I Am Now Vina Robles

Today I was hired by Vina Robles to work their performance events at their nearly-completed amphitheater outside Paso Robles, CA. This hiring came about unexpectedly as I did not realize they were hiring on the spot. Not only that, given how I have lived like a gypsy most of my life this was my first ever job interview as such. I had high hopes while realizing most people don't pick up a gig like this on their first try at a "normal" job. Prior to this job I had done floor sales and booth construction and destruction at shows for Rocks & Relics, before that the same for my own business K& K Earthwerks, and all the while doing general labor projects for various clients the past several years. Before that while I was wandering in the wilderness so to speak I became an expert at inheritance liquidation. Needless to say I am both humbled and grateful and excited about this turn of events in my life whose effects and ramifications will be broad and far-reaching. My new employers will not regret their faith in me. God is good!

Update: I worked one concert here in the spring and that was it for reasons that are not entirely clear but seem to follow a pattern experienced by some other people I know who worked there initially as I did. But it is no matter now, it was fun while it lasted!

Computer graphic of what Vina Robles will look like when completed. These buildings are already in place but some like the amphitheater are still under construction albeit mostly complete. Image courtesy of Vina Robles.

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XXXIII

I regret I have not checked in with a status update lately nor did I post here for an entire week during the past nine days. I have been incredibly busy with what work I could find as well as with getting my class schedule for the Fall semester at Cuesta College established and getting settled in my new classes. I've also been spending a lot of the time I typically spend here instead working on my Ebay store.

Back To School

This week I started the third semester of my return to school following a 21-year hiatus from higher education. I am currently enrolled in 10 units at the North County Campus of Cuesta College. I had hoped to do 13-16 units but found out I could not take the math and English I wanted due to the need to take an assessment test in both subjects. I did not take those tests out of the mistaken belief that my taking math and English classes during my previous educational campaign at Cuesta College two decades ago qualified me for the next level now. This turned out to be false despite the fact those classes two decades ago count on my G.P.A. and are bringing my cumulative G.P.A. down despite my 4.0 G.P.A. the previous two semester this campaign. I feel this is wrong and unfair but I am powerless to do anything about it and must accept it.

I am enrolled in a 4-unit Spanish class with Ms. Solis on Mondays and Wednesdays, a 3-unit History of the United States class with the wonderful Mr. Judd on Mondays and Wednesdays, and a 3-unit Economics class with Ms. Stapp on Tuesday evenings.

K&K Earthwerks Store is Back!

I finally have gotten through my entire store inventory on Ebay and removed what will not work for me on Ebay and reduced the price on nearly every other item given these items have been on Ebay for a number of years now having not sold at the prices then accorded them. I have now also added nearly 40 new items with many hundreds yet to go in just the first wave of restocking my store. I invite all my readers to check out my new prices on my old inventory as well as my new inventory.

  We Always Hurt the Ones We love: Update

My dear friend with whom I had to reset our relationship late last June with a rather painfully frank discussion (first mentioned here in Random Musings XXXII) continues to not communicate with me which makes me sad. However, the more time passes the more certain I am that I did the right thing for the most part with the notable exception of my initial ill-advised popping off. In the meantime she seems to be moving forward in her process and has taken a series of correct steps which has greatly encouraged me and makes me proud of her. Hopefully in the coming weeks or months we will be reconciled God willing.

Speaking of Resetting Relationships

For years and months and weeks and days tension had been building in my relationship with my mother whom I adore and love. I finally stopped putting off what needed to be done and cleared the air with her as I had done with my dear friend. This exercise had a more immediately gratifying result although the long-term fruit of it remains to be determined. We cleared the air and our relationship has moved past that and is now growing healthily.

I had a similar air-clearing with my grandmother about a decade ago which poisoned the air between us for several years following but now things are better than they have ever been. I also cleared the air with my ex-girlfriend after we broke up when the gloves came off for both of us and we opened up on each other with both barrels. That outcome has not been as gratifying as she is not at all amenable to even constructive criticism and being the passive-aggressive type she has indirectly made it clear she wants no contact all the while ignoring my olive branches via email. We have not talked over the phone in over a year and have not exchanged emails in over half a year. This has occurred despite our mutual promise when we were together to maintain our friendship if we ever broke up.

I also had it out with my now ex-landlady around the time of the break-up with my ex-girlfriend. Mom recently had an incidental encounter with the ex-landlady which was amicable enough but it was clear she did not take well my brutally honest assessment of reality back at the time.

Having cleared the deck in regards to the women in my life I now need to start dealing with some of the men in my life with whom there are problems in our relationship and/or in their lives that are driving me nuts and to which I'm unwilling to endure indefinitely.

Fini

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XXXII

It's been a few days since a last posted here and a bit longer since I last posted a Random Musings column. I'm feeling a bit sleepy as midnight approaches but I feel compelled to get you all caught up as if anybody out there cared enough to read this but I amuse myself thus. I feel bad I have posted here so infrequently this month but I have been very busy being gainfully employed as well as enjoying some "staycations" house-sitting for friends. Next month I intend to get into a daily routine of blogging here starting tonight.

How 'Bout Dis Odd Weather?

Despite this being a "No-Nino" situation (ENSO Neutral Conditions) unlike last Summer when we found ourselves in a rapidly devolving El Nino into La Nina condition which led to unusually mild Summertime conditions we find ourselves currently experiencing a rather similar Summer weather pattern with consistently mild temperatures and lighter than usual fire activity across the state. Things are about to warm up for inland California but merely to more seasonable conditions from the ongoing below-average temperatures. California's 2011 Fire Season has thus far been mild not surprisingly but there is plenty of time left for that to heat up. The California Mid-State Fair ended tonight. The local joke around here is that it is always hot during the fair but for the second straight year the fair weather was fair weather.

K&K Earthwerks Store

I have started to revamp my Ebay store after being unable to get motivated to work on it since parting ways with my former business partner and now ex-girlfriend. As with this blog my Ebay store was a collaborative effort with her. In the aftermath of the breakup I found it difficult to be involved with either endeavor as they were in my heart and mind so inextricably linked to our relationship from which I was still recovering. Even after I was over it I did not yet feel the sense of sole ownership I do now. Last week I ended some items I no longer have or that I no longer wish to waste my time on Ebay selling now that I have some sales space in an art gallery in Atascadero that will open in August 2011. I will soon be adding many new minerals to my Ebay store as well as some old geology books and aerial photo survey series and even some rare computer items.

