Before any of you readers out there (all 3 of you) complain to me for drawing this out keep in mind that I hardly have any time to make posts. These posts are being made in between pockets of time that contain either extreme boredom or jittery caffeine induced rage.
At the end of the last post our heroes were in extreme peril. The rear right wheel of Nicholas' magical chariot (aka the Saturn) had been sabotaged by San Diego gremlins. The wheel was completely shredded beyond all recognition. Sure one of us could have changed the tire ourselves, but my good friend Brandon wouldn't have any of that. He cautioned that being in the center divide of the highway and traffic zooming past us at an average of 75 mph would greatly hinder any attempt to change the tire without getting killed.
It's a good thing I remembered to bring a cell phone and a AAA card. Within an hour road side assistance was able to change the tire and get us back on the road. AAA also directed us to a nice little Chevron / Auto shop that was able to provide us with a nice, new, non-shredded tire for 60 dollars. Crisis adverted! Disaster no more! The three of us climbed back into Nick's magical chariot and set a course for downtown San Diego.
After a bit of driving around to find a suitable parking space, and by suitable I mean cheap, the three of us headed off into separate directions. Brandon and Nick walked towards the half-mile long convention center on Harbor Drive while I continued along my destination for the cafe in-front of the large dual towered Hilton Hotel. Even though I've been making an annual trip to San Diego for the past 8 years, I had a sudden realization while walking through the downtown Gaslamp district. If I were a gigantic hedonistic fat man, this area of the city would be my paradise. Downtown San Diego contains more restaurants and other odd food related establishments than any other place I've seen in this world. However, it's all too rich for my skinny bones, so I continued along my destination without a care in my mind about obtaining delicious sustenance.
I arrived at the Galileo Cafe which is just north of the convention center across Harbor Drive. Hey are you tired of me establishing the location of landmarks in this story? Because if you're not, I am. There at the cafe I found Allie sitting across from her fiance (who's had that status for as long as I can remember) Jeremy. Upon seeing me approach the cafe, Allie got up out of her chair, ran in my direction, and gave me a long awaited hug. After releasing my rib cage from her locking arms, Allie said to me, "Wow... you've lost a lot of weight." I've grown accustomed to hearing this phrase. Anyone who hasn't seen me in the past 6 months always feels the need to comment about how I'm nothing but skin and bones these days.
Allie is a friend I met through Molly. This means I've known Allie for about 9 years. No matter what happened between Molly and I during those 9 years, Allie and I remained good friends. The last I saw of Allie was 3 years ago in the summer of 2001. Seeing her again reminded me of how much I miss all the other friends I've made in my life that have drifted away to other states.
Later on I learned that Jeremy is an amateur beer brewer. After Having changed locations from Galileo's to a nearby Rock Bottom Brewery, Jeremy had a lot to say about the assortment of microbrewed beers the establishment had to offer. Just from tasting the beer he could repeat back to me each ingredient the beer contained along with a brief synopsis of the brewing process necessary to make that particular beer. Unfortunately neither Jeremy nor Allie could stay any longer in San Diego and would soon have to drive back to Los Angeles.
After walking back to the convention center to meet up with all of my Phoenix friends, we took a few snapshots and parted ways.
So what did I do after Allie and Jeremy departed for Los Angeles? Why I went back to Rock Bottom with all my Phoenix friends for another mug of Rock Bottom Coronado Nut Brown Ale. Hey I was on vacation and that beer is goddamn good.
Stay tuned for more later. Same Bat-time, same bat-channel
