Recent Expeditions

Saturday, I tagged along with my parents on a trip to Monterey. Even before we arrived at our destination I had taken interest in a few happenings.

1. A burning mini-van at the side of the highway. I've never seen a car on fire before, and it was pretty cool. The flames were thick, rose about 25 feet, and the steady black smoke could be seen from a few miles away. A bunch of people were standing around watching casually, so I assume everyone got out ok.

2. Taco Bell. I think it was in Hollister, the town of origin of the collar-popping company that manufactures what most call clothing, although it sometimes appears as more of a visual assault. Anyway, while I was shoving a cheesy bean & rice directly into my esophagus, a familiar tune came on the speaker system. It was apparently the original version of "Along Comes Mary" (I didn't realize the Bloodhound Gang version was a cover), which I later found out was released in 1966 by a group called The Association. Hmm. You find out new things about music every day.

3. When leaving Taco Bell, I noticed an ad on their window for breakfast. I nearly sharted with disbelief and/or excitement. I have always dreamt of the day when TB opens it's doors to the public at an earlier hour. It had nice pictures of Tacos, Burittos, Chalupas, and even Mexican Pizzas with all kinds of nice breakfast foods stuffed in them. Even eggs. Oh, glorious day. I have yet to try this new intriguing breakfast, but I'm making plans to do so in the near future.

We arrived in Monterey Bay and got tickets for a two and a half hour whale watching cruise. Seems like a long time, right? Well it was worth it. It takes about an hour and a half for the boat to get far enough out in the ocean. Ya gotta know where the good whale territory is. After floating around aimlessly for another half hour, we finally saw a couple of humpbacks. These things are freaking huge. Sixty-footers. Of course, moms forgot the camera. Theys come ups to the surfiss, blows warter out them holz real fast (90mph), takes about 5 breaths, then dives back downs to try 'n eat sum fishes. Daaaaaang. At one point I'd say the whales were only about 30-40 yards away. I'm not completely sure why, but it really was amazing. Especially when they would dive back down and you could see the huge tail fins sticking up out of the water. Maybe it's the simple confirmation that such truly monumental creatures exist that makes it so enthralling. Also, the fact that many people never get to witness whales like this in real life makes it a unique experience. I was tempted to jump into the water, swim over to the whales, and pull radishes out of their backs like world 4 on Mario 2. We watched them breathe and dive for 15-20 minutes before the ship had to turn around and head back to the coast. I totally reccomend an excursion like this to anyone who has the opportunity. I would definitely do it again.

After we got off the boat, we ate at an Italian restaurant called Isabella's. It's on the dock overlooking the harbor, so we got a nice show of a seagull giving himself a thorough wing-cleaning while standing on one leg throughout our meal. I really liked the local feel of the place. They had a nice Monterey Bay wheat beer on tap, and we ordered some fried artichoke hearts that were grown not too far away, in Castroville. They were damn good, I couldn't stop eating them!

The rest of the day paled in comparison to the burning van, whales, food, etc. We drove down PCH to check out the rocky shoreline on the way to Carmel By-The-Sea. After driving around Ocean Ave in Carmel (not like the candy, the accent is on the last syllable) for a bit, we headed home. It was a nice day.

In other news, I bought the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album, Some Loud Thunder. It's pretty good, but I definitely prefer the self titled album at this point. I think it's awesome that the band is fully funded by the members. They pay for the production of their albums, touring, etc. out of pocket (no record label is involved), and have somehow managed to establish a fairly hefty fan base. I guess all you need is verbal support from The Thin White Duke & Pitchfork.

Oh, and speaking of humpbacks, in this morning's Wikipedia escapades, I have discovered that the original members of Boyz II Men are still alive, although one suffers from severe back pain due to scolliosis. Don't act like you don't care. I know you've still got a copy of Cooleyhighharmony floating around in the back seat of your car. You probably get it out once a month and exclaim, "MOTOWN PHILLY BACK AGAIN!" in your best black robot voice.