Del Mar Racetrack Opening Day



Me, Kendall & Joe

Solana Beach and Del Mar are a zoo to try to get around on Del Mar Racetrack Opening Day.  Joe and Kendall found themselves at Pizza Port last year and said the scene was crazy.  We agreed to meet there after work for Opening Day.

The best seating area is outside Pizza Port.  The Amtrak station is across PCH with 4 lanes to (illegally) cross.  And yes the scene was crazy.  Amtrak trains arrive from points north (up from LA) and a double-decker bus shuttles you to the racetrack.  Trains allow carry-on drinks as well as serve drinks.  Guess it’s better than drinking and driving.

I joined Joe and Kendall at the outside seats next to ??? and Ken and their dog, Echo.  Echo had a rawhide stick and was going to town on it.  From our prime seats, we saw fashions of:

• small hats for men and some women
• outrageously large hats for women
• short, short skirts
• 4-8 inch heels
• Two guys, one in a neon yellow suit and the other in neon purple

Fashion Knows No Pain

The combination of short, short skirts and 8-inch heels made for interesting highway crossings.  After ‘running’ across a lane or two, the women would just slow to a walk, stopping traffic.  At several points, traffic was stopped in both directions due to wandering drunks in the road.  And a few short-skirted women fell off of their 8-inch heels.

This is sooo much better than going to the track.

Comic-Con 2012

Michael and Tish invite friends to come to their downtown place for the Saturday night of Comic-Con for dinner and a walkabout.

Yes, we were that close to Comic-Con

Jon and I tried the train downtown a few years ago.  Never again due to the delays and overcrowding with the Comic-Con crowd.  So Joe/Kendall volunteered to drive and I joined them at their home.

There are probably more costumes downtown for Comic-Con than Halloween.   We started seeing Comic-Con people once we arrived at the north part of downtown.  Weirdness increased as we got closer to Michal/Tich’s place next to the Convention Center.

Kelly, Ross, Joe, and Kendall

We met Darlene and Chris upon arrival.  They are from Coronado Island, taking the ferry and bikes to get here.  Later, Ross, Kelly, and Irish John joined us.  They took the train and naturally got lost coming from the train station.

I took this pic, then

Darlene took this pic.

Michael got into a cooking frenzy at the downstairs grill.  I discovered heating lamps on the far side of the communal patio so the dinner location got moved.  We had an abundance of great food.

Later we walked about, taking in the costumes and promotional setups.  Hollywood has discovered Comic-Con.  The sides of the hotels were covered with movie promotions. 

One of several roving (promotional) bands

NBC had rented the Hard Rock Café for an Invite-Only party. My invite must have been lost in the mail.

I would have driven my Lambo if I got my invite.  But I would not promo it up.

We stopped in Tin Fish for a drink.  Michael and Tish know the Tin Fish owner and said he was approached by the people that have the Grimm Brothers movies coming out, about converting Tin Fish to a Grimm Brothers promotion.  For $80k for 3 days!

Jim Messina @ Del Mar Fair

Another flashback to the late 70’s artist, I first saw Loggins and Messina at Clarkson arena while at SUNY Potsdam in 1977(?).

Jim was personable; he would talk between songs and explained the history.  And what a musical history: Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Loggins and Messina, and as a solo artist.