vancouver to disneyland…

Friday October 26th, get up, finish packing, head to work. Shelley and I leave for the airport around 1, get there just in time… to find that our flight has been delayed for a couple of hours. it’s times like this that i’m so thankful for technology. we plug in the computer, pull out a DVD, and watch a few episodes of Metalocalypse (Dethklok Roolz!).

so, we fly, hit vancouver where my parent’s pick us up, and head straight to Miko Sushi for a nice dinner.

back to the parent’s house, sleep…

Saturday, it’s up and eat’em, as my dad makes his usual delicious coffee and offers us a whole mess of pastries to go with it. Mango Cheesecake for me, thanks. It’s a weekend of rich foods and belly aches, but that’s ok – it’s a vacation.

then Shelley and i grab my mom and her car and head down to 4th for some shopping – Zulu Records for me, of course, where i run into my old friend and ex-bandmate Nick. we chat, reminisce, talk about them good ol’ days – we stop in at Gravity Pope and look at the shoes, and hit a couple more stores before heading to Gastown for some food and Bloody Caesars at the Irish Heather. A little more gastown shopping, picking up a very cool little hoodie for Kiku. Not just ’cause it’s so cute on her, but because she’s always cold. Then it’s off to Main Street, some store stopping, like at the crazy Burku’s Angels, and then a little coffee across the street. I wanted to hit Cafe Calabria, but that’ll haveta wait until next time.

Back to the house for a bit, my Aunt Suzanne comes over, visiting for a couple of days from Cortez Island, and then the 5 of us head over to the Mountain View Cemetery on Fraser to take pictures and wander around the small gathering that our friend Marina co-ordinated for the second annual “Night Of All Souls”. It was cool, but compared to the Hollywood Forever festivities, it seemed a bit… quiet and mello. Some nice pictures though, and the cemetery itself is beautiful.

 the people gather, the flames burn, the skies darken, we meet up with Elsie and Legion, it starts to rain – that October Vancouver Cemetery Rain that covers so many of my memories, and we all leave and meet up again at Chongqing for a warm Szechuan meal with family and friends.

Sunday, it’s birthday day for my dad – so Shelley and I head out for some gift shopping and to pick up the cake, but we start out with a couple of Caesars (bloody mary’s are good – but when in canada… it’s definitely caesar time) at Hell’s Kitchen on 4th, and that’s definitely a place we’ll be going back to for the Sunday brunch… again… next time. stopped at a couple of stores, got my dad a few silly little psycotherapy related presents, like the Freud finger puppet set, a human torso you can put together yourself, and other items…

Then we meet up with my parents for lunch at Kaplan’s. Good little deli with some nice Loxalicious bagels. My dad opens his presents from us, and then we are off again – Shelley and I head back over to Main St., wander a little, find the Thrift Store crowded with pre-halloween shoppers up on Victoria, get a couple of things, and then pick up the Dobos Cake at the Budapest bakery/restaurant – and head back to the house with a little coffee stop on the way.

It’s just the 4 of us then, going out for a Japanese Birthday meal at Zest, and then very full and a little tired, back home in time for a few guests who arrive around 9 pm. Elsie, Legion, Sharon, Pat, Marshall, and lots of Champagne. tired, full, tipsy, bellyachey, bedtime.

Monday morning, up, coffee, and airport to home.

we get in monday afternoon, and Shelley and I are supposed to head off to see the Queens Of The Stone Age Performance, but it seems we really can’t imagine doing anything other than getting into bed and lying there…. which we pretty much do, until tuesday morning, and i’m back at work.

wednesday – it’s Halloween. and we both have taken the day off. the sacred holiday of the household.

and we get up, get ready – and head off to disneyland. it’s like a nightmare before christmas, and it’s perfectly uncrowded, with kids in costumes running around. We hit all the rides we need to hit, take pictures, and just wander around happy in the Halloween covered Disneyland.  we leave around 5 pm – and head home to feed the dogs, and then out for a nice and romantic October 31st dinner at Sparks Woodfire Grill.

then, although lacking in costumes – we went through a couple of ideas, but we just didn’t manage to get it together – Next Year! – we head over to Tina and Nathan’s to hang out at their party, have a couple of drinks, a couple of conversations, and then home, happy and halloweened.

now it’s friday –

tonight my band plays at the Echo,

and i’m so ready to sleep this weekend.

Hollywood Mom

Thursday evening my mom arrives from Vancouver for a short weekender visit. Shelley picks her up at LAX and brings her back to the office – “Look Ma, I’m in a Cubicle!” – Shelley and I finish up some stuff, and around 6 pm it’s off to the house, where we have a nice little room set up for our guest. The dogs are a little hesitant at first, except for Kiku, who’s all “Me! Me! Pick me up! Now! Me!”, but after a bit – all three are pawing and cuddling up to my mom. We do a quick change and it’s off to Daichan for dinner. Yeah. Love that place. We’re all a bit tired, so it’s just home to bed, and then Friday morning, we’re up, and out. First stop is Breakfast at Hugo’s. Nicely uncrowded during the weekdays… One thing we are good at is treating our guests to good food. Then we show my mom more of the Marcel & Shelley day to day routine – she saw where we work, where we live, the feeding of the dogs, the making of the morning coffee… and now it’s a trip to the vet because little miss Diesel had a dentist appointment. All is good, and we got a little dog, slightly buzzed, with nice white teeth. Soon…. it’ll be my turn, not for the vet… for the dentist.  

