Pizza Research Institute...you are my favorite restaurant thus far!

This blog recounts the day of May 31st, 2010.

Woke up this morning in full gear. I felt great, we've been eating good veggie food and also, my mom was finally on the trip and loving it, and that made me happy. Mom and uncle were already at breakfsat when I got up, probably drinking 10 cups of coffee amongst the two (8 uncle rick, 2 by mom). Had the usual toast with peanut butter and bananas and that usually does the trick until lunch. The odd thing was that Kristina hadn't messaged us even that morning, giving us a feeling that something was off about the situation. Some baseball players, I imagine at the midget level, were eating hotel donuts for breakfast in preparation for their big memorial day tournament...if that doesn't win you baseball games, nothing will...

Today, we drove to Eugene, which may seem like an uneventful drive to us (4 hours) but to most people, it's a long one. Now, what made it eventful was the scenery. Only green-filled pastures and forests all the way down, with the odd snow filled peak in the horizons. The other really odd item up for bid: gas stations. Apparently, by law in Oregon, gasoline is only purchased with service. Which must've looked particularly awkward to the attendant trying to get payment out of my window, which could not open, and finally, when I got out the passenger door for no apparent reason to take a piss. But hey, he must've thought, Oh...They're Canadian, and just shrugged it off. Once we got to our wonderfully quaint Days Inn in Eugene, OR, Tyler went off to meet another one of his online contacts, Bethany, who sounded delightful from the description I got of her. On the other hand, my uncle, mom and I went to a fully vegan pizzeria, the Pizza Research Institute. Seriously now, WOW, this place was remarkable. The dining area was an old garage, and local art hung everywhere on the walls. The chefs were all very talkative and expressive, which I really liked, and their menu was made of recycled items, including ziploc bags. I got us some lemon water, and we ordered some Miso soup, potato leek soup for my mom and a large baked spicy tofu with vegan cheese pizza. It was simply fantastic, and even made my uncle rethink peperoni on pizza... Afterwards, we went shopping a la Americana to a Goodwill (even I made a few purchases), a Wal-Mart for some shoes, peanuts and other trail mix, Dick's sporting goods, where I bought new baseball pants since other ones were too big :) and Market of Choice, which was like a Whole Foods and we bought some produce for the road.

Back at the hotel room, Tyler left me a message that he went to go try to the Pizza place, and that the Blackhawks were up 2-0 when he left. I check the tv and saw that it was 3-1 and felt safe in a Flyers loss. So I drove back to Pizza Research Institute and saw Tyler finishing up his appetizer. I ordered supper this time, which may be the first time in my life I eat lunch and supper at the same restaurant in one day. But this place was that good. Tyler had a slice of the chef's special (14 diff ingredients) and another with goat cheese, and I had 2 different slices with smoked gouda, chevre(goat cheese) and apples and walnuts...sounds terrible, tastes unbelievable. We started heading back to the hotel after a discussion about the local art with a waiter, and I realized I was out of rum. Unfortunately, liquor stores were closed Memorial day, so I had to settle for Malt Liquor (2 king cans for 4$) from a gas station. Let's just say...last time I drink malt liquor in my life. I finished half of one and decided I'd give the second to a homeless. We fell asleep watching king of the hill and family guy, and finally, got in contact with Kristina, and she told us her phone had been malfunctioning and she had messed up the dates to when we were coming. Unfortunate. But, tomorrow would be another day.

Album of the day (only because it was the most played by popular demand...Uncle Rick): Titanic Soundtrack

Driving today: 4 hours

Status of Trip: 66% complete

Oh Beverley, we shall miss thou!

This post recounts the day of May 30th, 2010.

So after that crazy dream, I woke up at 5 AM. All the Irish girls in my room were still sleeping :( So I went upstairs to their room to see if Bev was ready. We went to our parking at 6 AM, and to our dismay, our canadiens car flag had been cut off its pole. More on that later. I was little off my rocker if you know what I mean, but I trucked on anyhow to make that 25 minute drive to the airport. Tyler was a bit help in the back seat, and Closing Time by Tom Waits blasting in the car helped immensely as well. We said our goodbyes to one of our cast members on this trip, and we were back to three. We drove back to the hostel and I got a little more sleep in before the average length drive to Redding, CA. We all checked out at 10 AM (mom and uncle both loved! the hostel, which was great news to me, for fear they would never road trip with me again) and we began our in-car exploration of what we missed in San Fran. First, we checked out Fisherman's Wharf, always a must-see when visiting the Bay City. Afterwards, my uncle made a comment that irked me: "I don't know why everyone say San Francisco streets are so steep, they're not much worse than Montreal..." WHATTT!! So I brought them up Powell near the crookedest street (Lombard) in North American. They quickly changed their tune. They hopped out of the car and saw what I say is the best view of San Francisco, on top of the highest peak in downtown. Finally, the last stops in SF were the thrift stores where my uncle saw books he wanted and my mom, a vase.

