Weekend Plans - Santa Cruz

As you may or may not have noticed, I have not been making my rounds to comment on my fellow HCBC blogs this week. I'm not really certain why, I just have gotten out of the habit of documenting on my own blog and going and reading everybody else's blogs. I guess it is just cyclical, I get into the groove....I get out of the groove. Maybe I'm getting back in the groove, but who really knows.

So, this weekend I have quite the full schedule. After work this evening, I am heading down to Santa Cruz to spend the night in a hotel down there. I just spoke to my boss who grew up in Santa Cruz and she knows the place. Basically, it is cheap and clean and the door locks and that is really about all I'm looking for. She told me that I probably don't want to go wandering around the streets much as the neighborhood in one direction is a little seedy. However, she did give me some suggestions of places within walking distance that I can go and check out some of the local color.

Tomorrow morning, I get up and drive down the coast a bit to Pacific Grove to attend a quilt class, which I'm very excited about. I got up bright and early (heck it was actually still dark and early) this morning to get all of my things packed. I had already gathered together all of my sewing paraphernalia and had it all ready to load up into the car. The class is from 10:30 - 4:00 so I may just decide to hang out in Monterey and grab a bite to eat down there and then head back up to Santa Cruz... We'll see. Since, it is just me I don't really have to consider what anybody else wants to do.

Sunday, I get up and check out of my hotel room. I then have some time to kill because I am meeting the group of us that went camping a while back for a horseback ride in the Santa Cruz mountains. However, we aren't meeting until 11:00 and the drive from my hotel to the place where we are meeting is about 5 miles. Since I am very much a morning person, I'm certain that I will be up and around WELL before 11 AM. So, as I am writing this I am considering going down to Capitola and finding a place where I can get a nice breakfast and watch the early morning surfers.

The only thing that has me ever so slightly concerned is the weather. Mind you, the weather reports look to be clear and beautiful, but one never knows. The last two times I went down to Santa Cruz was with The Queen B and one of those times it ended up sleeting and snowing as we were driving over the summit of the Santa Cruz mountains. The last time I was down there with the Queen it was in a torrential rainstorm where the waves were cresting the sea wall. I'm going to chalk the weather phenomena up to the Queen's presence and keeping my fingers crossed that this trip will be smooth sailing.

Hopefully when I get back on line I'll have pics to share of the trip.

Karaoke at the Mint

On All Hallows Eve, Samantha and I joined some friends at a karaoke bar called The Mint. After some liquid courage, Andrea made it up onto stage with Lewis Fernandez (a.k.a. The Artist Prince, the Purple Rain years). 

We performed a powerful rendition of the classic Summer Lovin' from the award should-have-been-winning film Grease. Surprisingly, Lewis performed the Danny Zuko part and I played the demure Sandy (does anybody know what her surname was?). It turns out, after looking at the picture, that we will need to return to the stage and perform The One That I Want, as I just can't seem to pull of "demure". 

Aside from the singing there was dancing and all around merriment had by all those in attendance. In fact, here is some of our group dancing: 

That would be Austin and David our Irish contingency performing their own rendition of River Dance... we'll just call that Celtic Thunder in San Francisco!!

So, ABBA has one more thing that she can scratch off her list o' things to do before she shakes off these mortal coils (in 30 or 40 years!). 

Thanks to everybody who talk me into moving out of my comfort zone!!