Rules of the Road

 

 

1. Always talk to strangers
2. If a hippie tells you you must take a special trip out of your way to see something you’ve never heard of, take that trip.
3. Eat local no matter how sketchy it may look.
4. Take your time.
5. The best trips are the ones with the least advanced planning.
6. On road trips, final destinations should be very specific, yet very arbitrary.
7. Be generous and kind.
8. If people offer you free things, take ‘em.
9. Don’t fall into the “I’m making good time” trap. Stop frequently and poke around.
10. Share.
11. Always take snacks.
12. Always be willing to alter your plans/ change your mind.
13. Ask a local.
14. Painkillers are important.
15. Never expect non-stop fun. When viewed correctly, the lows are what make a vacation into an adventure.
16. Always be willing to break the rules.

New Mexico or Gusty Winds May Exist

The western stretch of the I-40 may be the ugliest, most utilitarian piece of road ever laid.  Driving from Los Angeles to Santa Fe it gets only marginally more scenic as you go.  Specifically there are some shrubs to look at surrounding Flagstaff and some exciting bits where steering is actually required intermittently throughout.  The most noticeable improvement is in the signage.  About fifty miles into New Mexico they begin.  The most existential cautionary signs ever posted.  “Gusty Winds May Exist.”  Not that they do exist, that they’re sporadic, that they might occasionally present a challenge to motorists, or that they might occasionally blow across the highway. No. These signs are here to prompt a philosophical debate as to whether the weather is a factual, observable phenomena or, instead an agreed upon hallucinatory break from reality during which all drivers swerve to one side of the road or other in a collective unconscious desire to have something, anything to make the drive seem less dauntingly unchanging.

            The signs are a first clue to the notion that “Land of Enchantment” may be more than a catchy slogan for the license plates.  The second is my apparently bizarre ability to navigate within the city of Santa Fe without a roadmap.  A city that wasn’t planned by people so much as burros.  You can look this up.  Apparently from a birds perspective Santa Fe looks like the result of giving Egon Schille more LSD than is strictly a good idea and asking him to draw wagon wheels or vaginas.  Driving in this city requires a shift in navigational philosophy.  In Santa Fe you don’t get in your car thinking outlandish thoughts like, I’ll head north on such and such until I find do-i-mo-bobber and turn right (east) and reach the museum of awesomeness.  Here, you get in your car and say to the streets; I want to go to the Museum of Awesomeness.  Start your engine, merge into traffic and make a series of arbitrary turns based on intuition and an unwavering faith in the Gods of Direction.  They may or may not take you to the Museum, but that you will end up where you were meant to be.

Hipster Hangouts (#1)

Yay Beverages!

 

Sometimes you just need to sit in a converted craftsman house, drinking herbal tea and contemplating the greater meaning of the universe.  And sometimes you need to tear the lid off of your scull, chain-smoke, get piss drunk and listen to punk rock. So this week I have two recommendations for you.

 

First, for my mellowed out friends I recommend Zephyr.  This Café is like walking into an artists’ concept drawing of an intellectual hangout.  Lots of cozy sofas, people in dark clothing reading quietly everywhere you look, and perhaps the best chai tea I’ve ever had. I’ve only been here a few times, but it is the perfect place for my inner bookworm to go when I get that, “I’m social, I leave my house, I swear!” feeling. 

 

Completing the perfection of the place are the locals that hang out at Zephyr. Despite the bookish vibe, the people are surprisingly outgoing.  The last time I went there a man approached me because he wanted to discuss Yeats, the time before that I feel in with a knitting circle. Honestly, this place may very well be nerd heaven.

        

For my friends who are looking for a louder outing, Old Town Pub is the place to be. Music oozes out of every orifice of this mega-alternative/ indie/ punk bar.  Featuring up-and-coming local acts of a varying degree of proficiency, a wonderful (if a bit small) array of beer-snob beers and the perfect, dingy atmosphere OTP is one of those rare bars where you immediately feel at home.      

 

 

Zephyr

 

2419 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena CA

Hours: M-Th 7:30am-10pm, Fri 7:30am-11pm, Sat 8am-11pm

http://zephyrcoffeeandart.com/

 

 

Old Town Pub*

 

66 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena CA

Hours: It’s a bar.

http://www.oldtownepub.com/

 

*OTP is located down an alley.  The easiest way to get to the alley is off of Holly between Fair Oaks & Raymond.  Find the alley & head south towards the music, or visit their website for a map.