Cuesta College Fall Semester 2011

I have to make a confession. I have not yet signed up for classes at Cuesta College with classes starting in about two weeks. In other words, I need to get cracking. I talked to my history teacher Dennis Judd last week and he told me there are still plenty of availabilities in his classes which came as a welcome relief to me given that my top priority is getting into his U.S History class this coming semester along with a math and English course as well as a Spanish class. This all comes with a caveat: this plan is subject to change!

I'm a Gross Polluter! 

I have applied to have the state buy back my old truck (1994 Chevy S-10 pickup with over 400,000 miles) which is now officially a gross polluter. I stand to gain $1,500 if they approve my petition. I am currently awaiting word from above. If the money comes in it will immediately disappear into the hands of various entities awaiting a piece of my pie, ergo, The Gas Company, Verizon Wireless, A.T.&T., Mini-U-Storage, Cuesta College, Farmers Insurance, DMV, etc.

44th Annual OMS Gem Show a.k.a. Nipomo Rock Show

This coming Thursday I will be helping my friend Dave Richter of Rocks & Relics to set up his both for the Orcutt Mineral Society's 44th annual gem and mineral show known locally as "the Nipomo rock show". I will then help him dismantle his booth and load up his stock late on Sunday. I invite you all to visit the show to be held this coming Friday through Sunday at the St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Nipomo on South Thompson Avenue. 

Fini

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XXVIII

*Note: I've repaired the blog subscription feature here and invite you, the reader, to subscribe to this blog if you have not already and care to do so.

Eclectic Arcania is Cleaning House!

In addition to the aforementioned detail I have also culled the herd of my blog postings here eliminating over three dozen posts that for various reasons I wished to delete. I also deleted all past pending posts that I had neglected to finish and publish here all of which were from the period 2008-2009 and were exclusively related to rock shows I did during that period. By now I have forgotten many/most of the pertinent details relating to the experiences of those shows and in some cases never downloaded the accompanying photos which are now no longer available. I have kept all previously published rock show postings however as I feel they hold some value and benefit to me and perhaps others as well.

I have also culled the herd of Kimmer's Favorite Blogs while also adding a number of blogs to that list. The remaining blog links have all been checked that they are still active and that the blogs are still active in most cases.

An upcoming change here is going to be the visual look and layout of this space which will better reflect who I am and what this blog is all about. My ex-girlfriend did a fine job setting it up in early 2008 when it reflected our creative collaboration. However, that collaboration ended a year and a half later in 2009. Yet this blog failed to reflect that change as I lacked the emotional wherewithal to bestir myself to carry on without her given how much I associated this place with her and needing to move on in regards to her I also needed to take a break from my creative activities here. Fortunately, that period is now over as of last month and Eclectic Arcania is back.

K&K Earthwerks Store Redux

As with my blog so now with my Ebay store I have been unable to bestir myself to do anything with it because I strongly associated it with my ex-girlfriend and needed to walk away from it for awhile for the same reasons as my blog. And as with my blog so now with my Ebay store I am ready to start over anew and am eager to transform K&K Earthwerks Store into my store instead of "our" store as it was when my ex-girlfriend and I were still together and the store was our collaboration. She did a great job and I am forever grateful to her for her getting me set up and established on Ebay given my chronic technophobia.

I will soon be culling the store inventory of things that have not sold and will not ever sell and will instead dump them in my friend Ryan Adam's soon-to-be-opening art gallery in Atascadero. I will only leave in my store inventory the sorts of items that fit my niche of rare and unusual if not at times ugly minerals from hard-to-find places that in some cases are now closed and no longer producing that connoisseurs of such seek out.

I will be adding a line of Benitoite and Neptunite from New Idria as well as a line of Cinnabar nodules from the New Almaden Mine as well as a line of Elmwood minerals as well as a large line of Dale Harwood rare and uglies that are typically Ebay gold. I also plan to cull my personal collection of anything that I do not love and that has provenance. The stuff I do not love and that does not have provenance I will dump in Ryan's gallery and price it to move. Since I'm upgrading the quality of my store the prices will reflect the elevated niche I will be occupying but my prices will be reasonable for what I'm offering.

Spring 2011 Semester is Over!

Week before last I finished my 2010-2011 academic year at Cuesta Community College. Although our grades have not been officially entered into the records I already know I got straight "A's" in my three classes (8 units total). I achieved the same outcome in the two classes I took the previous semester which means I completed a total of 14 units this past academic year and earned a 4.0 GPA. I feel the Lord is directing me to increase my course load to about 14 units next semester and stop working for Dave Richter except for the local shows. This means I will need to find some part-time work locally which will require a "God Thing" to happen... again.

God Gave Me a Car...

Within a short time after posting on my Facebook "Wall" that I needed to purchase a used car within a certain price range I received a call from an old friend. She received a 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue for free from her church, Harvest Bible Church, here in Paso Robles. She is the volunteer church secretary and during a time of severe need a year or two ago a car that had been donated to the church was given to her as a gift. She is now back on her feet financially and purchasing the soon-departing pastor's current car and asked him what she should do with her old car. The pastor told her to give it to somebody else ala "Pay It Forward". She was contemplating whom to give it to when she saw my Facebook Wall posting and knew that moment she was to offer it to me. So in our phone conversation she laid out the details for me and by the end of the conversation I knew I was to accept this beautiful gift. The plan now is for me to take receipt of it this weekend. I will need to smog it and get the brakes fixed and some minor electrical things dealt with and then I will be outfitted with a car that actually works. This will be the first car I have owned since early September 1990 when I traded in my 1988 Chevy Beretta for a 1990 Chevy S-10 4WD Blazer which I in turn traded in for a 1994 Chevy S-10 4WD pickup in June 1994 which pickup is now broken and can't pass smog and is not worth fixing assuming I could even afford to fix it which I cannot.

...After I Got Pulled Over

The #1 cylinder in my V-6 4.3 litter engine has inadequate compression and the unburnt fuel going into that chamber is going out my tailpipe. As that fuel passes through the catalytic converter it is destroying it. I can feel the diminishing power over time whenever I try to accelerate. I can't afford to fix it and have not since last year before my registration expired at the end of June. I have been driving the truck around with an expired registration since that time and have avoided detection through a combination of luck, pluck, providence, and skill... until about a week ago.