While leaving SF on the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, we got a longer view then we wanted as we hit Memorial Day Weekend Traffic. And then, after 15-20 minutes, through the rainbow tunnel and to northern Cali we went. Me and Tyler were pretty excited, especially since we were going to meet a friend of his in Redding, Kristina, who has been following our trip closely via blog, and was excited to see us as well. We called her from the hostel in the morning, and multiple times on stops along the way, but still no answer. We figured once we hit the hotel, we could use the very handy facebook or MSN to contact her. We were quite hungry though upon arriving at the hotel, so we went on Happycow.net and found the nearest vegetarian friendly restaurant, a 5-mile drive from the hotel. It was a pretty recluse place, in an outdoor mall, adn we loved it. My mom and I ordered Vegan Quiche, and Tyler a BBQ Tofu sandwich. My uncle ruined the veggie party by ordering a turkey breast sandwich, which he loved anyhow. My uncle proved he was actually a nice guy, when he paid the cashier extra when she had undercharged him, which we were all in shock and awe over...(just kidding uncle rick!)

Finally, we tried to call our friend Kristina back at the hotel for the upteenth time, to no avail. Next time...we said. My mom, my uncle and I took a small walk afterward to digest. The pic above is actually from that walk, and their first pic on the blog! I fell asleep early that evening, and Tyler caught a show called Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule, starring John C. Reilly, and I think he found it really funny. Just thought I'd mention that, I'm not advertising for the show or anything...And tomorrow was to be another day.

Album of the day: Closing Time by Tom Waits

Driving today: 5 hours

Incredibly ridiculous note: Habs car flag cut off today

Moustache Parrrrrrrty!

This blog post recalls the day of May 29th, 2010.

We woke up and had some free pancakes at the hostel, and I noticed we were really starting to slow down with 5 people. It’s a lot tougher to keep the discipline. However we finally left the hostel at 10 AM to pick up my mom and start doing the tourist stuff of San Fran. We walked alot on Market, went to some Goodwills and thrift shops, and ate lunch at Herbivore, a vegan restaurant in the Mission District. We ate there last year, and it hadn’t changed. Still amazing amazing food, even the meat eaters couldn’t believe it. After lunch, Tyler and Bev went to the festival San Fran was having for memorial weekend, and I took my mom and uncle to Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden. Simply breathtaking views and a must-see for anyone visiting SF.

After alot more walking, we bussed it back to the hostel, and the private room we had now was to be without me. I checked into my new room, and to my huge surprise, 3 girls all watching me stroll in. May I say, 3 really cute Irish girls, accent and all. I was not going to be bored tonight....because of the moustache party!! That’s right, our hostel is hosting a themed party with free booze (FREE!) rum and cokes and vodka crans. I went to eat first with my mom and uncle at a Chinese Vegetarian restaurant, which turned out to be quite good, and the sweet and sour “chicken” tasted so much like chicken, that I had to ask the waitress to make sure...impressive.

Then, the party began. The staff started mixing the rum and such, and started handing out the moustaches. I got mine drawn on by a gorgeous German girl. I met a group of girls at the party from les Iles-de-la-madeleine doing the same type of road trip as us, without the baseball games. They were in LA pretty much same time as us too. We talked till 1 AM and then I decided to hobble to bed...

