Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby!,
I have computer access and so I am writing tonight from Northern California. My first trip up here since 1980. I know I already mentioned that, but it kind of blows my mind, haha. The drive up here was mega (though not in any of the ways that term ordinarily conjures up), and I am already classifying it as Legendary. It was a drive only I could have pulled off, and I told my sister, who had initially wanted to come with me, that she would not have made it. Here's why.
It was hot today in the Valley as I prepared to leave, about 100 degrees at Noon. I had my rental car, a newer model Ford Focus, and I kept an eye on the digital dashboard temperature gauge as I left the greater Los Angeles area and headed out of what is called The Grapevine, a mountain pass about 50 miles north of the Valley. I also kept an eye on the engine's temperature, via the radiator gauge, which is a habit I've always had from driving older cars in Valley heat. When you pass through The Grapevine, on Interstate 5, you ascend some moderate grades until you reach an elevation of about 4100 feet.
At this time, the outside temperature gauge read 102, and the engine/radiator needle was at the halfway point, which is normal. I was running the air conditioner to keep cool.
Until I saw this sign, posted by Caltrans, an Official Agency (meaning I took it very seriously). It said, "Turn Off Air Conditioning To Avoid Overheating". I thought, "okay, I'd better do that". I was going up a medium steep grade, in an unfamiliar car, and while it was a newer car, that made no difference in my mind. I once had a nice BMW 320i that was fairly new, a stylin' car and highly engineered, and it overheated on me big time once when I drove it to Las Vegas. So I didn't wanna take any chances with the unfamiliar rental, especially in lieu of the Official Caltrans Warning Sign : "Turn Off Air Conditioning".
So I did. I am a Heat Monger after all. I go on Steep Hikes, for cryin' out loud, in 100 degree heat.
I rolled the window down, but just a quarter of the way, cause I did not wanna get blasted by a Blast Wave Of Ultra Hot Air. On Interstate 5, everybody is going 75 to 80, and now that I was driving a newer car, I could see why. It is easy to go fast in these cars, because they accelerate and handle so well.
By the time I got to the Lancaster/Palmdale area, 60 miles out of the Valley, the outside temp had climbed to 106.
And by the time I got to Bakersfield, it was steady at 109.
SB, the heat crested near a town called Buttonwillow, where the digital thermometer read 113.
Good Lordy Moses, Ad. Turn the freakin' AC on.
But I still didn't. Not to be macho, or weird or stupid, but just because I didn't wanna take any chances in an unfamiliar car. And I was already pushing the engine anyhow, doing 75-80mph like everyone else.
I thought, "hmmmm.....good thing I am used to this".
And I drove that way for four hours. I had my bottles of Smart Water, and in the long run it wasn't too bad. In fact, sitting in a cramped position was worse than the heat. But, I didn't wanna stop. I wanted to get up here as fast as I could, and I would have made it in five and a half hours had I not hit some major traffic near the finish, and had I not gotten temporarily lost on surface streets heading to my friend's house. And I did turn the AC up full blast for the last 75 miles, when I could see I was gonna make it. :)
It was a trip to see my friend David, because I haven't seen him since 1984 (!), but it was also super cool because we were such close friends as teenagers that the conversation basically picked up where it left off. This is the guy who - when I was 15 and he was 13 - well, we played hooky from school and rode our bikes to Alice Cooper's house in Laurel Canyon, about 18 miles away. David is also the guy who, like me, was at College Records every single day after school, and all day in Summer, from Fall 1973 to Fall 1976.
That was when his family moved up here, and he's been here ever since.
So we had a nice, if quick, catch-up tonight, and tomorrow we will go to San Francisco and check out the city and have the whole afternoon to look around. After that, we are gonna go to a ballgame at the stadium where the Giants play. I will of course be rooting against them (silently).
Well, my Darling, before I left this morning, I saw your pic of The White Noise concert. That is simply an amazing shot. You mentioned the light, and I think that it makes the photo look like a painting, the way it starts on the outskirts of the crowd circle and gets brighter in tone. It looks like sunlight, and it came out painterly.
I also saw the preview for the Versus Me 360, and I have just gotta say :
I don't know exactly what the collaboration was, and I've mentioned this before, because you originally listed yourself as co-producer. But Sweet Baby - if you are the main creator behind that video - from what the preview shows - then you have just proven yourself ready for the Big Time.
I already knew that from a few years ago, of course, but now everyone knows it.
It's a mindblower how things work out, SB. :)
That is all for tonight. I will write tomorrow night after I get back from the baseball game, and it should be at about the usual time.
I will look for the 360 video in the morning. Your photo today was incredible.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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