I was traveling southbound on Vine Street here in Paso Robles a few blocks north of 24th Street when a northbound San Luis Obispo County Sheriff patrol car that passed me suddenly swung around. I immediately pulled onto the nearest side street but he saw the maneuver and followed me and pulled me over.

I had dreaded this moment for a year and finally it was happening. I just fell into God's hand in this and trusted Him to make things work out because there was nothing I could do but simply plead my case and cause. This was about to be my third interaction with SLOSO deputies inside a year as I dealt with Deputy Kemp the day I found my friend Dave Brooks dead last August and then I have attended a few bible studies at the home of Deputy Calagna. Both men are class acts and I hoped to experience more of the same.

Two deputies got out and came up on opposite sides of my vehicle and the lead one on my side explained that my tags were expired. I immediately explained my mechanical and financial situation and that I was working on a solution. I also pointed out that I had a valid driver's license, up-to-date insurance, and that I had paid the registration fee for my pickup so that I was paying to use the roads just like everybody else but that because of merely this smog issue my tags were expired. I also revealed that Cuesta College police had already ticketed me about this very thing. The deputy was very reasonable and understanding and professional but firmly yet politely admonished me to get this situation resolved because technically I should not be driving around in my pickup under the circumstances. Approximately a week later God gave me a car!

My Pond Is In Place

I have now successfully installed a pond in my backyard and cleared the area around it in preparation for a herb and flower garden which my next door neighbor Lori will help me design and plant next month. In the meantime I'll work to get the pond ecosystem thoroughly balanced and established. At present I have algae mats and some sort of water vine in it plus small fish and tadpoles and polliwogs and water skeeters and some other assorted stuff in it. I'm trying to find snails for it but have thus far been unsuccessful. The Salinas River has been the source of these flora and fauna. I used a plastic pond insert that used to be in mom's backyard when she had a pond during the previous decade.

Kiler Canyon CSA

I have joined a Community Supported Agriculture operation several miles away whose drop house for their vegetables and herbs is next door where my neighbors Lori and Dori live and whom both work there. Kiler Canyon CSA is a wonderful agricultural endeavor that provides me with an amazing array of the bounty of the garden for a mere $21 a week for a half bushel basket which is the smallest consignment of food and still more than I can get through in a week. I plan to devote an entire blog posting to Kiler Canyon CSA at some point in the near future.

Fini

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XXIII

Long Time No See

I beg your pardon for yet another long delay in posting here (nearly three months) but I've had more important fish to fry. It is also true to say that blogging is a habit either in doing or not doing. Once the habit is set either way it is hard to break out of it. However, I'm going to reverse that trend in the coming days and weeks. Once back in the blogging groove expect regular postings here. Facebook has absorbed all my free time of late as well as managing my Yahoo Groups and reading the news online. Of those three Facebook is the least important and thus the one that when I cut back my time spent on it will provide me with the excess time for blogging I so desperately need.

Fish I've Been Frying

It appears I have a new job and a great one it is: part-time but lucrative enough to keep me going for now and help me dig out of my financial hole instead of digging deeper into it. David Richter of Rocks & Relics has taken me on as an assistant in his shows and so far the results have been amazing for both of us. Given the part-time nature of this I have time to do other part-time work for family and friends as well as tend to my K&K Earthwerks eBay Store. Ebay activity has been decent considering how little time and effort I have put into it but that is about to change. I haven't done much work for Steve Shears of late but that is about to change as the rainy season is about to significantly slow down for the year.

The aftershocks of my move last November and helping somebody else move a bunch of their stuff in storage in Adelaida up to Washington State are now almost finished. Both endeavors left me with a lot of excess stuff which I've been selling on Craigslist or giving away on Freecycle which has occupied not a little of my time and energy.

I've also been busy with the three local rockhounding clubs thus far this year (Santa Lucia Rockhounds, SLO Gem & Mineral Club, and the Orcutt Mineral Society). of which I'm a member of each and a vice president in the former two.

Central Coast Rockhounding

My Central Coast Rockhounds Yahoo Group is thriving of late with lots of great content provided by a core group of contributors including your's truly. This activity seems to be a reflection of the renewed interest in the rockhounding hobby in Central California this year. I have not made it out to rockhound this year which amazes and distresses me given this has been an El Nino rainy season with lots of runoff and wave action to promote erosion, a rockhound's greatest friend. I hope next week to get out and get after it so we'll see. There are many options: Ant Hill in Bakersfield, Templeton biconoids, Highway 46 West Summit biconoids, San Simeon State Beach, Villa Creek, Shell Creek fossils, Toro Creek/Hole-in-the Fence Beach, Montano de Oro State Beach, Cuesta Ridge, Salinas River, Adelaida-area mercury mines, Gaviota Coast, etcetera.

Pimpin' My Wheels
My pickup has had beaucoup problems for a long while; most distressingly my two cracked exhaust manifolds. A good buddy of mine is helping me get them fixed in my own carport for a nominal fee and teaching me the hidden wisdom of auto repair in the process which has been cool. We found that one or two of my six spark plugs were not even working and that some of my spark plug wires were a bit burned. Add to that the fact that both manifolds were cracked all the way through and had secondary cracks as well. This all explains the potent odor of gasoline coming from my exhaust fumes as well as my piss-poor gas mileage (sorta like an M1-A1 Abrams tank ~ gallons to the mile!). Thinking of what this might have done to my catalytic converter makes my butt pucker. We hope to be done by the end of this weekend. I've been stranded here at the house for three days thus far.

Feeding My Soul

When not doing shows with Dave Richter I am attending church on weekends. Although my search for a church home has probably not ended I am settled on a church home for Saturday nights, to wit, Harvest Bible Church here in Paso Robles (actually just a few blocks away so I walk there). They have an excellent young pastor in Chris Swanson whom I first met before every going there when I sold my Paykel & Fischer washer & dryer and he picked up it.

As for Sunday mornings while not settled yet as far as I know I feel a lot of promise at North County Christian Fellowship also here in Paso Robles and pastored by Steve Calagna. I've only attended one Sunday service and one Wednesday night service there but both were excellent and I will go there again tomorrow morning. Pastor Steve is good at preaching the word even if he appears to not utilize the expository method which I prefer. Although a charismatic church and I am definitely not charismatic I am out of the business of finding reasons why I don't like churches and should not attend them and am simply allowing God to direct my steps in this matter.

