Tales from California: Staying with V

After Mary and I crashed at Spencer’s house, we moved on to our next hosts, V and her partner Devon. My dad and V had met online when each of them was promoting their son’s bands, and when she heard that Mary and I were in the San Diego area, she offered to put us up for a couple nights. The first thing they did when Spencer dropped us off in a mall parking lot was buy us a massive carrot-cake cheesecake, followed by making a field trip to visit the seals, and then a dinner a the Chart House seafood restaurant, where I ate fresh-caught tilapia while gazing out at the dark ocean rolling in just outside the huge picture windows. It was both unexpected and humbling to be treated with such generosity, all because of an Internet business contact. 

V’s house was part normal suburban, part steampunk haven. The gold-colored mannequin with the long neck who posed at the corner of the dining room caught my attention, and the chandelier and old piano added to the feel of the room. 

When we were there, I did little but scramble to catch up on my work, although I did take a walk around the small town with Mary one of the days. One time V took us to visit her father, and ex-marine who had earned four purple hearts and roses. He showed us his antique collection, let us pick tangerines from his tree out back, and gave Mary a Marine Corps sweatshirt to cover up her disgraceful Air Force t-shirt.

V pulled a few strings and talked to her son about scoring Mary and me some tickets for the concert he was working on as a sound man. Ever heard of the Fresh Beat Band? Me neither, but V got us the tickets, and we were headed to LA anyway, so why not?

The last morning, V got up early to drive us to the Oceanside Greyhound station, a huge sacrifice for her night-owl tendencies. Mary and I caught the bus to Anaheim, where we killed time all day before lining up for the concert outside The Grove. I was feeling a bit awkward, since we were the only people our age without little kids. I was afraid security would make us put away our huge backpacks at the door. 

We got in the door no problem. The security guy heard we were from Missouri and made some sneering comment about our baseball team giving California’s baseball team our star player, and that was all the trouble he gave us. We filed into the auditorium and sat down on the chairs. V’s son came out to say hi and we chatted for a bit, and then it was time for the show to begin. The moment the four actors rushed out on stage, I recognized them— I had seen the corresponding TV show when I was babysitting in Wyoming!

What followed was a ridiculously fun show. They sang about friendship and dancing and friendship again, while wearing bright colors and doing some sort of wholesome hip-hop dance. It was honestly one of the most fun concerts I’ve ever been to. Families across the country agree: the Fresh Beat Band is going on tour, and in New York, scalped tickets are running up to $2,000. 

All in all, V made sure that Mary’s and my last few days in California were different and interesting. From giving me a place to catch up on work to scoring us tickets for the most unexpected concert, V was a vital part of our trip.

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