After the vet trip, it’s off to the Art…. Almost…  We do a nice little detour over Mullholland Drive, stopping at a couple of scenic points… views of the Valley, glimpses of places once inhabited by Marlon Brando, etc. (*note to my mom: David Hockney painted Mullholland: The Road To The Studio in 1980). We stop at Big Sugar for some bakery treats… how can you not love cupcake donuts? It’s like having a donut and a cupcake at the same time! And the brownies are great too…   We make it to the Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery in Culver City to see the Shag exhibition (Conspicuous Consumption) – which was very cool. It’s been going on since September 15^th, so it was empty on this Friday, but we wandered and admired the cocktail tiki hipness that surrounded us. Then off to the Bergamot Station, to pick up some Art for Shelley – a new painting, paid off in installments – at the Copra Nason gallery – where Shelley and I gazed longingly at Isabel Samaras’ exhibit of Monster Ballads. My mom looked around, but our lobrow juxtapoz pop culture monster lovin’ art fix wasn’t really her cuppa tea… but then around the corner at the Rose Gallery they were displaying Photos by Manuel Alvarez Bravo – which she really enjoyed, so, we all got some good art in that day.  We had sorta planned on going to Nobu in Malibu – but timing and traffic said “No Way”, so instead we went over to Matsuda for a great dinner… and it was my mom’s second time there, so she enjoyed the feeling of familiarity floating over the fine food. Ahhh, Beef Aburi.  Then home, cupcakes, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 ( my mom had never seen it, and it was on – so – it was pretty fun. She did not like Davey Jones much though….) , and off to bed.  Ok… um… Saturday. Already. Coffe and Brownies for breakfast, oh boy! Shelley had to run off to do a couple of side jobs, working hard for the money, so hard for it honey , and you know I’d better stop singing that song now. Anyhows, Shelley dropped us off at the Getty, so we could wander and look at some real life fine-art… we really had no idea what to expect, having not researched the exhibits, but we figured it would be nice to just wander around up there regardless. So wander we did. Some nice art around, and good lunch at the Getty Café. There was some renaissance art, a couple of nice Rembrandts to gaze at, photography by Edward Weston and Luc Delahaye (we both gravitated more towards the Weston side), and the gardens and sculptures popping up around the building. A few hours there, then Shelley picks us up and it’s off to Melrose – Where Shelley has some more work to take care of.So there’s me and my mom, wandering Melrose, window shopping, coffee at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, I put a little more $ down on my pair of Fluevogs in Waiting, we do a little shopping at English Laundry, and then meet up with Shelley at Necromance. Some more in car sightseeing…. Melrose, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive… and then home to just relax a bit, sit in the yard, play with the dogs, and Kiku just loves my mom. She whines outside her door at night, and runs into her room as soon as she gets up in the morning, and runs straight to her as soon as we get home. “Yay! New Person! Pick Me Up! Play With Me! Me! Me!”

 Then it’s off to meet Karen and RJ at Cham Sut Gol for some great Korean BBQ. It’s a damn good thing we all like eating meat, ‘cause there ain’t much else available there. There was a couple across from us throwing some nice looking Octopus parts on their grill, but we avoided that treat, and after watching Pirates, my mom was a little uneasy about the nearness of the tentacles, but other than that – Great meal! Karen & RJ left a little early, feeling under the weather, but it was cool having them meet my mom.  So, Saturday night, bellies full, driving around Los Angeles… what to do, what to do….

 Well, when in doubt, do Dessert!  So, close to 10 pm, and we hit the dark lit and crowded Sweet Lady Jane. The sugar buzz focuses inside, but tendrils of sugary sweetness drift out into the night pulling people in. Late night shoppers, quiet sidewalk walkers, upscale party goers, and hipster chocolate poppers. We get three slices of cake goodness, and head back to home, a night drive through the Flats of Beverly Hills and over Laurel Canyon. Home, and we introduce my mom to Curb Your Enthusiasm, and sit, laugh, watch tv, open a nice bottle of champagne, and eat cake.  Next day, and we get up and head to the Tam O’Shanter (the restaurant, not the poem by Robert Burns…) for a delightful Champagne Brunch where evidently my mom has the Best Eggs Benedict Ever (well, Florentine, actually – ). A favourite restaurant of Walt Disney, and one that’s been around for 80 years, it was a very nice Sunday time. We have a little time to just relax, and then it’s off to the airport, hugs, farewells, and off my mom goes. Canada bound….  

-M