Day 10: Part 2 - Walks are Cheap...

I'd just like to point out that this is my 100th post. No fanfare necessary...especially considering my 1000th post on my other blog is less than 25 away.

Moving on...

When last we left off, we were headed to the pride festival. 

We followed the throng of parade spectators,



float personnel,



lovers,



and men in rainbow beads...



...to the gates of the festival. 

We learned that it was $20 per person to get in.  And then you pay to drink, eat, and do whatever else you'd like.  There was live music, none of it anything we wanted to see, and more things to spend cash on.  By this time in the vacation we were strapped for cash (more so than we thought we'd be, seeing as how Robb's paycheck didn't direct deposit and his new credit card never came), so we opted out of going in.  Instead, we toured the area (which I liked better, anyway). 

We crossed that viaduct from day 9 on foot, pausing to take photos of the skyline.



And then we ended up at The Museum of Man, hosted in this building:



The area really was gorgeous, very Spanish Mission feeling.



That girl was gorgeous in her cute skirt, let me tell you.



We stayed to hear the bells toll, had a little fight about something stupid, and then decided to head back towards Hillcrest to find food, seeing as how we hadn't eaten in our rush to get to Pride.  On the way we saw lawn bowling.



It was all very civilized with their white outfits and quiet clapping. 

We fought against the crowds of men going the other way,



passed some local art,



and back to the gayborhood.  And who was waiting to give my tired feet a ride? 



Him.



And them.

But we walked around Hillcrest,



And we ate Chipotle.  It was the best I've ever had, honestly.  As we were leaving the neighborhood we saw this place:



I love that the awning highlights the words "World's Largest Hot Dog."  A little ironic in the gay neighborhood.

We didn't stick around long after wandering the streets and visiting some shops, because we needed to find our new hotel, since the one we were at had no free rooms for the next night (shame we'd have to leave Ben, the night desk guy).  So we headed off, getting lost thanks to my VZ Navigator being set on pedestrian mode instead of something NOT stupid.  Whoops!

But we got settled in our new hotel and headed back out because I wanted to see the sunset from the beach.



As you can tell, we didn't quite make it, due to...breaking in...the...hotel room............*ahem*

Anywho.  We headed back to Mission Beach for a great night of wandering through the sand.  On the way we passed this place:



I'm sorry...does that say "BALLS" in the window?  Anyone want to explain that to me?

Once on the beach we saw these performers playing with fire and eachother:



We walked down the beach and saw some people enjoying a chilly night:



I paused to draw one of my birds in the sand, demonstrating the transience of art...



And then we headed back to our car after a very romantic little walk.



When we got back near the lot, these guys wer STILL performing:



He was being held in the air by this guy:



And then they got an audience member involved:



It was pretty neat!  We decided at the car to go see the Giant Dipper, the roller coaster near the beach.  I unexpectedly treated Robb to a ride on it, since wewouldn't be back that way, maybe ever.



We had a good time!  Candy stores and carnival rides make for a nice night:



And we ended up here:



That would be The Wave House.  It's an outside bar with a man made wave to ride.  We sat and watched the surfers do flips:



And wipe out, too.  It was a great night.  Spectacular views, too.



And after flirting a little with our favorite surfer, we headed home to our hotel to sleep it off and get ready for who knows what the next day.  While day 10 didn't turn out as expected on any account, it was still one of my favorite days of vacation!

Out