Back from a year hiatus and ready to start blogging again!Saw this somewhere in La Mesa. I thought it was a cool statement. Who doesn't want peace now?
Back from a year hiatus and ready to start blogging again!Back from a year hiatus and ready to start blogging again!
As I trudged along a quiet street in La Mesa, I came upon this uninviting wall of shrubbery. In the space where there should have been a white picket fence or a nice front lawn, a ten foot green palisade blocked the view. If it weren't for the wooden door in the middle, there would be no way of knowing that this was the entrance to a house. I immediately started drawing conclusions as to what was being hidden behind this living structure. First, my usual thoughts of secret society hideout sprouted in my mind. It could have been a house for a band of Dark Elf thieves or a training facility for clowns and jugglers. Then, I thought that this could all just be an overgrowth of healthy vines attributed to the sunny San Diego weather. I preferred my first guess because besides the address and signs on the door, this scene had a fantasy story just waiting to be written about it.
Although the craftsmanship of the structure is apparent, I don't know exactly why it was built. I'm going to guess that it's used to feature special plants. From the looks of things though, the landscaping was a work in progress. There was no lawn and very few plants. Inside the square enclosure a lonely shrub could be seen growing. Another thought that came to me was that this could maybe be a small fountain or maybe an unfinished jacuzzi for Roman god worship. It could be a possibility. The house was nice and there are probably plans to remodel the landscaping.
I keep running into random shopping carts that look to be in weird situations but I have resisted the urge to photograph them. I wouldn't want this to turn into a shopping cart blog but I couldn't resist writing about this unusual pairing which was found in La Mesa in front of an apartment complex in the early morning hours. These two look like they came home from a night of drinking but never quite made it inside and they're still fumbling to find their keys. The gray one looks like it's using the wall to hold himself up and the purple one is using her gray buddy in order not to tip over.
Check out this groovy guy walking on stilts. He was terrorizing the kids with his giant hammer by pretending to bonk them on the head. One crazy mosher tried messing with him and almost got a hammer to the noggin.
As I mentioned in the last post, the fair was not the greatest show on earth but it did have its moments. One of these moments began as a small disappointment. Monsters from Mars was scheduled to play at 6:30 but when we shuffled over to their stage, they were loading up their equipment. One source told me that the power had gone out and they were only going to be allowed to play two songs by the time the power would be back on. Curiosity got the best of me and I went up to the stage area and asked one of the band members what was going on. It turns out that this particular stage area did not have enough juice to power all their equipment. This turn of events saddened me since the number one reason for going to this fair, apart from the art, was this band. Fortunately, as the band was leaving, they announced to everyone that they would be playing an impromptu performance at a house nearby in half an hour and we were all invited. Everyone cheered and headed down the street. Once we got there we waited outside for a few minutes while the band set up their gear. The house was cozy and had a cool tiki theme. As the band started up, people stuffed the house. Monsters from Mars rocked! Everyone was dancing and having a good time. This was an amazing ending that I could not have predicted.
This last Saturday a few of us headed over to the Art Around Adams fair. There were about 4 stages for musical acts and a dozen or so vendor booths. Art displays were scattered around the large fenced area where the event has being held. I expected a much bigger involvement from the community and much more art being displayed. If I had to give the art fair a grade, it'd be a C-. It did have its moments though. For instance, these huge puppets pictured here were a surprise. It was fun watching them try to stay upright as gusts of wind attempted to topple them over.
This weekend I decided to take a walk at the Spring Valley Swap Meet. The weather was gloomy and perfect for browsing wares at the swap meet. My first pit stop was at the Weenie Queen eatery where they serve Tijuana style hot dogs. These hot dogs are prepared a little bit different than their American counterparts. The weenies are wrapped up in bacon and then thrown on the grill. The most common toppings are diced onions, tomatoes, mustard, mayo, and ketchup. Eating a hot dog at 8am seemed too early so I decided to eat elsewhere. Fortunately, I did not come up empty handed, I took a picture of the infamous weenie queen herself (just kidding, not really her).
Each week I will highlight a person that has influenced, shaped or impacted my travels in a meaningful way. Ryan H. is the person of the week. Happy Birthday today Ryan! Last week, I visited the unincorparated city of Crest and Ryan was my guide. We mostly hung out at the local park up there but was shown where other landmarks were located such as the local fire station and the liquor store. Toward the end of my visit we headed over to Ryan's house. There at his house we listened to some tunes ranging from folk to hip hop and even some songs written by Ryan himself. It was a pleasant visit and I would like to thank Ryan and the community of Crest for having me.
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