**Dream that night**: I was in the hostel and people were still drinking. I had the urge to go to the Crazy Horse strip club. I stumbled down 5 blocks to Market street where this gentlemen’s establishment is located. Apparently, cover was 25$, and lap dances 40$. This dream was so vivid, I kind of feel like I went there. The inside had movie theatre seats all around a big stage in the middle where the pole dancing occurred, and 5-6 girls came to me at different times to get me in the back. None of them tickled my fancy though. I went outside for some fresh air, and some of the guys smoking gave me some vodka redbulls because I was Canadian. We have the best nationality. I followed up by upchucking all my drinks, and a crippled veteran in a wheelchair was cheering me on, telling me to get it all out of my system, so I could go back in and enjoy myself. I gave him a buck for his troubles and bought a pack of gum at the 24-hour corner store. I went back in, feeling much better, and the next girl that came to me was simply brilliant. Cute little Russian girl, Lina was her fake name, and she said because I was so awesome, I could get a private room for 100$. Apparently, in this dream, I was rich, and payed the guy overlooking the private rooms. And the rest is history...since I woke up. I should drink every night if i’m going to get dreams like this...oh,wait, I do that already, must’ve just been a lucky night. And tomorrow will be another day.

And we’re going... to Sannnn Frannnnn-Ciscooooo!

This blog post recounts the day of May 28th, 2010.

I woke up in pain today. We slept on the floor this time, on cushions from the couch. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor, but I already had a nagging neck pain and it wasn’t getting any better. I guess the blind spots were not going to get checked today while driving. I made some eggs and slowly but surely everyone started waking up, Tyler, Bev, Eve, Sarah, Sarah’s mom...and finally Ashley. We chatted for the last few hours together out in the gorgeous backyard Eve put together. Just flowers galore and we always got visits from bees and hummingbirds. Such a serene home. We finally left around 11 AM and went to yogurtland for the second straight day. I felt like a pro there now, tapping my cup to make more room, interchanging yogurt and toppings, the works...you know how it is. My cup cost like 5$, unbelievable for the amount of calories I was about to ingest. We finally got on the road at about noon, listening to the sweet sounds of Mitch Hedberg comedy. It still amazes me to this day how we are simply able to make it from destination to destination without any trouble. So far, once we got to San Fran, we’ve driven about 11,700 kms (7000 miles). Simply amazing, only 2 oil changes and a messed up driver window.

I dropped off Tyler and Bev at the USA Hostel dead in the center of San Fran. I was finally going to see my mom for the first time in 3 weeks, she was waiting for me at the airport with my uncle Rick. I drove as fast as I could (as legally-ish) as I could to make it on time, but I was still 45 minutes late. Traffic was abundant on this memorial day weekend. I finally got to the San Fran Airport at about 8pm and picked up the folks. Uncle Rick looked like he’d lost some weight, and my mom looked as happy as ever . Oh, I forgot. Problem number 2 with the car occurred just before. I entered the airport parking and rolled down the broken window. I got the ticket and rolled it back up, but it was crooked and didn’t roll up properly, not only that, but it went down deeper in the door and broke the lock. So, not only do I have a busted window now, but I have to enter through the passenger side to get i the driver’s seat...just great. Might finally attempt to get this fixed once and for all...maybe in Seattle. I drove to the hotel I had reserved for my mom, and checked in under me to get the discount. It was a shabbier hotel then im used to, but the location was pretty good for a hotel under 65$ in DT san fran. My mom joined us on the “walk” to the hostel to get me and my uncle settled in the hostel with Bev and T. I say “walk” because we walked two blocks before I got lost, and my mom wanted to ask for directions. A cop was parked on the side of the road, saw our three Canadian tourist faces, and made us hop in to the cop car. It was a nice ride, and they didn’t hesitate to point out the corners where dope was being sold, as well as coke, and finally, the tranny areas, but apparently, they don’t come out until late. All I could do was laugh. They finally dropped us off in front of the hostel, and we checked in, and then cabbed back to my mom’s hotel(safer...) and me, T and my uncle went for a late night supper at an Indian restaurant that me and T knew well from last year, where you eat like a king with leftovers for 10$. Finally, they went to bed and I started drinking an insane rum and coke. which I am currently still drinking as I write this blog. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Album of the day: Do you believe in Gosh? By Mitch Hedberg

Song of the day: Babe, I’m on fire by Nick Cave

Driving today: 8 hours

Quote of the day: Our whole word association game in the car... i.e. fun...pleasure...sex...position...missionary....and so on.. it was awesome

Lost 3 pounds and a concert in the same day?! Hell yeah, it's possible.

This post recounts the day of May 27th, 2010.