Whichever church I find will be imperfect just like me and that's okay. We're in an evil time and the apostasy is running full-tilt and I accept that the pickings are slim when it comes to decent churches so whatever I find will be better than not attending church at all as I did for nearly two decades to my own detriment.I like what Pastor Swanson told me when I first met him and discussed with him some of this: "If you find the perfect church be certain to stay away." I got the point and laughed heartily.

Daily Kim

I will soon be starting a society and politics blog I've named Daily Kim and I guarantee it will be better than Daily Kos. I promise to warn everybody here of when it premieres so you either check it out or avoid it like the plague.

On A Final Note About Facebook

Check the upper left-hand corner of my blog and you'll see my proud new Facebook badge!

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XXII

Eclectic Arcania is Back!

It was three months ago this date that we last posted on Eclectic Arcania. Much has happened since that time, most notably everything has changed with us. Now it's just me. This means things here will no longer be the same. However, I will strive to have her visit us with an occasional guest blog posting. In any case I hope our readers will return and hang out with us heading into the future. I will endeavor to make this blog better than ever and hope you all are satisfied.

Fini "Us"

My girlfriend and I are no longer a couple. Our breakup was as loving and right as any breakup in history.
We were great together for 2-1/2 years and grew so much during that time and had many wonderful times together.However, over time we realized we were not to spend the rest of our lives together and mutually agreed to part ways as dear friends.We could not have gotten through our breakup without the love and support of the other person. We continue to be the best of friends but are both still hurting a lot since we made it official August 26, 2009.

K&K Earthwerks Kaput (Sort Of)

I have been forced to pull out of all my shows and and restrict my business K&K Earthwerks to just an EBay presence. Show after show this year was either too quiet or was busy with visitors who were just looky-loo's and spent little or no money. This was the collective experience of most dealers I know. However, most dealers do it on the side and not full-time like me so this wiped me out.This Saturday I will be selling at Cliff Brewen's rockhound tailgater event open to the public.That event will be held from 8 AM to 2 PM at 6384 Monterey Road in San Miguel.I will be selling not only from my business inventory but from my personal collection as well.

I'm A Paso Roblan Now!

I am now living in Paso Robles having made the move from Atascadero this month. I still have about half my stuff at the old place but on the way home from work each evening I fill my pickup with another load of stuff so I am making good progress. I was stuck in a rut living in Atascadero and needed to leave as part of my starting over in life. I must say that as the years have passed I have grown more and more contemptuous of Atascadero and even before I realized I was moving to Paso I felt that was a cooler town and one that had its shit together unlike Atascabama/Atrashcadero/Mudhole as many folks variously call it.

Shows Out, Church In

Doing rock shows for a living makes going to church secondary as shows are basically weekend affairs just like church. I realize now doing shows is for me incompatible with my relationship with God at this point in my life and it is no coincidence that the show aspect of my business failed.Since closing down the show part of my business I have been church tramping in my area looking for a decent church that is the right fit for me.
Right now the top candidates for my church home are Paso Robles Bible Church and Faith Baptist Church in Atascadero.

All Work Is Honorable

Right now while I regain my financial footing and formulate a Plan B I am doing various oddjobs for friends and acquaintances. To date of have planted fruit trees, split wood, cleaned a house and painted both it and a duplex on the same property, helped somebody move their stuff, mowed lawns, helped build a concrete slab and put a shed on it, house sat and babysat dogs at said house, did a show in NorCal for a dealer who couldn't make it himself, helped another dealer set up and break down his booth at the Big Sur Jade Festival among other tasks I have done. If anybody reading this has need of me for some task please let me know privately and we'll work something out. Of coure, on the broader picture and longer haul I am seeking a steady, well-paying job which I fully trust the Almighty will provide when the time is right.

2008 San Miguel Rockhound Tailgater

Today was Santa Lucia Rockhounds member Cliff Bowen's tailgater in San Miguel which seems to just get bigger and better every year.
This year was my second time doing it and it was a rousing success for me personally.
I showed up earlier than last year when I learned I had missed a pretty good surge of visitors earlier in the morning after I showed up to set up. This year I showed up earlier but there was no such surge. In fact, there was no one big surge but a steady stream of visitors kept me reasonably busy the entire six hours or so I was there.


My booth, pictured above and below, was the largest set-up but hardly the only one as we had both some returning dealers as well as at least one new one in the persons of Santa Lucia Rockhounds President Gene Bilyeu and his lovely wife Barbara who is also a club officer.
This was the Bilyeu's first foray into being INSIDE the sales booth as opposed to OUTSIDE and they seemed to enjoy it and have reasonable success.



A lady I had never met before showed up part-way into the day and wanted to know if I wanted to purchase any of her jewelry. Some years ago she said she started to get into selling jewelry at shows but got out of it due to health issues.
On this day she was on her way back from selling what she could to a jeweler in San Luis Obispo.
She heard mention of this event on the radio or saw a flier and dropped by to sell what she could to dealers present at this tailgater.
I told her I wasn't interested in what she had but that she was welcome to use my small back table to sell her stuff herself to the visitors at this tailgater.
She gratefully accepted my offer and proceeded to do land office business.
On the inside I was a bit bummed at all the business she was doing while I seemed to get ignored by everybody.
That was until she started spending most of the money she was making at my booth purchasing items from me and the rest over at the Bilyeu's booth.
That was a classic example of good karma at work. ;-p

My hope (and Cliff's as well) is that this event becomes bigger and bigger and develops into an important regional rockhound tailgate event.

Kimmer

K&K Earthwerks New Ebay Offerings

We welcome everybody to check out the K&K Earthwerks Ebay Store as we have made some notable additions to our growing inventory.

Most notable of all is the rather large Sikhote-Alin meteorite we purchased from David and Becky Richter of Rocks & Relics back in 2004.

The price given is not unreasonable but we will seriously consider any serious offers for less.



We have also listed a large selection of Cave-In-Rock Illinois fluorites in all shapes sizes, and colors, as well as Arizona Petrified Wood and other miscellaneous specimens including some pieces from Dale Harwood.

Kimmer

2008 Big Sur Jade Festival Pt. 4

To say last night utterly sucked would be too positive and the morning wasn't much better.

For starters, sleep was fitful and oft-interrupted.

