city of angels part one

russell and i took a much needed trip down south this weekend.

we had such good times and good talks that now i'm sitting at my desk, just 50 miles from him, missing him more than i ever have. you would think that sad things are what make you sad, right? happy things are making me sad. happy things are whats making me miss him like crazy.

we started our drive down on friday afternoon. we had jack in the box for breakfast, which was the start of our disgusting eat-a-thon. we held hands and sang the juno soundtrack. we talked about our future together and apart. we talked about our fears and insecurities. basically, we were pretty gay.

russell decided he needed a shave. we wanted to stop at the most country bumpkin place we could find. you know, a place where the main street is called main street. we stopped in coalinga and followed the striped pole to Ron's Barber Shop , but it was closed. Apparently Ron was sick. After asking around, we found CL Smith's Barber Shop just a few blocks away. Russell got his shave and I enjoyed small town talk. Everyone knew everyone and they warned us that we might never leave. Some people who just pass through end up settling down and spending forty years there. We glanced at the Krueger Motel and decided that Freddy himself wouldn't stay there.

We stopped again somewhere else along the 5. Bear Mountain or something like that. We found a field and watched the sunset. We talked about how much we loved each other and mushy stuff like that. Russell has some amazing pictures on his camera from this pit stop. But i'd like to think that it was better left to the imagination.

We made it to Santa Monica a little after 8. We had barbecue at Mr. Cecils with Matt and Catherine. The boys told stories about growing up in the richmond and about how much trouble russell got into as a kid. we swapped crazy parent stories...i'm still not sure who's parents are crazier, mine or russells...either way, they make perfect in-laws.

we left to meet up with efty at her boy's place in los feliz. after a few glasses of wine, we left to some bar/club place nearby. we drank and danced the night away under a latinos for obama poster. some l.a. douchebag try to hit on me and efty right in front of the boys. in true douchey fashion he started spewing disparaging remarks about san francisco when russell stepped in. fuck l.a., that's what i have to say about that. we went back to los feliz and had some more wine, sang creedence and watched internet porn. we talked about relationships, love and life into the wee hours of the morning.

we drove back to santa monica around 5. Got a couple hours of sleep on the air mattress before heading out to disneyland. (yes, again) My favorite souvenir from my trip is my disney ticket that says hero: Matthew Morse. Thanks Matt for directing traffic during the So Cal fires so that we could all have a wonderful weekend at the magic kingdom. You truly are my hero for that.

Russell found time to say hello to his old friend Mr. Toad. He told us that he wanted to come back to the bay and ghostride the whip. We were sorry to inform him that the hyphy movement has since died down and he'd have to find another reason to come and visit us.

We both stopped in for a visit with Alice and the Queen of Hearts. We'd missed them the last time around and hadn't completely gotten over it. Last time we were here, Matt's arm was out of commission and they couldnt get the teacups spinning in full force. This time we all wanted to barf.

After the teacups, we went to visit Clint the waiter at the jazz kitchen place in downtown disney. the food was amazing, but this waiter was something else. he caught us making fun of him about a million times. i was laughing so hard all through dessert that i thought i was going to spit diet coke all over russell. part of me wants to write a blog dedicated to this extra special food service worker.

we were disney-ed out and called it a night pretty early. we couldnt even get through an episode of friends.

the next morning, the tower of terror was first thing on the list. yay, we got front row. i was scared...again. even though i've been on this thing a bunch of times, it still gets me.

Then Russell channeled his inner school shooter and played with the big ball in tomorrow land.

After being dissed by Snow White and Goofy, we managed to run into these big timers in toon town. Russell and I were worse than the kids. We were pushing over grandmas and handicapped people just to get this shot.

Unbeknownst to Matt, Russell captured a picture of his brother's sweet stache. Matt didn't want his upper lip to be documented, but guess what, now it's been blogged about. Notice that matt and catherine bear an uncanny resemblance to Minnie and Pluto. Curiouser and Curiouser.

Not enough Japanese people go to disneyland. It took us asking 3 different people in two different languages to get a picture of us in front of the castle. this one was taken by a dude in a dada shirt.

to be continued...