(same view from the LAS parking gararge ... one with 15 seconds of exposure)
even though we're starting on the tuesday following a three-day weekend, the LAS airport isn't very crowded and things move smoothly. the gate agent is clearly brand new so when i go effusive about this being the start of AYCJ his reaction is something along the lines of “oh, oh yeah, that's right” while he's clearly thinking something like “i wish i could remember how to fill out this screen.”
we had a reservation, but couldn't book seats without paying premium for more legroom. when we got to the gate my accomplice is given a free upgrade to extra legroom, i get an asile seat toward the back.
almost immediately i notice the first “mistake” of the trip. i pulled out my swanky headphones, only to leave them on my dresser. jetblue is an entertainment-intensive airline – direct TV and XM in all seats – so i'll need to pick up a set on the road.
the jump to LGB is quick and easy. the steel panther picks us up (her: “you know, i don't drive hardly at all any more, THAT is how special you guys are.” me: “shut up, we've got places to go.”) and in the briefest of times we've got the best possible seat (right across from the fireplace) at roscoe's house of chicken and waffles in long beach. chicken and waffles is a soul food combo from the carolinas, but the premier version on the west coast is here. i slightly prefer the one in manchester – especially if i'm trying to make a statement (AYCJ would count) – because i'm often the only white guy in there, but i'll settle for any of them in the name of a jet pass.
the chicken at roscoe's is good, but you can find better. the waffles are to die for.
i order the sausage special with a waffle. the panther gets a sausage special with grits (she doesn't like their waffles – i won't get into that here). my accomplice gets a thigh and a waffle (that might be a #18). we also order a side of mac and cheese – wildly variable at roscoe's, this is sometimes the best dish; but can be disappointing.
i explain to the hermaphroditic server, and for the 500th time explain AYCJ and say, “we flew here solely to have your waffles. we fly to SFO in four hours.” he/she/it is truly impressed – but it doesn't get us any extra food, nor a visit from the suspiciously don cornealius-like manager.
the food is exceptional, of course. the mac & cheese is on the mark – maybe the best i've ever had at a roscoe's. conversation ranges from the differences in black and white mac & cheese to iron man south africa to, of course, the band “white snake.”
we get done and have a little time to kill so we go back to the panther's lair. as we sit talking i'm flickering in and out of consciousness … the combination of one hour of sleep and having just eaten is taking its toll. even now i can't tell you what we talked about.
the panther drops us at LGB and a gate agent picks up on the fact that we're not only AYCJers, but also AYCJ alumni. we score a set of AYCJ luggage tags without asking. i'm ecstatic.
the jump to SFO is uneventful, but my phone dies as we get to SFO. this causes a bit of a burble in getting hold of bo3b (sic – the “3” is silent) – made worse by the fact that 14:30 is pretty early in the day for him and he's had to get up for this run – but we're picked up and go back to his overlook in san carlos. some conversation, a pepsi throw-back and a replacement battery for the hiptop gets us going. we're having dinner party with a collection of pals in the evening, but that's not bo3b's thing. he drops my accomplice and me at the mountain view caltrain, we take that to san jose and then light rail to campbell. it's here that my accomplice's parents pick us up and get whisked to los gatos.
everything is like precision swiss clock work.
the meal of the evening is “fast food potluck.” stop by any fast food place of your choosing and bring enough for yourself and something to share. i hit taqueria eduardo and get two carnitas tacos. i through in a piece of apple pie i bought specifically for this party at bake and broil in long beach. while we're setting up, my accomplice drops by a local thai place and gets pad thai and satay.
a dozen people eventually show up.
ms. animae brings chinese chicken salad. my accomplice's parents bring take out from whole foods, along with a mcdonald's shake. zz and his spinner girlfriend bring chinese chicken salad from another place. the continental dividian brings two pizzas from costco. special K has mini-corn dogs from weinerschintzel. solid goldstein wanders in with two lasagnas from pizza hut. ficus arrives late (as self-predicted) with mcdonald's. the instigator brought something in a bag i can't remember. (which is horrible since he's one of only half a dozen or so people that'll actually read this thing.)
the funniest thing about it was nearly everyone apologized for the food they'd brought before they sat it out. as if you have to actually apologize for fast food … aside from my carnitas tacos, i was surprised that my favorite thing was the pizza hut lasagna. i ate a lot of it and felt no remorse.
a weird assortment of people, i spent the majority of my time talking to solid G, the animae character and ficus. i would've talked more to both zz and special K; but i'm transversing the atlantic with Z in two months and special K and i have something very, very special going with him before the end of AYCJ.
it seemed like everyone had a good time.
people left, the table got swept, goodbyes were said, and solid goldstein graciously drove us to SJC. we set out of the new terminal on a full flight. you better believe i'm gonna sleep, but the flight's not that long.
miscellaneous pix
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