My dehydrating myself last evening failed to keep me from needing to pee overnight.

I had hoped to be able to bundle up overnight in the back of my pickup with my little dog Tequila in my sleeping bag and not need to get up and get out of my truck into the cold night and slink in the dark across the school grounds to the dark porta-potties to pee where I can't see nasty stains or crusts.

Reality was much worse than even my fears were trying to avoid as not only did I need to pee a few times overnight but also found myself experiencing a lose bowel and had to deal with all of this in the pitch black of a dark porta-potty.

Remember, these porta-potties were used by hundreds of people the previous day, some of whom were hippy low-lifes with the hygenic standards of Third Worlders.

To make this even more pleasant many of the porta-potties were out of toilet paper or hadn't enough in them to finish a "job".

Therefore, suffering with cramps in the cold, dark night I had to first check porta-potties via feel for a good-sized roll of toilet paper until I found one that had one I could use and then do my business there in a cold, pitch dark, porta-potty with residual god-knows what on the lid not to mention I can't see what I'm doing in cleaning up afterwards.

As if this weren't bad enough I was physically uncomfortable with my bedding arrangement which was way too hard on my back as I had used a foam pad instead of an inflatable one.

Furthermore, I suffer from a chronic post-nasal drip at night that can fill my lungs with fluid if I sleep on my back so I have to rest on my side with my head moderately elevated and doing that last night with the padding problem only worked to compound my discomfort.

Then, I started to notice the gathering light of dawn as I was finally getting too exhausted to stay awake and people around me began to stir so I eventually just gave up and got up and got my day under way. 

By now I was on a roll as my problems deepened.

Remember yesterday's realization that my truck seemed to be heading towards a problem as its ability to start seemed to be deteriorating ?

Well guess what? When I tried to move it out of the festival grounds and back out to the parking area on the north side of the school it wouldn't start. 

First I tried to get my pickup jumped but that didn't work and then I had somebody bang on the solenoid while I tried to start it but both were to no avail so I got some help pushing it out to the parking lot.

Even that didn't go so smooth as the only parking I could get into coasting was way out in Timbuktu and remember: at the end of the day I'd have to carry all my stuff from the festival grounds out to my pickup. 

On the final push I received to get my pickup out of the way one of the dealers named Justin cut his hand on my broken window handle which further made me look like an inept and incompetent fool.

To say I was down by this point would have been an understatement. 

After I got past all that I got our booth opened up and ready for business.

A bit later Mike showed up and told him what happened and when an opportunity presented itself I walked across the street to Sand Dollar Beach and used the pay phone there to make a toll free call to AAA to set up an appointment for a tow truck to meet me after the show after I had loaded up my truck.

The day started slow as Sunday's always do but the 17th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival did receive a decent amount of foot traffic later in the morning into the afternoon.

To my surprise I had my best day of the festival on Sunday as it seemed folks who had been drifting around all weekend circling like hawks waiting for deals swooped in during the last few hours and tried (and often succeeded) to negotiate deals. 

Given I already generously price things I find this process annoying and even a bit insulting but I was so desperate I went with it and cleaned up a little bit which was satisfying although tempered with disappointment that Saturday couldn't have been as good or even better. 

That being said I was nonetheless grateful and that helped me get my mojo back by the end of the day.  

Some more photos from yesterday's belly dancer act.

A scene from the best musical act last night.

Towards the end of the day one of our visitors whom was a diver by trade but also could rock climb and thus is being employed by Cal-Trans to climb cliffs in the area that overlook Highway 1 and pull rocks out of the mountainside and send them crashing to the road below before somebody can get hurt by them was loitering around our booth for an extended period of time visiting.

A lady visiting our booth overheard something he said and asked us if we knew about the emergency personnel she had seen up the coast on Saturday who seemed to be involved in a cliff rescue down the mountain from the road. 

He felt it was a training drill as he claimed he had not heard of anybody going over the side and seemed satisfied that he was in the loop enough to not have missed a story like that. 

As it turns out three Stanford University students on their way down the coast this weekend to visit friends drove over the side of a cliff after dark and ended up 600 feet down and quite dead. We had noticed a CHP chopper circling around above us Saturday which made sense in light of this, but I didn't even read about this incident until I got home and found it here.  

Again today we received some repeat customers of whom some are like friends now which was nice. Even they weren't spending money like in the past which told me the economy, not my material was to blame as some of these folks are the sorts who'd buy something just to buy something just to be nice even if they weren't interested in anything which was definitely not the case.

By the end of the day I was just happy it was over and ready to go home and desirous to get the damned tow truck ride on that damned high road with me on the passenger side over with ASAP.

I tried to guess how long it would take to break things down and load up my truck and arrange for the tow to be there accordingly and got it reasonably close as the driver only had to wait about 20 minutes for me and he was very cool about the whole thing. 

I nearly got a coronary carrying often heavy stuff to my truck a good ways but I did receive help in the form of a load being driven out to my pickup by some neighboring dealers on their way out to leave as well as repeated loads by the young son of another neighboring dealer all of which helped tremendously. 

Anywho, when I was done the tow truck operator saddled up my truck onto the flat bed and away we went.

He and I hit it off right away and had a delightful conversation the entire way home and this largely distracted me on the drive along the side of the mountain just north and south of Salmon Creek although I was aware of what was going on and even shared with him my discomfort. 

Hearing of that wreck on Friday night that killed those three Stanford students near Hurricane Point didn't help calm my mind, but I managed to be okay in spite of that.

I got in safe and sound and had my pickup dropped off on my driveway and bid the tow truck operator farewell and went inside my house and crashed.

It was incredibly nice to be home and I was overwhelmed by a sense of euphoria tempered with exhaustion. 

The next morning I made arrangements with Colony Auto in Atascadero to look at my pickup to which they assented and then I made arrangements to have my pickup towed there.

I made that call BEFORE I had unpacked my truck but given how long it normally takes to get a tow truck to arrive I went ahead with that so I wouldn't have to wait. Stupid me!

The tow truck arrived within 15 minutes or so for the second day in a row, a tow truck operator had to wait for me to move stuff into or out of my pickup. Thankfully, I didn't make this guy wait as long as the guy last night and this guy was cool, too.

At one point while waiting for me to finish he called me over to try to turn over my engine while he banged on the solenoid which he did for longer than I did at the show yesterday morning while the tow truck operator last night didn't' bother doing as extensively as this guy went on doing it and on different parts of the solenoid.

