Forest Ray West Coast Tour Day 5 7/2/2023

Started the day at Darwin's, where he treated us to some iron skillet warmed/seared banana bread and coffee. That was the perfect start to the day. I chatted with his fiancée for a few minutes about some of the art around the house, including a bunch of bugs and insects. She has been studying etymology and showed me some of the insects she'd collected over the past few months.

Can't see the bugs, but love the mirror.

We said our goodbyes and headed for La Honda, but Peter was nervous about getting an oil change because the van was 500 miles overdue. We ended up stopping somewhere along the way and had the oil changed while we waited inside. It wasn't too long before ti was done, but most alarming was that the service technician indicated our front right tire had a crack running along it and advised that we look into getting a new tire.

With that fun news, we continued on our way to La Honda. Not sure if it north, south, east or west, but we got going. It wasn't too long before we turned onto a small road that climbed into some hills just outside of Palo Alto. It was just wider than a single track, with some really pretty views of what appeared to be redwood trees. Pretty steep climb in the big van, but Peter drove it slow and steady.

Eventually, we hit up a stoplight that indicated an "8 minute maximum wait" time. So we waited a minute before Peter got the great idea to proceed, at which time the guy behind us leaned on his horn. After a few feet, we stopped and backed up, but not without some more horn drama. Luckily, it didn't amount to anything and the truth is, that other guy saved us some major heartache because if we had continued, we would have run up into the oncoming traffic, meaning backing down a steep and windy road.

After we took our proper turn on that one way, we made it to Apple Jack's, pretty much the only game in the small town of La Honda. Lots of motorcycles parked outside, and a couple doing some smoking and BBQing right there. We loaded in and started the setup.

Apple Jack's.

Redwoods are huge.

Birthday boy Miles.

Supposedly a solo song, until it wasn't.

I thought we were playing inside; there was a large area for a band, as well as a PA, but there was a deck outside instead, that was underneath some redwood cover, so it was nice and shady (temp was around 85°). I kept it simple with my setup, simply plugging directly into the Bassman. It actually sounded pretty good and it limited the amount of junk I needed, so I may pivot to that moving forward. Only thing is, I don't have a tuner otherwise, but that's not too big a deal.

I've been working on simplifying my playing as well. Some of the songs have a simple backbeat and rather than embellishing everything, I'm just providing roots and rhythm with Miles' kick drum (speaking of him, it was his 33rd birthday yesterday).

We did 4 sets of about 45 minutes. Mainly originals, but with a handful of covers thrown in. We're doing some country songs, some Neil Young and Bob Dylan and for some of those songs, it is so boring. Even when I hear the original recording, I hear it's super basic, but I'm trying to do them justice. There is a little satisfaction in the simplicity of the tunes and doing them well; not everything needs to be  full of notes, but I find it boring sticking to roots and fifths.

After our third set, we walked by the BBQ pit (which smelled so good) and the pitmaster (?) said, "you boys ready to eat?" setting the expectation that that we were gonna get hooked up. So me, Miles and Peter were like, "hell yes!" until they put the two BBQ chickens and pulled pork in front of us and said, "that'll be $30."

BBQ pork, wish it was free.

Grr. They gave us the food for $10/each, so I paid and gobbled down a pulled pork sandwich (pretty good, have had better) and an ear of corn (tasty). I was happy as outside of the banana bread, that was my food so far for the day. So after that, it was off to the last set.

Crowd-wise, there were people cycling in and out and they were generally appreciative of what we were doing. Most exciting was there were several pit bulls running around and I got to pet some, which I enjoyed. I tried to get them to come over while we were playing, but they would just walk past. After the songs, though, I got my butt pats in with them.

After the show, we bounced and headed to Big Sur. However, along the way, we wanted to stop for Miles' birthday and take him to dinner, so we stopped in Santa Cruz to get gas and snacks and look for a place. One Mexican place we stopped at was closed but the hostess told us a place called Stonebrook was open late, over in a town called Capitola.

We got there and it seemed like it was a restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood. We drove through a residential street, which then had a parking parking lot for a restaurant on a river. At the side of the lot was an entry, with a staircase that headed down to the restaurant, which was on a river. Interestingly, there was also a gondola that went down the hill, as it was a bit of a hike. It all had a the feel of a theme park, like something you'd see at Disney.

There was also a sign indicating dress code, where it was generally business casual, but no flip flops, no baseball hats, no hoodies, etc. Lucky for us, as we had hats and hoodies, the aptly named Rock Room allowed for more casual wear. So the 4 of us piled into the 6 passenger gondola and took the slow ride down.

Once inside, we realized the Rock Room was named that because of one wall consisting of rocks. Figures. We took a table and ordered some late dinner. I got a Poke Ahi appetizer that was small, but pretty filling and tasty. The boys ordered a couple of drinks, Peter told some jokes and stories, and after a bit, it was off to Big Sur.

Simon took the wheel and we went south on the 1 (or 101, I don't know) down the coast. It was dark and quite foggy and was a bit of a tense ride; he definitely took it easy on the gas, but it wasn't too far or long before we arrived at a camping resort called Fernwood, where Matt (from the Milk Bar show) worked and lived. He gets a permanent tent/hut to live in, in exchange for working there. The campsite was completely booked, but he had a little covered patio next to his hut that we were able to sleep in. After the last few nights of hot homes, it actually felt good to be outside. I slept in my bag, with my joggers and hoodie on and was pretty comfortable. The worst part was the hard deck; my sleeping pad isn't enough to make it comfortable to sleep on anything but my back. But with earplugs in, I did pretty well.

Quick notes:

• Driving from LaHonda to the coast was beautiful. Lots of rolling hills and then, bang, ocean. Not having any reference of the area, it's really cool to just have the ocean sneak up on you.
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• We have the load in/load out down pretty well. Simon is the working man of the group. He is pretty quiet and subdued, but he takes care of business and would be a great part of any team. He just gets it done and doesn't complain.
• I'm finding my least favorite part of the day is first thing in the morning. The waking up, showering situation, getting dressed, etc. Not that big a deal, but that's it.
• It's cool not having to worry too much about "real life" stuff. I'm checking in on the regular on finances and touching base with Marci. I have to try to set up a call with Haley's school to talk about financial assistance. Sort of a pain, and being on the road helps to mute some of those things, but I still have obligations and responsibilities to handle.
• Redwoods are wildly majestic.
• I love the idea of BBQ. I love how it tastes. But often when I get it, I'm underwhelmed. That dude's pulled pork was passable, but I don't know if it would be considered excellent. I'd love to get some incredible BBQ sometime, see how it would compare.

Next up: Schooner's in Cayucos, CA. Apparently on the ocean, with an attached apartment and laundry where we're staying. And a day off tomorrow!!