JJ8 Invades the Left Coast

The traveling JJ8 minstrel show seen below has just returned from a tour of southern California that included stops in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and the Channel Islands. Unfortunately no gigs were booked, so all of our time was spent relaxing, enjoying ourselves, and getting into trouble.


We hung out at the beach, splashed around in the pool, and spent a lot of time soaking in the hot tub. On Wednesday afternoon we went wine tasting where we got to taste some of Davy Crockett's wine, and we ran into a guy that grew up on the same street that I did in Framingham, MA. It was a fascinating coincidence that rapidly degenerated into an extended one-on-one coversation that became uncomfortably suggestive, a conversation too long to recount here, but suffice to say it was surprising that I (we) didn't get invited back to this guy's hotel room.

Thursday and Friday we spent hiking/camping on the Channel Islands. This gets its own post.

Saturday we played 18 holes of golf. This was the first round of 18 holes played on a full sized golf course by most of us, and as you might expect, we distinguished ourselves magnificently. Things began with us arriving just on time for our tee time (which made us 10 minutes late in their eyes), which was immediately followed by our being questioned about what we were doing loading a cooler on to one of the golf carts. Not to worry, though, as all that beer and ice was successfully transferred to two separate plastic bags...much less conspicuous. Then, as play got underway, we had a little trouble following the not very well marked course from hole to hole. At one point, between holes, one of our carts drove a little astray, and in an attempt to correct the mistake, apparently drove across one of the greens. It turns out that this doesn't sit very well with golfers and golf course managers, so after a late 50's stereotypical golfer guy ratted us out, we got a reprimanding about hunrdeds of thousands of dollars and insurance liabilities, and one of our carts was confiscated. This was then followed a couple holes later by another couple of ho-bag golfers yelling at us for who-knows-what. However, none of this is to say that we didn't have fun. Please enjoy the following (it's even better if you can hear the sound)...








Other highlights include a couple of nervous experiences with a prowling skunk, some fantastically prepared meals and bloody marys, and an amateur check up of the Nissan Axess (Nad, I forget the car's nickname). If that car makes it back, it will be thanks to us. Observe the troupe at work in the kitchen and under the hood.