Sanctus Real

After Spirit West Coast, I ditched the band and spent three days in California with family. I didn’t have many plans for my adventure except for a couple things. I wanted to drive down the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur and see the Bixby Canyon Bridge. Well, I wanted to look at the ocean and mountains too, but I wanted to see the bridge in particular because I’ve read books and listened to songs about it, and they’ve inspired me. If you’ve read a Jack Kerouac book or listened to Death Cab For Cutie, I’ll say I have a different belief system, but as a fan, it was great to get my geek on and stand where they stood and see what they saw and were inspired by.

So we did it, and it was a really neat thing to have this new insight into their stories. We drove over the Bixby Creek, past the famous Nepenthe restaurant, and on down to McWay Falls, a unique 80 ft waterfall that drops directly into the Pacific Ocean. Might I add that it was the most gorgeous place I’ve ever been?

After that, we headed north toward my Aunt’s home across the bay from San Francisco. The next morning, she forced her Saab convertible upon me and so with top down I wandered the region trying to take in as much as I could. I drove through Napa Valley, over to Santa Rosa, and on down to Muirs Woods and Beach. I bought old Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac records in Berkeley. I ate awesome local brunch at Sunny Side Cafe and delicious dinner at Becheeso’s Mediterranean. The next day I reunited with an old friend from home and we explored some of San Francisco. He introduced me to ice cream from Humphrey & Slocombe. I tried candied ginger, salt & pepper, and Blue Bottle Vietnamese coffee ice cream (which was really good! …but doesn’t beat Jeni’s Splendid).

The trip was really great, and it was a blast hanging with family and friends that I don’t get to see enough of. I can’t wait to get back out with them again. I also felt privileged to visit a part of our country that the rest of us hear so much about and has garnered many reputations. From jazz to Beat to hippies to drugs to homosexuality to going green to fine wine to organic food to sourdough bread; things there are different than the midwest, which is different than the south, which is different than the north. Cali residents are proud of their claims to fame, just as we all are. In that respect, I also found it no different than Ohio or Tennessee or Texas. We’re all deeply connected to home and the ground we live on, and we’re all looking for our place to fit in. We’re all drowning and in need of rescue. From coast to coast, church to jail, rich to poor. We all need The Redeemer.

Some folks just get better scenery.