Live Culture Lounge, Carwashes & Burritos
After crashing with a friend in San Luis Obispo for the night, I packed up the Tacoma again and headed south, whereupon I realized I was grossly overdue for a service on my truck. With a bunch more miles ahead of me, I knew it was time to get ‘er done. Fortunately, there were more than a few Toyota service centers along the 101 south to choose from. Ultimately, I pulled into a shop in Santa Maria and got in and out of there in a split. Pretty nice… I got a free car wash at the end of it, too! With all the bugs on the road this time of year, it was much needed.
Cleaning up the chariot a.k.a "bug killer".
Anyway, after wrapping that up, I continued on down south towards Santa Barbara, careful to mind the CHP guy that caught me the last time I made the same drive (and let me off!). In any case, I am always reminded of how beautiful this stretch of California is along the central coast: wine country, waves, rolling hills, ranch land… it’s amazing.
Open road with amazing scenery en route to Santa Barbara.
Well, when I finally arrived in Santa Barbara, I naturally looked for some surf. This town is so surf-rich (or should I say, break-rich) that it’s crazy. There’s Rincon, Sands, El Capitan, and of course, the entire stretch of coast north of Gaviota known as “The Ranch”. The problem is, it was as flat as a pancake when I pulled into town. No surf. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zippo… 
So, like any good guy on the road, I sought out my favorite burrito joint and had my one meal for the day at Super Cucas on “The Mesa”, as they call it. One word: DEEEEEELICIOUS!
Mexican Coke and burrito as big as my forearm. 'Nuff said.
Since there wasn’t any surf, and I had a truck full of gear, I decided I had no reason NOT to crash out in a park for a while, so I did! I pulled into a beautiful little park somewhere on “The Mesa” and caught some zz’s before heading to the club for my show. It was MUCH needed, and I’m so glad I got a nap in… ahh…
When I woke up, I hi-tailed it over to Live Culture Lounge to set up and get going. Parking was a complete drag this time, for some reason, but I finally made it and, after a quick conversation with the owner, we decided I should play outside. So, they set up the PA outside on their deck and I went to town for about three hours. The crowd was a blast, there were a ton of folks walking by, and I even got a nice portrait drawn for me by a local passerby!
Aww... I got a portrait drawn for me during the show!
After the show, the club owners invited me over to their pad to hang/crash out (thanks, guys!) and we had a hilarious time watching “The Rocker”. Have you seen it? It is SO funny… perhaps more so if you’re a musician on the road. Anyway, check it out! We finally hit the hay at some ungodly hour and, for me, as soon as my head hit the pillow, it was “lights out”. Zzzzz….