California for two weeks, San Diego to San Francisco, a wedding, a zoo, Disneyland, drunken dinner with long lost relatives, okay, I was drunk, Piers, amusement rides, aquariums, hotels, and more hotels, and now I know without any doubt that even if I would have had any musical talent, I have no business on tour, none.
There is nothing worse than having to cancel a tour before it even starts.
Secretly I had hoped that when I stepped somewhere on California soil that I would be drawn to live there, a decade ago Jason and I had talked about how much we both loved the vibe of California , it really didn’t happen for me this time, in California’s defense, I believe I would need about a year to travel the coast to really get the feel of each community.
California was very overwhelming, complicated, beautiful, and still remains a huge mystery to me. There is a side effect to island life, when you get back to the states you feel completely overwhelmed by how fast, vast, and bustling everyone and thing is. I literally stop and watch how stressed everyone’s face is. The shear availability is intimidating. I don’t know if I will ever be ready to go back to that life.
It is easier to get to France than it is to get to California from our island, on the way there it was 3 flights, 16 hours, and on top of it all we had a four year old with a double ear infection. I seriously considered just stopping and living in Atlanta instead of putting her though another flight, it was awful. Instead we trudged on and got to our hotel and off to a “doc in the box” first thing in the morning, just in time to get our wedding groove on for the next few days.
My sister Janice and my new brother Jeffery planned a beautiful, fun, and extremely considerate wedding. Every detail was perfect and I loved being a part of something so pure and well thought out. I’m so excited for them and can’t wait to see them both again.
The night after the wedding was Halloween, we dressed as a herd of zebras, which we pronounce /ˈzeb.rə/, Scarlett will not accept the Americanized version of the word. Aunt Katie joined right in as a zebra. Along with Nonny and Poppy to make sure the zebras were safe, and another sister and her family, dressed as super heroes, we went to BOOmont Park, which is normally called Belmont Park, and had the BEST KIDS HALLOWEEN NIGHT EVER. Obviously, not to be compared to the slutty, cocktailing, underclothed, overserved Halloweens of years past. Totally different, this had rides, fair food, ice cream, candy, and anything else you could think of that a child would love. Hell, I love it.
Disneyland. love.
We had dinner with my family, and as it turns out, I still cannot drink wine with my Uncle. It was lovely, and I am so excited to have my cousin on island with his new family! Hurry Tucker!
The place reeked of my brother, I must have seen a million different things that made me think of him. Every story he told over the years, every town, every beach, every surfer, skater, it all stunk of him, and it made me feel closer to him, I tried my best to breathe it in, pause it.
We then traveled up the coast with my parents following us, stopping whenever someone felt fit or needed something. Somewhere around Malibu my asshole went AWOL. To the woman in the boutique hotel that wouldn’t let me use her restroom, and wouldn’t even let me rent a room for the night to use the bathroom, there is a special place in hell for people like you, may you spend eternity hot sweating and high stepping. To the guy at the Pizzeria that let me go in though the kitchen to use the bathroom in the way back, I am forever in your debt, no seriously, I owe you BIG TIME.
We saw a lot of beauty. A LOT. I had no idea that there was so many different terranes and the Pacific Coast Highway is the most incredible road to drive that I have yet. For now? I’m set on staying here on my island in my warm ocean, surrounded by simplicity, and soft warm winds, Northern California is fucking cold...
