OnBlueUnderCanvas

It was the first day of our big road trip, and we barely made it out of LA.

Just before leaving for California, I was leisurely packing my suitcase while watching some awful cable TV. On a show called Bank of Hollywood, individuals give pitches to a panel of rich celebrities. If the panel so deems the cause worthy, they award these people a lump of cash. One girl roller-skated onto the stage while simultaneously spinning a hula-hoop round her waist. She was asking the panel for $7800. What for? She wanted to build a tricycle with an attached food cart and ride around handing out meals and spreading joy to the starving artists of Venice Beach.

As it turns out, she managed to win over the panel with her whimsical charsima. Just to see if I could catch sight of her with the food card, I had to go to see Venice Beach.

We parked on a side street and walked between the houses to the waterfront. The homes varied in style from modern to kitschy, to Swiss Family Robinson. An actual outlook tower accessible by ladder graced the corner of one of these lots.

The clouds drizzled. We cut our stroll on the pier short and made our way back towards the car. Down a path of stepping stones and across a sidewalk. At the end, a bridge arched up and over a stream of water. What was this…? The Venice Beach canals! Naming this place was no false marketing campaign. White bridges led back and forth over the water linking sidewalk to pathway. Kayaks, canoes and paddle boats dotted every home’s waterfront.

The canals were so idyllic, even in the raindrops. I didn’t see roller-skate girl on her tricycle, but Venice Beach was funky and fanciful nonetheless. ☼

I know diddly-squat about California, other than it’s chock full of Hollywood crazies. So much so that one was even elected to run the joint. Besides that, a six hour layover at LAX doesn’t count as seeing the Golden State. Remedy? A Route 1 road trip.

We have no Lonely Planet to guide the way, so in theory we’re destined for…loneliness? Really though, have you ever used one of those things before? It’s dangerous with its knowledge. It makes you believe that you’re “in the know.” If you’re not careful, you’ll be funneled into the same travel path already beaten down by millions and millions of tourists. Instead of creating your own experience, you will become just another consumer of the pre-packaged Lonely Planet soup de jour: all taste and no substance.

There is one thing that’s better than guidebooks. People. We have friends, relatives and friends of friends offering (or rather, conceding when we’ve begged) couches to sleep on, cars to tool around in, hot showers to get squeaky clean in, and a whole wealth of local knowledge steering us clear of the tourist trench. All sharing their slice of California with us to savor, local-style.

Brandon, a friend of Kirk’s from high school, picked us up from the airport. With suitcases pilled on our laps, we rode in his ’89 Cadillac Eldorado down to Huntington Beach, making a stop at In-N-Out Burger, a Cali institution. After dumping our bags in Brandon’s apartment, we grabbed longboards – Brandon loaned Kelly a bike – and headed to the beach.

The sun hung low over the Pacific, but still radiated warmth on the beachfront. It was late afternoon on the weekend and the boardwalk was still buzzing with people. Bikers zig-zagged, strollers rolled, and skateboards carved. We walked out onto the pier and looked over the edge. A cluster of surfers bobbed in the water, waiting for the next good wave. Clad in their black wet suits – a necessity in the chilly January ocean – they looked like seals having a grand old time in the surf.

After Kirk finished salivating over surfing (he was just itching to jump in the waves), we skated inland up a main drag lined with shops, restaurants and bars. Brandon and his roommate, Brendan – I know, confusing – took us to their regular locale: Kilarney’s irish pub. Five dollars bought us a giant pile of nachos with all the fixings. I drank a Black Velvet – a combination of Guinness and pear cider. Smooth, crisp, sweet and substantial. We toasted our welcome to California. ☼

This New Year’s was spent cozied up in a cabin in northern Michigan. TC and Michelle, Kirk’s friends since high school, invited us to come up with them for a few days. Reminiscing on the trip, it was all single-digit temperatures, snowmobiling to the bar (where else), playing Wii, sipping Bailey’s & coffee, and

The dogs.

TC’s mom spends a lot of time volunteering at a local animal shelter. Over the years she’s adopted quite the troupe of pooches into the family. She brought the whole gang up along with her to the cabin. I was in heaven, having four dogs around to pet and love, and Kirk was in allergy hell sneezing up a storm.

There’s Missy, a poodle mix well into her teens. She’s the sweetest thing but completely deaf, so you have to be careful when walking near her because she doesn’t know to avoid you.

Winnie is a spunky dachshund mix who commands the pack. Even though she’s the least in size and age, she takes no crap from anyone or any dog.

And then there’s Pugsly. Pugs is just plain special. Like a few kibbles shy of a full bag. He dribbles and drools and hangs his tongue out like a light fixture, but he has a heart double the size of his brain and only wants to snuggle with you.

This shot’s credit goes to Kirk:

See all the photos:

Every big change in my life seems to be reflected in an transformation of my website.  Studying abroad in New Zealand and moving twice in Chicago each heralded a cyber revamp. In honor of the upcoming Australia adventure and the New Year of 2010, I hope you like the new virtual curtains.  Make yourself at home.

In addition to changing the theme, I upgraded the photo viewing infrastructure. It utilizes a popular plugin called “Lightbox”. It’s so easy to use, I’m excited for it to be on my site. Just by clicking anywhere on the photo you are currently looking at, you’ll advance to the next photo. When you’re done viewing, you can press the “ESC” key to bring you back to the blog. Try it out below:

These screenshots show my blog’s theme evolution: