Whirlwind

The summer has flown by yet again. In May I could see it all outstretched in front of me, but now feels like it passed in an instant. Why does summer seem particularly fleeting? I have been making some moves since my last post 3 weeks ago. I took the train to L.A. to visit an old friend. The train ride sports spectacular views...















... and is reasonably priced compared to Northeast counterparts. The first stop off the train? World-famous Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, naturally! What's that you say? Never heard of this combination? Well... neither had I, to be honest. But man, it goes together like scrapple and eggs!















We visited the Venice Beach an Santa Monica farmer's markets, both funky scenes. I avoided Hollywood as much as possible (OK, we drove by...). The San Fernando Spanish Mission and Griffith Observatory/Planetarium were both cool and educational. The Mission had some very old maps of the west coast, some suggesting that the entirety of California was actually an island. Fascinating!

















Back to San Diego and off to D.C. for a wild weekend with Rucas! I visited the Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian Natural History Museum, places I haven't been since I was a kid. I continue to be amazed. I joined my cousins at Comet Ping Pong, where they specialize in sustainable ingredients, novel pizzas (soft-shell crab, clam, eggplant...), and, um, ping pong? Nothing like losing to someone who's age is in the single digits... dang. My trip wasn't complete without a visit to Ben's Chili Bowl for artery-clogging goodness (the chili half-smoke is out of this world!). Mmm, I can feel my right arm getting numb just thinking about it.
















I've had some very good friends from high school visit San Diego. We cruised up to Del Mar for horse racing and free live music (reggae legend Steel Pulse). They went to the zoo, SeaWorld, and San Diego's beautiful beaches. Of course before, they left, I had to take them to In-N-Out Burger for some serious West Coast eats.















In other news, I finally started some of my own field work in the late summer. I've got a small pilot study started, which is good because I'll be land-locked for 9-12 months. Lets hope for some good data. I'll be leaving for Davis early next week. Between traveling and showing friends around town, I'm starting to realize that I will miss San Diego. Davis should be very, very cool, but I think I'll be happy to come back in 2010.

Live music, baseball, and carnitas

I checked out some live music a few weeks ago. Stay Classy hosted a concert, street festival, and tickets to the Padres game for only $20! Not a bad deal. Cage the Elephant opened for Del the Funkee Homosapien of Hieroglyphics and Souls of Mischief. What a sweet outdoor venue... both artists brought the house down! And the Padres won! I need to cruise downtown more often, it has a lot to offer.









































Scruffy celebrated his birthday last week with home-made carnitas and smoked ribs. Mmmm.... :) That's all for now!

Trip back East

I took a short vacation and flew to Delaware for a few days. There were lots of outdoorsy activities, such as visiting Longwood Gardens, hiking at the Laurel Preserve, and canoeing the Brandywine River. Here are a few pictures:












































































































I also went to see Wilco at Frawley Stadium. They do a really good live performance. I got my fix on a lot of my East Coast favorites which are scarce here in Southern California, including scrapple and eggs, big green forests, and rivers with moving water! I got to see a lot of family at my uncle's 70th birthday party. Plenty of good people in this bunch, both the young...





















...and the young-at-heart.





















There is whole roast pig at said party? Why, yes, I would be interested in that! Turns out that pig cheek really is delicious, but I prefer snout.