Cali's a great place to visit...Solstice Parade compromised!

Rules of Solstice Parade: No motors on floats and no signs or signature of any sort. Oddly, nothing in print that says a float can't make a political or social statement; however, I'm very certain that floats of a political and social nature are not allowed. So why the Mexican man with Mexican children wearing masks and pulling a pack of cigarettes with a skull attached?

I emailed the Solstice committee but haven't heard back. If this sort of float is allowed, who's to say a float protesting the current administration in Washington, or a float in favor of the Arizona illegal alien bill, or a float protesting cruel and inhumane treatment of animals shouldn't be allowed??? See what I mean? The parades intent is not to lecture but to celebrate Summer Solstice.

I don't get this.

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Santa Ynez wine country. Gurgle, gurgle.

The last weekend during my trip to Cali (a week ago0 we went wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara County). Spent some time in Solvang with my friends Sam, Josh and Erica, and my family - the Nowak's (Grafton Uncle Bob's family). Hit some old wineries and some new. Had a limo (thanks, Sam), which is a convenient way for winos to travel. Beautiful weather. Good wine. All in all, an excellent time.

Click on READ MORE! for more pics.

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TGIF! presents...a Santa Barbara travelogue!

Headed out to Santa Barbara today for a weekend of family and wine. This 1975 doc was filmed by Kelly Fitzpatrick when he was on ludes. I'm kidding. It's a very exciting place though. Santa Barbara is.

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Part Deux! Fiesta! Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara!

Seems I forgot to regale you with pictures from Fiesta! 2009 in Santa Barbara. Click on READ MORE! for more shots. If you love horses, the horse parade on Friday (this was the first weekend in August) was quite spectacular. I've been to Fiesta many times since living in Cali but I prefer Solstice in May. I thought this may be my last "Old Spanish Days" for a while so I took in the sights and sounds as one last swan song before I move back to WI. Plus, any excuse I can use to party with the Santa Barbara Nowaks is an excuse I'll snap up in a minute. Incidentally, my parents and Brother Jason were partying that same weekend with Tom Nowak (of Santa Barbara) and Rick Nowak (Greendale, WI) at Village Days in Greendale. It was a West Coast/Midwest Ircink/Nowak party weekend! (If you don't know, the Nowak's are family through marriage - my dad's youngest sister, Aunt Ev, married the oldest Nowak, my Uncle Bob.)

The dancers above were featured on that same Friday evening at the Sunken Gardens (part of the Santa Barbara courthouse grounds).

Greg Nowak (standing), Chuck Nowak and his wife, Heather and their four children at the Children's Parade on Saturday.

Horses during Friday's horse parade, one of the largest in the country.

More dancers at the Sunken Gardens.

Mark Aldecoa, Laura (Nowak) and their eldest, Melissa, who's off to start her freshman year at UCLA.


The Santa Barbara courthouse.

Chuck's two oldest. We passed out flowers to the pretty senoritas during the parade.

Even this dog got in on the festivities.

This lady, I believe, was a Fiesta parade grand marshall or Fiesta princess back in like 1900.

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The Territory Ahead and my lost shorts.

I lost a pair of shorts I purchased in Santa Barbara a couple years ago. Maybe it was last year. I have no idea where they could've gone. I had them with me in Miami in May and when I arrived home they had disappeared. I called the hotel in Miami and I didn't leave them there. So where did they go? Truth be told, I've lost or misplaced more shit in the last three years since living in Culver City than I've lost or misplaced the entire 7 years I've lived in a two-story guest house in Bel Air. I'm not saying it's not me - maybe it is. I'm just saying it's odd that I've never lost or misplaced as much as I have since moving to Culver City.

The shorts pictured above are the exact shorts I'm referring to. I picked up a replacement pair at The Territory Ahead, whose corporate office is located in Santa Barbara. $14.95 at TTA outlet store. Sweet.

Check out their website. I'm gonna try and not lose my shorts this time.

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Sunflower. State Street. Santa Barbara.

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The proper etiquette when celebrating Fiesta! in Santa Barbara.

Step 1: Buy confetti egg. 4 for $1.00.

Step 2: Smash egg on unsuspecting person's head.

Step 3: Sprinkle confetti while rubbing into person's hair.

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Fiesta! Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara!

Just arrived in Santa Barbara (11:45 p.m. Thursday) for another Fiesta! 2 1/2 hrs instead of the normal 1 1/2 hrs. 'cause of fucked up traffic on both the 405 and Sepulveda. One thing I won't miss in LA = the traffic bullshit.

This Fiesta will be my last one for a while as I'm moving back to Wisconsin at the end of the month. Probably won't come back to Cali for this event - Solstice in June is much better. Tomorrow's one of the world's largest equestrian parades, EL DESFILE HISTÓRICO and Saturday is the 79th Annual Children's Parade, or ANNUAL EL DESFILE DE LOS NIÑOS.