Bonjour, les amis. Today, was fantastic. Woke up out of a nice cozy bed for we owned the house on that one day, but today the ladies were coming back from Sin City. But to serious things, Weigh-in number 2. To recap, very bland weigh-in in Geogia, lost 0.4 lbs. Nothing to brag about. But I was amped up for this one. I felt it. But just in case, I asked if T minded if we walked two miles to the meeting. Of course, he relished the idea. And so we did. I got there and it was packed, so many more people at Weight Watchers then in Montreal, for I guess obvious reasons...but I got on that scale, and killed it, down 3.8 lbs. Good feeling indeed. After the meeting, we walked back a different way and got really lost, because no streets connected to each other and we just looped and looped in residential Long Beach for hours on end. Well, really two. But still!

When we finally got back to the house, we were starving, so we made our organic veggie burgers from Trader Joe's. Even on the frying pan, they were something else. Monica came over to visit, since we didn't see much o her on barbecue night. We had another controversial talk about makeup on women, but her views were a little closer to my own then previous people (Bev!) :P Tyler, Monica and I took a trip to one of my favorite stores in the States, Whole Foods. This place has everything, and it's just such good food, that I don't really care if I can pay 0.30$ cheaper at Wal-Mart. We shopped around awhile, buying mostly new stainless steel water bottles and a few other items that don't come to mind right now. Then we drove to an awesome place called Yogurtland. Picture 15 different kinds of frozen yogurt, 16 different kinds of toppings ranging from oreo bits to fresh pineapple and strawberries, and you can mix and match anything and weigh you cup at the end and that's what you pay. Seriously, a ton of Fro-Yo (it's how kids say it these days) for like 3-4$. What a deal! On really full stomachs now, we said bye to Monica and prepared our second day in Hollywood.

We had two items on the list, care of the planning man Tyler Rae. First off, vegetarian place, LifeFood Organic. Second off, an intimate concert at the hotel cafe. Third off, maybe a quick stop at Amoeba Music again, but just quick.

So, veggie place. First of all, they had seasonal menus, and we happened to be on the last day of their winter one. Therefore, very limited selection. I had the shitake sandwich and T tried the world's best veggie chilli. I had a taste, and even I have to say, it must be pretty damn close. Even though I thought the place was a little overpriced for what they served, it was freakin delicious. It also reminded me I need to used more avocado in my cooking back at home. Then we went to Hotel Cafe. This was no ordinary concert venue. We walked in, saw maybe 5 tables and chairs to fit maybe 15 people if they were all stick people. The way it worked was it started at 7pm, and every hour, a new artist would come on, until midnight. We were there mainly for an artist T had researched before we left called Emily Jane White, who had the 9 PM slot. She already had 2 albums out, and we listened to both whilst driving through the States. Needless to say, we were quite anxious for her performance. But we walked in at 8:35PM and saw an angel on stage. Her name was Carla Warner, and she was gorgeous. Not only gorgeous, but her music and lyrics and voice were all but phenomenal. She personally gave me a very big PJ Harvey vibe...simply fantastic. We kind of regretted getting there late, but then Emily Jane came on stage and we forgot everything, as we drowned in her poetic voice and lyrics, her very talented musical partner playing steel guitar in the shadows. I just couldn't get enough. And, did I mention, this concert cost all of 10$...for 5 hours if we'd wanted to stay. But the next performer only cussed and fussed so we felt it a better use of our time to buy Emily Jane's albums at Amoeba. Tyler bought both, I, broke as I was, had to refrain. It was to be for another time.

We got back to the house to some pooped and Vegas'd out women, just chilling on the couch making conversation. We talked until pretty late, and Tyler decided to try an air mattress alternative, with two chairs together to make a bed. I myself took the couch cushions from Bev and made a bed on the ground, most likely both options were better then the air mattress. We fell asleep to the sweet sounds of the cats running up and down the halls. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Album of the day: Ipos by the Dreamers (John Zorne)

Song of the day: Victorian America, sung live by Emily Jane White

Amoeba Music...no place like it, but thank God there isn’t any in Montreal!

This post recounts the day of May 26th, 2010.