Ultimately, he was successful which made me wonder if that would have worked last evening at the Jade Festival. Oh well, I'll make a mental note on all of this for future reference. 

It was nice to be able to drive my pickup to it's check-up.

It was determined that my starter was shot so we got that replaced and I'm back in business which is a good thing given I have the 2008 Placerville Show coming up next weekend. 

Kimmer

2008 Big Sur Jade Festival Pt. 3

I cannot put into words how much I was dreading the drive up Highway One along the creepily high stretches of road just south and north of Salmon Creek.

I have an anxiety attack issue with certain situations which include very steep places where I feel trapped like along these two sections of Highway One.

I got up and got going this morning and headed on up to the show with much dread in my heart.

I understood I was obligated to go because I had committed to do this show both in word and deed as Mike was already up there waiting for me and much of my property was sitting up there.

I was committed and I just had to suck it up like a man.

When I got to Ragged Point I realized I could not go forward so I pulled off at a small turn-out just past Ragged Point and just looked down at the crashing waves below and prayed to God for help. For what seemed like a long time I alternated between standing and pacing atop the bluffs there with nary a soul driving by me.

Finally one car followed by a small pickup passed me northbound and I realized this was my opportunity as following other cars would be easier than driving alone for reasons I can't really explain. I shot on through and made it by both spots on Highway One high on the mountainside just south and north of Salmon Creek and on through to the 17th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed and incredibly thankful to God for making that work out okay for me. I now felt empowered about driving back that way headed home tomorrow evening after the show and it was nice to not have to think about it again until then as I was not driving home at the end of this day.

One other thing that disturbed me this morning was my truck's recent trend of difficulty starting significantly escalated and really worries me.

It's so bad now that with the worsening aspect of it I fear it will soon not start which couldn't come at a worse time than this weekend.

Anywho, once at the show we got the tarps we had clamped to the sides of the Easy-Up for overnight protection down and folded and our merchandise that had to put away for the night put back in place and we were ready to roll.

My friend Erin visited our booth at one point today with her cute little new pooch that she is currently calling Leonidas but she's still not sure on that.

She was visiting with friends who all toured the show and took in the music for a few hours.

They are all camping up the coast but wanted to check out the Jade Festival.

They did not appear as prepared for camping as they needed to be as Erin had to borrow my flashlight not to mention some extra linens I brought in case I needed them.

It was good to see Erin but I wished she could have stayed for tonight's concert but alas she was hitching a ride with her friends and they wanted to go.

Other friends and acquintances came by our booth yesterday and today as well such as Bob and Sandi Hurless of the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club as well as other members of that group like club secretary Lynette Bayless who even spent a night up here in her car in order to spend two days at the festival.

We also received a visit from Gene and Barbara Bilyeu of the Santa Lucia Rockhounds.

We were also visited by Wayne Mills and Debbie Hood of the Orcutt Mineral Society as well as Central Coast rockhounding legend Ralph Bishop also of the OMS.

I got him to agree in principle to take me out to a locale on the southern margin of the Cuyama Valley that has petrified drift wood with barnacles on it.

We also got a visit from Matt Biewer and his lovely wife from the Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society.

We also received many other visitors not affiliated with any clubs including repeat customers who sought us out which was nice as they are the people who keep us in business.

There is no shortage of aging hippies here.

Inside-out view of our booth.

Our booth and the one next to it as viewed from the northeast.

Some of Mike Berklio's material.

There was good foot traffic today and folks enthusiastically enjoyed stopping at our booth but not as many of them spent money or as much money as last year or the year before which was true for the entire weekend for me as it has been most of my shows this year with a few exceptions.

We were prepared for the show more so this year than in previous years and I had good stuff and there was good foot traffic but like so many shows this year folks just aren't spending money like they were in 2006 and 2007 when the economy was better than it is this year.

The belly dancers performed again this year.

The only solace I take in this is that it is something that is not due to any failure on my part and that we are in good company as most dealers are seeing significant drops in sales this year.

Needless to say, the say ended with sales being disappointingly low on a day that was supposed to be the biggest day of the show as Saturdays usually are at most shows.

All there was for me to do now was work with Mike to close up our shop for the night by putting certain things away and clamp our tarps to the sides of the Easy-Up and then pull my pickup next to our booth and sleep in it tonight.

After Mike headed home for his first shower in two days I facing no shower tonight snagged dinner from one of the few remaining food vendors still open after the show had technically had ended for the day.

I got dessert from the local food concessioner that was basically the locals banded together selling homemade deserts and snacks which was tasty and fun.

At one point I doffed my hiking sandles in favor of shoes and socks as well as my flight jacket and my beloved rabbit fur-ushanka which show organizer Kirk Brock really seemed to think was funny and I suppose he was right.

The Saturday night ho-down/shindig started after dark with great live music, mostly with rock acts, some with blusey elements, but needless to say VERY cool and along with the pschedelic lighting and multiple generations of hippies twisting and contorting to the rhythm and beat of the music.

At one point during the party I left and walked south down the highway a short distance in the dark to a place where there is a residual wood stair structure on the southbound side of the road that used to allow folks to step over the fence that rings the highway and into the field on the other side.

From there they would cross the field down to the ocean bluffs and the jade-studded coves below.

Now the fence was gone but the 8-foot tall wood structure remained and for some strange reason it is the only place along that section of coast where I can pick up my Verizon Wireless signal.

At one point somebody else was next to the highway behind me trying to get a cell phone signal which was tantalizing close to being sufficient and I invited them to take my place on the wood structure to which they accepted and were successful.

Upon getting back to the party I was taken aback by how much pot smoke was hanging in the air in cloud over the crowd undulating to the music, some with glow-in-the-dark loops of plastic and other items that they twisted and spun about in a psychedelic-looking fashion.

The scene was very funny but also very real and genuine and I treasure the experience although I doubt I was able to pass a drug test after this night due to my exposure to second-hand pot smoke. After the concert ended I turned in for the night and quite a night it turned out to be.

I intentionally deprived myself of fluids throughout the evening in an attempt to keep myself from having to pee in the night so I went to bed dehydrated which it turned out later would be to no real benefit.

Kimmer

2008 Big Sur Jade Festival Pt. 2

I had much work to do today in completing my set-up for the 17th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival so I set the alarm early and got an early start to the day.

