Melancholy and the Infinite Music Current mood: nostalgic
Sitting in a hotel room in downtown San Francisco which really reminds me of what hotels must have been like in the 30's & 40's. Very interesting. Haven't really had a tv in most of the places I've been staying(more on that in a bit), so I didn't realize that Drew Carey took over ol Bob Barker's job on the Price is Right, but Access Hollywood just told me so. Wonder if Bob beat his ass like he did Happy Gilmour? Anyway feel like I've been hibernating and I guess I kind of have been. This trip started in Calgary and a day with my favorite retired wrestler turned trainer, Lance Storm. His wife Tina fed the belly very well. Hmmm, banana pancakes(I had 8). From there it was through the rockies, staying in log cabins with a fireplace for heat and no tv. Like I've mentioned took a few hikes, saw some amazing, pristine lakes, and mountains, before finally making it to Vancouver. Vancouver, home of my first b&b(bed & breakfast you perverts), and one hell of a city. It really might be my favorite. It has everything. Mountains, the ocean, great shopping and social scene, home of my favorite restaurant John Fortes where they always hook the Edgemeister up, and the Canucks(hockey for the non Canadians). Also ran into a friend I hadn't seen in 12 years just taking a stroll one night. I really could end up calling Vancouver home someday. Crossed the border and into Seattle with appropriately enough Jimi Hendrix on the Ipod shuffle, followed by some rare Pearl Jam b-sides. Two of Seattle's best. This trip has really revolved around the music I've listened to, to set the mood. I finally had a chance to visit the Experience Music Project. Home of some great Hendrix memrobilia and films. Also a great section on grunge. Being 17 in 1990 that definitely made me a fan of grunge. I remember hearing Nirvana's Nevermind for the first time driving back to Orangeville from Brampton one day, and realizing it really was going to change everything in the rock landscape. It really was that different back then. I remember sitting in a wooden parking shack at work listening to Pearl Jam's Ten(and Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream) on cassette(yeah, I'm old). Back to the recent past now and my day in Seattle where I also took the Seattle sub-culture tour which details some of the city's "sordid" past complete with a trip by Kurt Cobain's home. A little strange honestly. It was interesting though and the guide, Gael, was hilarious and she gave an invitation to take the underground city tour. Seattle has been raised two floors since it was built due to poor urban planning. So there is actually remnants of the old city below and that tour was another highlight, or at least informative. From Seattle it was on to Oregon. I've never had a chance to see much of Oregon beyond Portland, and I have to admit that once I hit the coast I fell in love. Some rugged terrain, some great waves, interesting people, and just a certain mood. Stayed in a log cabin again, this time on the beach, and once again no tv. This could surpass Vancouver. Musically it was mostly Jack Johnson (and his musical version of Banana Pancakes) and Norah Jones through Oregon. Before I left Oregon I had a mission though. It was the release date of the new Foo Fighters cd and of course I had to get it. While I was at Best Buy I also picked up the new Eddie Vedder solo venture for the soundtrack to the new Sean Penn directed "Into the Wild". Also the best of Dusty Springfield, Jeff Buckeley's only cd(what a shame), Grace, and a catchy, straight up rock'n'roll band called Whitstarr(is that pronounced the same as Nelly's "It's getting hot in herre"?). Anyway they had a reality show on Vh1 and the opening song, California, is just too damn catchy, and what I love about rock music. So now we're in California listening to vast amounts of Foos(love it by the way), Red Hot Cilli Peppers(mostly By the Way, by the way ), Whitestarr, and Jeff Buckely. Probably some Flys, Black Flag and Pennywise when we hit SoCal, and some serious Ipod shuffle in between. Anyway enough about my musical tastes. I gotta go hit Fisherman's Wharf and maybe finally check out the former hippie mecca of Haight/Ashbury. I'm a pop culture addict. Oh and for those only interested in my wrestling pursuits, I have no idea when I'm coming back. p.s-if you ever get a chance to drive the Avenue of The Giants, home of the GIGANTIC redwoods of northern California, you should try, it's worth it..