We woke up uncomfortably today, mainly because our inflated air mattress deflated in the night, and my head and left side of my body was on the ground and Tyler’s right side ditto. I got up and the mattress shifted to make Tyler look even more uncomfortable, but I didn’t wake him anyways. I chuckled a bit though, whilst fixing the crick in my neck. I went to the kitchen to make some eggs. The ladies were leaving today, and we chatted all morning before they left at around noon. Bev got acceptance from her mom, and she joined the crew of now 5 going to Vegas. Tyler and I were happy for her, but when the invitation to go to Sin City was tendered to us, we had to respectfully decline. We had been one year past and enjoyed it somewhat, mainly for the Beatles Love show starring the Cirque du Soleil, but we felt that we were done with Vegas for at least the next 40 some years. And we had the house to ourselves. We used the opportunity to relax. Tyler made some long awaited phone calls, while I explored the depths of the backyard pool. Long Beach is really nice if you like the same weather over and over for 11 months of the year. 25 degrees with a breeze. I guess most people like that. But I’d miss winter dearly.

We then took a drive to Hollywood, with the hopes of finding as much good music as we did last year at the Amoeba Music store. We parked for free at Denny’s and walked a mile to the store. On the way, we found a gay thrift store and made some purchases, about 6-7 items for like 25$...awesome. And then...ahhh...Amoeba. This is where dreams are made. Let it be known we walked in at 3pm. Let it be knownst...that we walked out at 7 pm. There was just such an insane collection of old, new, used, new, just wow. What a place, a heaven for any music fan. After making a hole in our wallets, we walked back to the car and braved evening Hollywood traffic. We planned on making a great meal that night, some tofu, side spinach salad, some garlic olives and pita chips n dip. It was indeed fantastic, and devoured in minutes. And the time came for rum and cokes, and of course, tipsy laundry. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Some family, a barbecue and a big-ass bottle of wine...Splendid evening!

This post recounts the day of May 25th,2010.

Well, well, well. The day has finally come. I get to see Eve Rae again, Tyler’s aunt, whom I missed dearly since I saw her last, almost a year today. But right now, were in Tempe, AZ. So I had to get my drive on. We started off with a healthy breakfast, and the dude watching the breakfast to make sure it stayed full talked to us for 5-10 minutes about the news and weather...most likely to squeeze a tip out of us. It failed, but that’s just because I never tip at hotel breakfasts. We attempted to read the USA today while eating some eggs and toast, but to no avail, because that newspaper is just awful, it’s really full of terribly written articles and the whole paper just doesn’t flow... Finally we left, leaving Bev with another on the go breakfast. Surprisingly, I got a fantastic sleep that night, and therefore the drive to Long Beach, which was about 6 hours, felt like nothing at all.

Once we got there, we went to Trader Joe’s beforehand, which is like a mix between Whole Foods and Health Tree, therefore, awesome and wholesome good food. We bought a few items: olives (almonds and garlic), veggie burgers for the upcoming barbecue, and soya milk and a box of cereal for Tyler, as the man does love his soy milk! We got to Eve’s new house at around 3 PM, and it looked like an article from a magazine. Gorgeous furniture, great decor and flower arrangements, simply pristine. Best feature: Surround sound that would play out the windows and into the backyard. That feature will be used for days to come. We weren’t the first ones to arrive, a small family from Cornwall, ON, friends of Eve’s, were there already. Sara was quite charming, as was Ashley, her younger sister, and the very eloquent Sandra, their mother. Bev, Tyler and myself got acquainted with the lot and told them of our road tales and troubles. Though I have been on vacation for almost 3 weeks now, this is the first time I had absolutely no worries in my mind. We were finally in Long Beach, enjoying the company of family and friends, and a nice cool breeze was in the air.

A little later in the afternoon, Monica, who we had met last year, came over and we reminisced over a rum and cokes (for me anyway, I think they had water). More people started showing up, and I especially warmed to a couple by the name of Jana and Gregor, who were from Russia and loved hockey. Coincidence? It was really a fantastic barbecue, with Tyler holding the chef job and doing a fantastic job on the burgers for everyone (veggie and meat alike), and it seemed everyone had a grand old time. I’m gonna add that the 5 Liter bottle of wine was only half-drunk, and Lydia, a very scary\nice woman, brought it home, along with my Ipod, saying that she’d load it up with audiobooks for our trip. Mistake? Perhaps. We shall only see. It was also great to see Millie once again, Monica’s mom, as she is always good for a laugh a minute. Soon, everyone started to head home, and Tyler and I were left with our inflatable mattress, and Sara and her family also staying at Eve’s house that night, we had a great chat before bed, especially about the fact that all the women were going to Vegas tomorrow, leaving me and T to fend for ourselves in the streets of Long Beach. Ka-ching! And tomorrow was to be another day.