nigelstewart.org

We learned this morning with great sadness that our cafe across the street is closing next month since they are not allowed to renew their lease.

This place has been very special to Cay and I over the years. Almost every morning when she's not working Cay would walk across Pier Avenue in her pajamas and get a red eye for me, a vanilla latte for herself, and a glass of fresh orange juice to share. After getting to know the baristas and being good enough to bring our own cups and a glass, all of the above cost us three bucks. INSANE.

I'll miss the regulars. Basketball Jones. Downs guy with great taste in punk rock t-shirts. His energetic lothario friend who cleans windows. The quiet white haired painter. The intense bald Norwegian screenwriter. Homeless Inca dude who wears a Tricorn hat and britches.

Cheap breakfast. A good meeting spot. A place to read and write. Great desserts. Quirky local clientele. A 20 year institution. I'm really gonna miss it.

I wonder what's gonna take its place?

I've been wanting to ride this route with LaGrange for a couple months now and I finally felt good enough to give it a try. I got dropped pretty quickly once we crossed Hollywood Boulevard and it was a shame to have to turn around on Mulholland because of a road closure. We were supposed to come down Sepulveda but we had to descend on Coldwater through Beverly Hills. Saw an old friend and made a couple new ones out there. I'll have to ride with them again. Too bad their weekday group rides meet so frickin' early.

What a blast. My mom Monina and my sister Michele stayed with Cay and I from this past Thursday until Monday and it was a non-stop party.

We went out every night and enjoyed the riches of Western LA. The Galley. The Getty Center. The Novel. Casablanca. Topanga State Park. Anisette. Whole Foods. Mercedes Grill. Santa Monica State Beach. La Vecchia.

On Saturday we threw a little reunion party so that my in-laws, cousins, and my mom's classmates could get together with us and it turned out fab. Cay and I were taking pictures that evening and her set is here: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecay/sets/72157619809327468/

We had a super fun party last night to celebrate our families visiting us here in LA.

Not too shabby.

Left kind of late Friday and hit some traffic on the way out to the desert and I didn't get into the festival until almost 6 pm.  Saw Franz Ferdinand, The Ting Tings, The Bug, Peanut Butter Wolf, Ghostland Observatory, NASA, Silversun Pickups, Beirut, Girl Talk, and Morrissey.  Girl Talk was worth the price of admission and all the hassle.  I will travel many miles to see him again.  Morrissey is now Fat Elvis and it was truly depressing.  No wonder Johnny Marr hates him.

What would a trip out to the desert mean without a little bit of a fiasco?  After the Girl Talk show ended, I made my way to my car where I had to attach a parking permit as a camper.  The doorlock vacuum system in my old Benz needed recharging so I started the car up to get it going and after it fully charged I went to shut off the engine but it wouldn't stop running even after taking the key out of ignition.

So here I am almost midnight and my car won't stop running. I figure I need to drive around a bit to properly recharge the vacuum system so I drive out of the festival and west toward Palm Springs for a couple miles.  Got the engine to turn off while in the parking lot of a Carl's Jr. and I made my way back to the festival.  Turns out the cops made all traffic one way so I couldn't get back in even though I had already pitched a tent earlier that day. A not-so-friendly officer told me I should go have breakfast at Denny's.

Luckily I found a motel in Indio for $110.00 so I had a good night's rest before waking up to go get my tent.  I intended on riding my bike around the Salton Sea but the Benz igntion was still faulty so I've landed back home a bit early.  I'll have her looked at on Monday and hopefully I'll be back on the road soon.

Get down down.

So that post I published with Cay @ Sea World wrecked my Movable Type 3.2 installation and that's why there's been no new content here for more than a month.