a month of sundays

Going 80 down the 101 in my CRV (Bruce driving) listening to a book on tape (Robert Parker) kills the time but the scenery is so engaging you really don't need to. Funny how you notice different things driving down than you do driving back up. Everything looks so beautiful on the way down, rolling hills of grasses, wildflowers and oaks. Driving back up can't take my eyes off the hundreds (thousands?) of acres on the east side of the highway of newly planted grapes. Something disturbing about it, can't put my finger on it just that its literally miles and miles and miles in all directions of what used to be... rolling hills of wildflowers and oaks. Now its grapes, no doubt sprayed to high heaven and, where exactly are they getting the water? I mean I love wine and vineyards but this is freaking monoculture agribusiness. Not a winery in sight.

Going through LA, I nod to Denise.. not sure exactly where you live but I know I'm in your hood. BTW what is that swirly building near Broadway, east of the 101? I don't remember seeing it before. LA doesn't change that much, so it got my attention. Anyways, driving through OC was like travelling down a surreal memory lane. It felt like one of those dreams where random familiar things were passing by but totally out of context. We drove down stretches of freeway we hadn't been down in at least 20 years. Unlike LA, OC is constantly changing. Areas built up that used to be... what? Neither of us could remember. It was weird and somehow disorienting.

Greys and greens and browns interspersed with random bursts of vivid purple, the jacaranda trees! I couldn't keep my eyes off them. It had been ages since I'd seen them blooming and I was stunned over and over again at their discordant beauty. We used to live on a street that was literally lined with them, huge old trees that shaded the homes and covered the lawns and sidewalks with their spilled purple blossoms. Unfortunately, like bougainvillea and avocados, jacarandas don't do well here. Too cold.

This was a whirlwind trip. The power drive from Santa Cruz to Solana Beach, barely time to rest, freshen up and eat, then immerse ourselves in the splendor of our beautiful Church. (review posted on Seance, if you're interested) Next day up to Temecula, very cool Old Town with great finds - teas and spices, basil-infused olive oil, cool garden sculpture (gift for my friend who's feeding the cat) the best find was a multi-strand Pueblo Indian fetish necklace, a fraction of what it would have cost me in New Mexico. My heart is still racing! And.. a fabulous quilt shop. My sis-in-law turned me on to the olive oil, served some before dinner w/bread & balsamic - had to go back down into Old Town next morning to pick up a bottle. Heavenly.

Next day drive back to OC, visit dad-in-law, who plays us DVD of his European cruise. It was actually kinda cool, never having been on one and no doubt never will. The guy that made the DVD was an amateur, but did a pretty good job filming and a great job setting it all to music. It also killed several hours, which was a good thing. Next day hanging out with friends in downtown Fullerton, where we used to live. We drove down our old street and I was caught in a wave of nostalgia and purple jacaranda haze. What a wonderful old neighborhood. And we could actually walk to downtown. Fullerton has "gentrified" I guess you'd call it, all the old funky dive bars are gone... Miki's (now a Jamba Juice) The Melody Inn (burned down) My Shrink (gone) on and on. Fox Fullerton is still there but has been condemned. Angelo's and Vinci's moved out of there and into the liquer store on the corner. The Pawn Shop is gone. But Fullerton Hardware is still there with its vast array of eclectic junk. All in all, its changed for the good I guess, at least most of the businesses there have a fraction of character. Sort of a college hang out these days. Sigh...

I bought five Church-related CDs from the merch table Wed night, so listened to a few on the way home. So far I like U23, but will take more listens to sink into it. So far, the Coffee Song (off the EP) struck me as the best thing to come out of the bunch. Still have more listening to do, have to dole it out sparingly.

As usual, its good to get home. Lots of catching up to do, watering, laundry, petting the cat.. I missed two of my classes so spent almost the whole day today getting caught up on that. I got Lurie's book in the mail yesterday, so I guess I'll retire to bed soon and give it a look.

Was it three years ago already I posted about going to see The Church? And seven years... seven! since I met Denise? Unbelieveable.