I didn't sleep much last night as I was too wired and too busy too late to get to bed when I would have been best served doing so and combined with getting up early I got only about a half night's sleep. Add to that a little drama going between Mike and I and I was stressed out needless tosay.

Unfortunately, by the time I reached the scary-high part of Highway One just north of Salmon Creek it all added up to my experiencing the very worst anxiety attack I have ever had along that road and was hyperventilating so badly that I needed to pull over and regroup at the first opportunity I came to which, unfortunately, was at the very highest place along that high section.

After regrouping, I got back into my pickup and headed on down the hill and up the coast to the Jade Festival.

Although I was safe for now I realized that I was trapped and had to drive back along that stretch of highway at the end of the day on the way home and I was dreading it.

I had never liked that part of the road but had always managed to stay focused on my driving and ignore what was down the hill and listening to music and thinking about other things had always helped, too.

Now for the first time I didn't have any confidence in those things to help me henceforth.

However, I couldn't dwell on that but had to focus on the task at hand and so I did.

Upon arriving at the Jade Festival I could not help but notice a noticable amount of smoke rising from the part of the Chalk Fire that had fingered its way down to Highway One up the coast a short distance to the north. 

Added to that this day was rather windy out of the north which concerned me as it seemed the fire might have a chance, however remote, of escaping and heading south and forcing us to run for our lives. The fire never did escape but the wind would become a problem. 

After working my ass off all morning I was pretty much ready to go by noon which is the time the show opens on Friday.

It was nice to be back again this year in the wonderful atmosphere of this event with the nearly-constant stream of musical acts that rotates through on an hourly basis for all three days of the event and provides a pleasant working environment for the dealers to sell their products.

The musical genres that are represented pretty much run the gamut from all sorts of different rock and roll in many varieties and flavors to blues to folk music and even belly dancers accompanied by drums but in any case a very eclectic and quirky assemblage of music that is utterly awesome to experience, especially when one had the privilege of being here for all three days.   

Another thing I find extremely entertaining at the Jade Festival is people-watching as there are many very interesting characters who wander in over the course of the three-day event.

Mike Lyons manning our booth.

The food at the Jade Festival is also very special.

They have locals serving lemonade and smoothies as well as sandwiches and even a dessert concessioner plus a barbecue outfit and a gumbo and fish taco operation that also makes killer breakfast burritos in the morning.

My favorite thing here ever was not here this year to my chagrine.

One of the local families the previous two years I was here brought in frozen bananas and other fruit impaled on little wood sticks and dipped them in molten chocolate which immediately created a hardened crust of frozen chocolate around the frozen fruit which created a heavenly culinary effect that both looked and tasted awesome.

Fridays at the Jade Festival are typically what is known as "Dealer Day" as the dealers do most of their business with each other on this day before the customers pour in over the weekend.

That is not to say that there are not plenty of customers but overall foot traffic is lighter on Friday as it is a work day/school day for most folks.

More images of our all-too-empty booth.

Mike Berklio manning his booth.

As the day progressed so did the wind which became a problem blowing myriad seeds out of the trees ringing the open area fwhere we were located. 

These seeds got into everthing, including all the little boxes wherein hundreds of my specimens were displayed. 

This mess took me all weekend to clean up and even then I didn't complete that clean-up until after the show.

I was overall happy with the amount of business I did this day although it wasn't much but I didn't expect much hoping for a great Saturday and a decent Sunday to make my show.

Mike volunteered to spend the night with our booth Friday night and I agreed to do the same Saturday night as I wanted to experience the big shindig Saturday night that is put on for the locals and dealers.

At the end of the day I left at sunset (a gorgeous one at that) with a heart full of foreboding about how I would handle the drive along the side of the mountain with not full darkness which would have helped me a lot.

Somehow, I managed to avoid full-on anxiety attacks but did experience controlled panic and was hardly a happy camper until I got to the SLO/Monterey County Line a stone's throw up the coast from Ragged Point.

From there I headed on down the coast en route home and saw Hearst Castle all majestically lit up in the night resting atop the mountain overlooking the coast and appearing rather mystical.

I got on home and after unwinding got my butt to bed at a much more reasonable hour but dreading the drive on the side of the mountain tomorrow morning.

Kimmer

2008 Big Sur Jade Festival Pt. 1

This year's 17th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival was going to be my third consecutive one and I went into it with high hopes of making a breakthrough despite the current economic distress.

Yes, I'm a dreamer alright!

For the first time in the now three years I've been to this festival wildfire played a notable roll. The Chalk Fire started Saturday, September 27th, and continues to burn in the mountains behind where the Jade Festival is being held. It is now mostly quiet but until last weekend when it rained it was moving down the coast and threatened to cause the cancellation or postponement of the Jade Festival.

Given that this is a three day event, today, Thursday, October 9th, was the set-up day.
There was no need to rush as the venue is the Pacific Valley School and we needed to wait until school let out for the Columbus Day weekend.

I headed up there a bit after my business partner Mike Lyons left Atascadero for it as I had more to do to get loaded up and he ought to get there first as the booth is in his name as he is the one who makes our arrangements for it.

I did get up there safe and sound without driving over the side of the cliffs and without having any notable anxiety attacks in spite of the fact I utterly hate the two really high spots on Highway 1 just south and just north of Salmon Creek.

At least during the previous two Jade Festivals I had my iPod actually functioning and was able to listen to my music to distract me in the scary sections of road but not this year unfortunately but on this day I made do without it.

When I did arrive there I was surprised at how many booth spots were still empty from vendors not having arrived yet.

Mike was parked next to our spot but not much was on it yet so I had missed nothing of the set-up which was nice.

Mike and I did set up our tables and my Easy-Up and I placed most of the non-inventory elements of what composes our booth such as display and packaging materials and some not-that-valuable buckets of material like abalone shells and such.

However, we both elected to not bring most of our inventory until tomorrow morning as we felt no reason to needlessly leave our stuff unattended overnight before the show even began.

Both before and after we did our work we visited with our friends amongst the dealers such as Keith Olivas and Ernie DeFever and Jack Daggett and Kirk Brock and Mike Berklio and others.

It was nice to get caught up with friends and find out what was new with them and hear the latest scuttle-butt.

After arriving mid-afternoon I stayed a couple of hours and left before it would get dark on me driving home.

