Franti experience I've had in the now 5 shows that I've seen. After some more waiting and multiple beers, the show finally started. Usually racetrack shows last about an hour, but we played for two hours. As always, it was a great show, and I danced like a fool!
"Whoaa, whoa, life is better with you..."
Charlie & Michael, Me & Jay Boogie (guitar player)
The next day, Sunday, was the final day of Hermosa Summer Concert Series. On the bill were Common Sense and The Aggrolites, both reggae/ska/rock bands. Charlie had to work all morning again, so I hung out poolside until about 4PM. I mixed up some margaritas, put them in water bottles, and headed to Hermosa on my bike. We watched some of Common Sense, and then Luke joined us. The three of us headed to the bars for some Patron shots then headed back to watch The Aggrolites. Both shows (from what I can remember) were great! After both bands had played, Charlie had to tear down, so Luke and I walked up Pier Ave. to grab some dinner. We decided on Thai Top, a place I had always wanted to go to but had never been. We split some delicious veggie egg rolls, he got salad while I got a not-so-tasty soup, and then we each ordered a plate of the chicken pad Thai. The pad Thai wasn't as spicy as I like it, but it still tasted great. By this point, I was full and not ready to do anymore drinking, so we all parted ways.
Common Sense
Shots, shots, shotsss
"Thanks for a great year of summer concerts, Hermosa Beach!"
Monday and Tuesday I hung poolside, did some cooking, and winded up my two week vacation. Tuesday night I attempted making homemade ravioli for the first time. It's something I've wanted to do for a very long time. It was actually a success! I filled them with a mixture of chicken sausage & ricotta, and they were topped with a garlic wine cream sauce.
Making the dough, rolling it out, and cutting out ravioli shapes!
Filling ravioli & boiling it
Taa-daa! The finished product!
Wednesday I came back to work! Wednesday night Charlie and I had a date night. We made wet beef burritos for dinner followed by a playing a round at Putting Edge. Putting Edge is glow-in-the-dark, indoor mini golf. After tying on the first 9 holes, Charlie ended up beating me after 18, so I had to pay my debt. We had bet on fro-yo, although, we couldn't seem to find a fro-yo spot on the way home. We settled for gelato at Paciugo in Hermosa.
♥♥♥
It's been a fun quick week, and now I'm babysitting the girls after my normal nannying hours tonight, and then Charlie and I are going to Saint Rocke for Fishbone. His dad and stepmom Giann will be in town for the weekend ...we are both very much looking forward to it! This weekend is also the big volleyball tournament in Manhattan Beach -- the US Open....always a fun time. I'm sure I'll have lots to write about next week!
Until then ...toodles!
No comments:
Post a Comment