road trip

yeah i'm a few weeks late in posting this, but things have either been so busy or i've been to lazy to post, but i've got time so i'm gonna post now while i can still remember… =)

friday 3/12:
took the day off work so i could pack up and take care of stuff for the trip to anaheim and mammoth. went to AAA to pick up some maps to cover the drive. packed up way too many clothes but figured i'd play it safe since i didn't know what mammoth would be like. got some cash at the ATM. picked up Heather at noon and drove up to Anaheim. complained about shitty OC traffic along the way. got there at around 2 and stopped by Downtown Disney. used Heather's annual pass for free parking — score! had lunch at this place (forgot the name) that had New Orleans/Cajun style cookin. was the first time Heather ever had catfish. i had the shrimp. tasty treats. drove across the street to the Sheraton and checked in. nice digs but the air system was kinda weird and ghetto. hung out for a bit and then went to find some drinks for some preshow festivities. went back to Downtown Disney and rushed over to the House of Blues to catch the 5 o'clock reservations we made so we could get in on that “fast pass” deal and get into the show 15 minutes before everyone else. met up with Joey and had some dinner. we thought we'd be able to get away with ordering desserts (since we weren't really hungry) but we had to get an entree to qualify for the free pass deal. after stuffing ourselves we had some time to kill so we went back to my truck and partook in some drinking festivities. went back to HoB, Joey and I got our tickets scanned and got in, but Heather couldn't find her ticket. d'oh! headed back out to go back to our room and get the backup tickets i printed out (which already came in handy since i forgot mine in SD). found Heather's ticket on the bed. d'oh!! snagged the ticket and rushed back to HoB. came about as close as i ever have to drifting sideways in my truck. heh. got back in line. Heather got her ticket scanned. then Joey and I got ours scanned and drama ensued. the ticket nazi told us that exit and re-entry was not allowed and said something along the lines of “what a big mistake” we made or somethin. after explaining our story he let us go in. whatever. the opening act, Kill Hannah started to play so we went inside and checked it out from the balcony. couldn't see much so we headed downstairs. after a good set from them, Icarus Line played and they kinda sucked. the only thing that kept our interest was this dude in the back who played the maracas or tamborine or just head banged, depending on whatever song they played. think angry grown up Star Wars kid. after a set which seemed to take forever and another stage break which seemed to take even longer, the Distillers finally hit the stage. the pit quickly started up and Joey jumped in while Heather and I hung around the back of the pit. after a couple songs and getting pushed around a few times, Heather and I got out of the pit and went back upstairs. she met up with one of her ass grabbing friends and i hung out for a bit. went back downstairs with Heather and kicked it where it was HOOOTTT. they performed this cover tune (still don't know what it was but i've heard it before) where Brody strutted around on stage and got alllll sexy-like. after the show, we went outside to wait for Joey, only to find him walk out with his head all bandaged up. he got a gash that required stitches so we took him over to Anaheim General Hospital, which took awhile since the street addresses got all weird and we started going the wrong way. so after he got this 3 stitches, we drove back to Disney to drop him off to his car and then Heather and i went back to our room and crashed.

saturday 3/13:
woke up at 9 or 10-ish to check out, and started the long drive up to Mammoth. stopped near my old stomping grounds at Monrovia to fill up on gas and get some lunch for the road. this was the longest drive i have ever made so i was feeling pretty excited about it. the 395 was an interesting drive. drove past some really really small towns along the way, and stopped at this place midway up the 395 to get some gas and some snacks at the mini-mart there. took pics of a cute cat that was sleeping on the bench in the front of the store. we continued to drive up and after getting an eyeful of breathtaking snow and mountain views we arrived at our hotel at exactly 4:20. heh. after checking in, we crashed for a bit and then drove up to check out the Canyon Lodge and pick up our tickets, where the show was going to take place. (Side note: at that high altitude, my truck felt like it was a 4-banger… trippy!) after picking up the tickets i wanted to go look around to see where they would be playing at, since ski lodges aren't really the norm for concerts. we went up one floor and saw this open area and stage, and there they were. Brody and the rest of the group were just hanging out. Heather walked over to these stairs nearby and I was whisper-yelling to her “Heather!! Heather!!!” and nodding with my head toward Brody, thinking that she wasn't aware that they were in the room. turns out that while i was trying to get her attention, they were a few feet away from me headed outside to smoke. Heather and I walked up the stairs, and ended up on the roof of the lodge, and she was telling me that she would have freaked if they also went up the stairs. but they didn't cuz we were able to lose em like that. heh. there was still a lot of time left before the show so we headed back to my truck to drink some beverages. at around 8 we went back to the lodge and waited for the show to start. Heather went looking for her friend who said she was going to be there, but wasn't. Icarus Line started, sans Star Wars kid. i thought they sucked less, but Heather reminded me that i did have a few more drinks than the previous day. so i prolly had beer ears or something. after their set, The Distillers finally came on. Heather and i watched a good amount of the show from the side of the stage and got some nice views of Brody's butt. =D towards the end of the show, we watched from the main area and during City of Angels, some clowns set off a thing of firecrackers and scared the shit out of a lot of us. didn't interrupt the show at all but it might have explained why we didn't get an encore. great performance, brody was hot, but kind of a weird venue was cool getting to travel though. chances are we're going to do this again in May when they play up in the bay area. more good times.

sunday 3/14:
i sorta had a hard time sleeping which kinda sucked since i knew i had a long drive ahead of me. some dude outside was being really loud at around 2am just talking his drunk head off, along with some really loud banging noises around the building, as if someone was just constantly trying to crash into the wall. don't know how Heather slept through it but she apparently did. and then when i did go to sleep i woke up again because we had the heater turned up a bit too high and it was getting uncomfortable. i got up and stumbled around, while trying not to wake Heather up, so i could turn down that thermostat. anyhoo, woke up at around 9-ish, showered (heather finally got to see my just-out-of-the-shower poofy aZn fro), and we pigged out on the breakfast that was served. tons of not-so-healthy danishes, cereal, outmeal, etc. checked out of the hotel, got some gas and cleaned 300+ miles worth of bugs off my windshield, and started the drive back to San Diego. midway through the drive we stopped at this joint called the Roadhouse for some lunch. pretty decent food. as we passed by the Ontario area, Heather got a call from Katie. loved seeing her face just light up when she talked to her. at work i know how angry and frustrated she can get with the clowns she has to put up with, so it was just really cool seeing her in a completely happy state. i should have taken pix. =D so anyhow about an hour or so later, we finally make it back home. we thought we were going to die sometime during that trip but we managed to survive. Road Trip pt.2, here we come…

notes:
- joey almost got busted for bringing in a can of sparks into downtown disney but somehow convinced the disney thug that it was an energy drink. haha!
- heather lost a ton of cash at HoB, and her sweatshirts that a friend was holding for her, but later got kicked out of the venue for drinking
- some random girl recognized heather from her site. only a matter of time before we start seeing heather fan sites. =P
- my car stereo was tainted with one of heather's britney CDs. the scary thing is that it was catchy and i sorta liked it