The past 4 days were jam packed with "remember when" type moments. There were many different slang and inside gags exchanged. Oh the memories....
Prior to our departure, Sim picked up our cousin, Jay from their hotel down near Palos Verdes. He wasn't able to arrive to our house until 12:30 that night so I ended up piling people into my car for a quick boba run. I told Jay that we were going for a boba run. "What's boba? Oh you mean 'Pearl Drink?'" I was baffled by his language. "Pearl Drink?" what a wiener name! Oh those wacky Bay Area people certainly have eccentric slang don't they? Anyway, we arrived a few minutes before the boba cafe closed. But on the the other hand, they don't really close until everyone leaves so Jimmy, the manager, was more than happy to serve us.
I was sure that we were NOT going to sleep that night. I mean, there was a lot of catching up to do. In fact we all stayed up until we had to leave for Catalina Island the next morning.
Day #1 (8/5/01):CATALINA "D"REAMIN'
After being sleepless in So Cal, we all hopped in the rental van and made our way to the Catalina Terminal. The caravan of vehicles got lost and we all ended up driving around in large, lop-sided circles. Actually, 4 large, lop-sided circles. Two Dads dueling over directions should NOT be a prerequisite to a vacation. After all of this frustration, my body double decided to lead the way and shut them up pretty good.
Teens = 1
Parents = 0
I don't get it! I've charmed the 6-looped Viper, defeated Goliath's death drop, and flew with Superman, and for some reason I can't handle a one hour boat ride to Avalon.Yep...mark your calandars boys and girls. On August 5th, Mark finds out that he can get REALLY seasick. Yay...another day to celebrate. As we progressed with the aquatic voyage, my inner ear was not being a very good passenger. Motion Sickness reared its ugly, vomit chucking head at me. The attendant on the boat suggested that I make my way to the back of the boat where there was some fresh air. It helped a little bit. Jay soon met me at the hot spot. It turns out that he wasn't able to get a grip either. We felt temporary relief as we layed our heads on the railing. Just as my inner ear was winning the battle, a little boy felt the need to regurgetate his previous meal. That was our cue to head for higher ground. So we moaned and groaned up to the top deck. The cold wind eased the nausea. After one whole grueling hour, we made it to the Avalon Terminal. I would've kissed the ground if the concrete weren't crusted with aged vomit.
I don't want to bore you with unecessary details so I'll get to the highlights of the trip. The glassbottom boat ride verified the fact that I'm a wiener at sea. I was okay for a while until the water wasn't so pleasant anymore. It's a good thing I didn't hurl because the other passengers would have been looking at more than just the fish and kelp below...At the end of our intinerary, the group wanted to walk around the island and explore. We stopped at one of the ends of the island. My parents wandered off to find a restroom. The rest of us sat on a cobblestone wall. As we chilled, I noticed a large flock of Gulls hovering above us. I looked at the unsightly white spots on the blacktop and realized I was in a bad area. I quickly ran for cover. Have you ever seen white rain? I have... ~*shudders*~
We ended our island expedition on the mini beach. I took a big whiff of the salty air and felt relaxed. I haven't been that care free for a while. The only fear I had was the boat ride back. While Jay, Si and I were skippin rocks, we ended up meeting some cute vacationers. Ay, Jay...what a pimp.
Jay's mom purchased some dramamine for the trip back so we "dropped D" an hour before departure. Ahhh...let me tell you that I felt buttloads better. I had made 3 friends that day: Tracy, Amy & DRAMAMINE...
Day #2 (8/6/01):7.......7........AW SHIT...A CHERRY!
We made our way to the Westin Horton Hotel in San Diego. To anyone who is familiar with DTLA, that's the Diego Version of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Shopping Mall. It was quite pampering. Damn, the doormen would open the door for you, the attendants even called me "sir" while I was in my PJ's. There were free copies of the Wall Street Journal fresh for the picking. The room was nice. Sweet down pillows and there was even a phone and a TV speaker in the bathroom. Ahhh...I felt at home...but it was a hell of a lot better than my own house! heh heh...
Our objective for the day was to visit VIEJAS. This was an indian reservation and a campground. Hell, the only reason we chose this destination was to go nuts in the outlet and gamble. Hey...it was legal since the minimum age to gamble there is 18. After a long day of shopping around, Sim and I bolted to the Casino. "Excuse me Mr. Slot Machine? Shake your hand, you say?! Why certainly!" I ended up losing $20 bucks but I guess that's the price I had to pay for an experience like that. I guess it's much more fun when you're forbidden to do such things.
My stomach was as empty as my wallet when we came back to the Horton. The dads went out in search of food for us. The 3 of us had a Sourdough Jack Meal. They had even given us an extra one. The dilemma here was that there was no tool to cut this sandwich into 3 equal parts. Jay ended up finding 2 sets of chopsticks. We used 3 as dividing lines and we used the 4th to perforate the burger with small holes. I guess hunger leads to strange solutions...Well, our idea worked and the burger was cut into 3 equal thirds. MacGyver...eat your heart out. We spent the rest of the night working on "Dirty Pop" and wasting away with a Dreamcast.
Day #3 (8/6/01): Shipwrecked With Funnel Cake
Ahhhhh...Sea World...the home of Shamu. I felt like I was 7 years old. I mean that in a good way. I was blown away by Cirque De La Mer! That show was KICK-ASS! They did stuff I didn't even know was humanly possible. I don't mean to kill it, but one audience member was acutally chosen to be a big part of the show. It's a jawdropping must-see!
Jared was right. You're never too old to be immature at a theme park. The 3 Monkees (Jay, Si & me) went on Shipwreck Rapids 19 times without any shame. There's one part of the ride where on-lookers can deposit a quarter and hose down the passing rafts. We begged every time we passed that area and I think that we were able to raise $15 bucks for Sea World. hahahaha...Needless to say...we were pretty wrinkled by the time we decided to stop.
We topped off the night with a big fat FUNNEL CAKE. Not just any funnel cake mind you. This was the MOTHER OF ALL FUNNEL CAKES. Each monkee had one funnel cake topped with fresh strawberries and a huge scoop of chocolate chip ice cream! More fat please!
THE END...
TOP 10 MOMENTS:
10. (name of color) ROCKET!
9. Droppin' D
8. MONKEE!
7. Playing slots @ Viejas
6. Riding Shipwreck Rapids 19 times in a row
5. Running through the "White Rain" in Avalon
4. Funnel cake topped with strawberries and Choco Chip ice cream
3. Cirque De La Mer
2. Cutting the Sourdough Jack using ONLY chopsticks
1. Finally being able to kick it with Jonathan, Joanne and Bea for 4 days
thanks for the memories guys...until next time...
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