Sunny California

Everything about California makes me cranky. Everything. The entire state leaves me dumbfounded. I don’t understand who so many people can conspire to create such vast ugliness. I know such ugliness sprouts up around the country and the world, so it’s not just the Californian’s fault, but I’m having difficult reconciling the apparently antagonistic concepts of human nature and nature.

Actually, almost everything about California makes me cranky: I took a quick walk out to the car in my bare feet. For me, the feeling of bare feet on hot asphalt is a particularly “California” feeling, and for a moment I felt sweetly nostalgic. I’m just not certain what I felt nostalgic for.

Carlsbad, CA is experiencing a “red tide,” which (naturally) turns the water brown. JD and Courtney agreed that it was just a “Galveston tide.” At night, the algae turn phosphorescent, lining the cresting waves with an electric shade of green. Truly a lovely sight.

Heaven, Thy Name is Hash House a-Go-Go: We went down to San Diego to visit long-time friends Krista, Bryant, and Amanda. Krista owns (and is owned by) her own ice cream shop (Golden Delights – all natural, handmade ice cream! Yum. Go visit if you ever make it down to San Diego).

We spent the afternoon sampling away (I highly recommend the red mint chip – which, unlike the tide, is red – and the ginger. Wrigley had TWO dishes of ice cream in the same day. For dinner, we went to the Hash House a-Go-Go, which is a truly amazing dining experience. While we were waiting for our food, Wrig and I went for a walk to let of some energy (did I mention all that whipped cream? and the sprinkles?). When I returned, the waitress had delivered a bowl of huge rolls. I’d say they were about the size of croquet balls. With great fanfare and build-up, the whole table revealed to me the exciting news that these were not just rolls – they were biscuits! And they were as fluffy as they were big. And for my entrée? Sage fried chicken served on top of a … bacon waffle tower. Let me repeat that: BACON. WAFFLE. TOWER. We’re going to Legoland on Thursday and I cannot think of any structure you could make out of Legos that would be nearly as impressive as a BACON. WAFFLE. TOWER.