Crashing at Tom's house (as in T. Nowak, my non-blood Uncle Bob's bro..."where'd ya go, Tom?) and will attend Chuck N.'s barbecue Saturday with his family, along with Greg N. and Laura N (with her family - hubby Mark, Melissa and Little Mark).

The Nowak's and Santa Barbara...always a most excellent tradition! VIVA LA FIESTA!

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Barnsdall-Rio Grande gas station

The Barnsdall-Rio Grande gas station in Goleta is just up the road from Tom Nowak's place - my non-blood uncle's brother. Goleta is the next town north of Santa Barbara. I've driven by this place dozens of times and - since I'm moving back to WI any day now - decided to snap a shot of it and do a little research on it. Click on READ MORE! and have look at the California coast you've probably never seen.

The Barnsdall Rio Grande service station was built in 1929 and is one of the most architecturally significant service station in California and perhaps the United States. Constructed in the popular Spanish colonial revival style of its time, it was designed by the same architectural firm that was responsible for many of the attractive Richfield service stations of the same time period.

One of the most notable features of the station was its vertical elongation. It covered only 450 square feet at the base but soared 40 feet into the air. The third floor of the tower held a 2,000 gallon water storage tank which provided pressurized water to the station.

The station was situated at the entrance to the oil field owned by the Barnsdall-Rio Grande Oil Company and was intended to be a corporate showpiece. The first operator of the station was D.M. Tinsler. Under his management the station received a beautification award from the Garden Club of Santa Barbara and the Montecito Roadside Committee. The Montecito Roadside committee was particurlary concerned about the unsightly accumulation of signage around service stations and along the roadways. The contest judges declared the grounds to be “finely kept” and relatively free from signs. In the years to come the station would receive many other awards for “excellent appearance”.

Today the station is located on a side road, but when it was originally built is was on the Coast Highway (now 101) and undoubtedly attracted the attention of the highway traveler. Even if the motorist was not in need of services they would be compelled to stop just to admire the architectural beauty of this unique station. If the service station didn’t stop them, the adjoining restaurant would.

Seeking a partner for this wildcatting operation, the Rio Grande Company combined with the Barnsdall Oil Co. to explore this unproven location. They began drilling on June 1, 1928. They had agreed to drill to 3,000 feet at a cost of about $10.00 a foot and if the well didn’t prove out at that depth to give up. At 3,160 feet, the drilling supervisor asked for permission to pull the plug. As a last ditch effort before giving up they asked the geologist Morgan to have one last look at the final coring. Morgan detected traces of petroleum. They drove the bit ten more feet and struck a gas pocket, at just over 3,200 feet they found the oil. It was a gusher generating 180 barrels per hour.

The petroleum was so prolific that the company did not have the capacity to refine all of it as it was produced. While the storage and delivery facilities were being built Barnsdall and Rio Grande made arrangements with Seaside Oil Company to take all of the surplus flow.

The speculators behind the Barnsdall and Rio Grande Oil Companies were rich, paying $650,000.00 in taxes on their first year strike alone. Although the cost and design of the small flagship station seemed extravagant, the expense was nearly insignificant relative to the earnings of the rich oil reserve behind it along the shores of Ellwood in Santa Barbara County.

I'm gonna deviate from the story for a second. Little known fact: during WWII, Japanese fired 16 shells at this exact location of the West Coast. There were no injuries but $500 damage was done to a shed and catwalk at the seaside Barnsdall-Rio Grande Oil Co. field along Goleta Beach.

Above: Filming at the Barnsdale-Rio Grande station during The Postman Always Rings Twice, with Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner.

Might as well give a status report since this made it to the top again. The guy that is responsible for the Beanie Babies, Mr Ty Warner is now the proud owner of this historic service station building. It came with the adjoining golf course that is built where the oil field tanks once stood. Warner has purchased a number of flagship Santa Barbara properties thanks to all of those Beanie Baby millions (or was it a billion?).

He has done a remarkable job of restoring and or remodeling many of these famous properties including the Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel and San Ysidro Ranch, despite having to put up with endless nonsense from every group that thinks that they should have a vested interest in anything that gets done in Santa Barbara.

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A few Solstice honeys.

Oops...how did Greg Nowak get in there? Sorry. Children - turn away.

Even though this picture of me and my Aunt Ev (dad's youngest sister) was taken the day before the parade, I wanted to include her in my Solstice Honey post 'cause she bitched at me last year as all the "honey's" were blondes. And after all, my Aunt Ev is the best Solstice Honey out there!

Check out my 2007 Solstice Babe post and the story behind the lame Solstice beer garden from last year. Newsflash! The beer garden is still fucked up. Same pathetic layout (the size of my right nut) AND - get this - they were charging a $5 cover to get in. BULLSHIT! I say to the beautiful city of Santa Barbara. We boycotted the garden this year - which is why I limited in my shots of Solstice Honeys this year.

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