Thursday, October 24, 2002 A.M.

Sitting at the dining room table in Jeff & Chris' house in Carpinteria.

We packed up the car and got out of the house at approximately 1 p.m. Both starving, we headed straight for Jerry's Famous Deli where the choices stretched on and on. From there, we drove down to Santa Monica to see the pier. It was a bit of a disappointment, kind of tawdry and seedy. We discussed the differences between it and Navy Pier in Chicago. What makes one work and the other not?

We walked around Santa Monica, up and down the Third Street Promenade. Some great book and music stores and a cool old movie house, but incredible numbers of homeless, a lot really young too. It's quite the dilemma. The big young guy flipping his butterfly knife open and closed definitely added to the urban gritty feel of the place. It was rather schizophrenic, what with the nice stores and the seeming hordes of homeless sitting outside them.

Since we spent too much time walking the Promenade, we drove down to Venice Beach rather than walking. I really would have liked to have walked it but maybe next time. Venice Beach, while definitely more vibrant than the Santa Monica Pier, was every bit as seedy. At that point, I was tired, cold and a bit uncomfortable with where we had left the car, so I was ready to head up to Santa Barbara. There was one good bookstore tucked behind a sidewalk bar called Small World Books. Seemingly out of place but Steve and I have decided that the absence or presence of a bookstore and the type of bookstore say a lot about a place. A redeeming quality of Venice Beach?

We drove up the coast on Pacific Coast Highway which at first appeared to be a mistake but then opened up and moved along nicely. Funky little communities. The detour we hit in Oxnard just after dark was a pain in the ass.

Got here, watched a couple of innings of Game 4 (of which I have no specific recollection, being brain dead at the time), then went for a spectacular dinner at Lucky's in Montecito.

Trying to get to Oatman, Arizona tonight. Bypassing the scenic route for the more direct. I'm disappointed that we won't be going through Ojai but am totally on board with the wisdom of the decision.