Kimmer

2008 Monterey Gem & Mineral Show Pt. 3

Part One
Part Two

This morning to start the day we checked out of the Travel Lodge after partaking in their "continental breakfast" again.

We then headed across the street to the fairgrounds and parked for the day and went in and did what little set-up was required, to wit, remove the covering put on our booth for the overnight period and turning on the lights and replacing a few gaps where material sold with fresh material.

The day started typically slow for a Sunday morning so nobody punched any panic buttons.
Unfortunately for me, things never really got going to the degree they had the day before which was the reverse for Mike as he did not so great yesterday but cleaned up today.

I had hoped to match yesterday's success today so that I could justify purchasing that Gibeon meteorite the Richter's are selling at their Rocks & Relics booth but no dice.
If I'm to have it God will make everything line up for me.
Certainly nobody has bought it during or since the June Cayucos Show where I first spotted it and fell in love at first sight so maybe there is a chance for me to get it yet.

The Air Force Thunderbirds passed over again today which triggered in me the usual reponse of anxiety and exhilaration.

As the day drew to a close things slowed down prematurely it seemed with only a few small sales for me although Mike was having a great day compared to yesterday for him.

I wasn't the only one having an unsatisfying day as at least one other vendor who shall go unnamed sat glumly in their chairs as I walked up to compare notes: misery loves company!

Despite the slowness of this day for me I was overall extremely pleased with the show, both in my own success but also in Mike's as well as in how the overall show played out and the host Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society did a great job promoting and carrying out the show and we earnestly hope to be invited back next year.

They did their usual breakdown of the show at the end of the weekend with military-like precision and coordination with most of the displays being removed before Mike and I were even done breaking down our own booth and by the time we left there was not much left in the show hall.

We left after dark just like last year and headed home via Fairgrounds Road to Garden Road to Olmstead Road to Highway 68 to US101 and on home with a short break for gas and a bite to eat at a fast food join in Salinas which was interesting after dark.
Fortunately, nothing bad happened there nor at any other point along the home and we got home safely each to our respective abodes.

Part One
Part Two

2008 Monterey Gem & Mineral Show Pt. 2

Part One
Part Three

Having worked late last night preparing our booth we were able to sleep in just a bit.
It was nice having a room across the street from the show so that I simply walked leaving my truck parked at the Travel Lodge.
What little work was left to do to prepare for the show was quickly accomplished and we were ready to go.

For me it was a good thing I was ready at the opening buzzer as my first customer was a hard-bargaining Asian gal from the Chinese Cultural Center in Monterey who dropped a large sum on me purchasing ocean jasper slabs and an egg and a sphere along with some other things.
Normally, I don't mention the race of people unless it is relevant to the story I am relating as is the case here.
She was one of the most abrasive customers I ever dealt with and drove such a bare-knuckle bargainer that I was starting to get put off but each time she nearly nearly caused me to snap at her she seemed to sense it and drew back.
She whittled me down to the bone price-wise but I still turned a modest profit, but I only let her walk out of my booth with the items as I needed the money wanting to start off on a good pace and I was tired of lugging around for well over a year the items she got so I was mildly contented with the outcome.

Had I not needed her money I might have employed a tactic Jack Daggett of Bend, Oregon, once employed at the Tuscon Show where an Asian-American feigning to be an Asian-non-American came up to him and started putting down his material but actually was interested in it but hoped to low-ball him. Jack got really pissed and started moving the price up on the guy to his shock and horror and rattled him and said "you crazy" and left. Later on they kissed and made up and Jack realized the guy was an American and spoke English just fine.

However, what this experience highlighted for me was something I before now had only heard anecdotally from other dealers and that is the cultural difference between Americans and non-Americans, particularly Asians and most particularly East Asians when it comes to negotiating.
What we Americans would consider rude is not only not rude in their culture, but expected.
The problem is that this is America and America is best as a melting pot, not a multi-cultural entity. Multi-culturalism does not work: just look at Islamicization of Europe.

Anywho, that did get me off on the right track which carried success on throughout the day as traffic was fairly evenly busy all day and folks were apt to spend money. It appeared everybody was doing well at the show thus reenforcing the concept of rising tides lift all boats.

I had the privilege of meeting a fine young American soldier named Stephen Covell who is a local guy (grew up in the Monterey area) visiting from his current home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he serves our nation as a medic in the 573rd Cavalry of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Stephen is quite a young man who chose to enter the military and serve his nation for a variety of commendable personal reasons.
He has already served one tour in Iraq and awaits being sent back there or going to Afghanistan in the near future.
I marveled at the degree to which this guy really seemed to have his shit together for one so relatively young and I was quite impressed and heartened to know such young men are still out there despite the general decline of our society and civilization.
Stephen plans not to follow the medical slant of his current career but after the service pursue a career in journalism.
He is also a musician whose work can be experienced on Purevolume.com and Myspace.com.

Speaking of the military, the Air Force Thunderbirds flew their F-16's over us again today in a rather unnerving fashion as well as some civilian passenger aircraft.
In spite of the unnerving nature of such powerful jets flying so forcefully right over us at such low altitude there is something rather exhilarating about it, too.
One of the planes on one particular fly-over was so low that his backwash stirred up dust and leaves lying on the ground in and around the fairgrounds which caused something to get picked up and blown into my eye.

I learned today that what I thought was a lazurite crystal I am selling may actually be a pseudomorphed Afghanite crystal that is now composed of lapiz lazuli per dealer Claud Huber.
As usual he had an amazing display of beautiful minerals.

The Richter's Rocks & Relics booth was busy all day and all weekend per usual which is no surprise given all the cool stuff for great prices they offer there. They have an amazing Gibeon meteorite I am coveting and hope to buy if I make as much money tomorrow as I did today.
This thing is somehow naturally flat having shattered along some sort of internal crystaline plane.

At the end of a fruitful day we all packed up for the night which didn't require much as this is a very safe venue overnight with Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society officer and show dealer chair Matt Beiwer spending the night in the room with all the booths so we all left feeling secure.

Mike and I decided to have Mexican food for dinner and have it where we had dinner last year with one of his friends the middle night of the show so we drove down to Seaside and looked for that place and found Marisco's Puerto Nuevo which was great once again.

After that we retired to our motel where I blogged and emailed before joining Tequila in bed.

Part One
Part Three