Go North Young Men, GO NORTH!

Monday, November 2, 2026

After dropping off the grandkids at school, our latest day as proud SoCal tour guides began in earnest.

It started with Laurie and Julien heading to the Camarillo Premium Outlets to purchase some much desired clothing and then stop at our local Ralphs Supermarket to buy exotic candy brands for his daughter Jeanne, like Tootsie Roll Pops, Pay Day, Nerds and Mike and Ikes, that are not readily available in France.

Julien and I then headed out for a trip northwards while Laurie stayed at home to greet Brian our drywall man as our home renovation got back in full swing.

We took the 101 Freeway towards Santa Barbara and got off for a quick driving tour of wondrous Carpinteria.

We continued North.

The beach in Santa Barbara

 

The lure of the warm waters of the

Pacific Ocean was too much for Julien

In he went, now able check off

the Pacific Ocean off of his bucket list

It was a BEAUTIFUL day in

Santa Barbara for a cruise ship stop

On the Stearns Wharf Pier for

a wee stretch of the legs

Santa Barbara is a South facing beach

We saw lots of cruisers

roaming the pier

We opted to start working our way slowly back towards Camarillo.

We needed sustenance desperately, but where to eat?

Ventura's Marshall's Bodacious BBQ

was the perfect choice

Julien has expressed a desire to eat in some of our famed "Hole-in-the-Wall" dining spots and this is truly one of them.

Julien's opting for a Tri-Tip

sandwich with a side of sweet potatoes

was a stroke of culinary genius!

My Tri-Tip salad was a good health choice too.

Next stop . . .

Pacifica H.S.

Pacifica's Head Coach invited us to attend his team's video review session of last Friday's Simi Valley game, then watch their weight room workout and, finally, watch their relatively light, game plan installation practice for their D2 playoff game on Friday at Bishop Amat H.S.

Julien was loving what he saw

We were not done yet, as Julien needed to get a taste of the food at the famed Cronies Sports Grill in Camarillo. 

DONE DEAL!

We had a fun evening with Laurie and Brian and Koreen FitzGerald, joining us as we watched the NFL's Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks.

Chicago (6-2) won easily over the

defending Super Bowl Champion

Seattle Seahawks (4-4)

The Rams are now tied with the Seahawks for second place in the NFC West.

Chicago is in second place by themselves in the NFC North.

As to the work of our man Brian the drywall whiz, he got to work today quickly and furiously.

Before . . .

. . . VOILÀ!

Another before photo . . .

. . . with equally AWESOME results!

The drywall now finished, we will move on next to the installation of our new flooring and baseboards in all three of the rooms under renovation.

After those tasks are completed, the painters will swoop in to finish things.

Stay tuned . . . 

Sign that The Apocalypse is upon us

In our home, this is becoming

more of a fact every year

On Tuesday, our travel Adventure continues with more exotic destination on Tuesday, stay tuned . . .

Julien Arrives From Lyon, France and the Ventura Dia De Los Muertos Festival

Sunday, November 1, 2026

A splendid agenda was on hand for this glorious, picture perfect Sunday after a night of rain in SoCal.

Let us start the month of November with a great memory from 57 years ago today.

Saturday, November 1, 1969

Skydive Snohomish, Washington

George Contreras & Mark Johnson

After sharing a few adult beverages on a Friday night at Dante's Tavern in Seattle's University District, we made the enlightened decision to go skydiving for the first time early the following morning.

 

My photo of Mark plummeting

back to Earth

I had been chosen by our instructor to be the first to exit the plane, thus my view of Mark.

Please note that after only a couple of hours of ground instruction, we both jumped solo on our initial, and to this date, only skydiving adventures.

Today, such a jump would be done in tandem with an instructor attached to the novice jumper.

Men were men back in 1969!

Somehow, both Mark and I are still alive and kicking, much the better and wiser for the experience.

Dante's Tavern, those were the days . . . 

After re-living this fond memory, it was off to LAX, as we had a visitor to meet and greet.

Julien Urgenti was in California

Julien was the General Manager and Offensive Coordinator with France's Bron-Villeurbanne Falcons back during the 2012-13 season when I coached the team.

We had a wonderful season, collaborating almost daily in a campaign that ended with a 12-0 record and a French DIII National Championship.

He will be with us for ten days that will include a trip to Seattle to stay at Mark Johnson's home while attending a high school Washington state playoff game on Friday, the Penn State-Washington contest on Saturday and the NFL skirmish between the Seahawks and Cardinals on Sunday.

So how to start his Adventure, you ask?

Why with an energy boost at

this iconic SoCal dining emporium

He opted for a maple iced cake donut while I picked out the cinnamon crumble to spike my blood-sugar levels to the max.

From here, we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway through Santa Monica, Malibu and, eventually, Oxnard taking in the gorgeous vistas offered on this route of the Pacific Ocean and its many spectacular beaches.

Our next stop was in Ventura to participate in their big festival today.

The festival celebrated the

Dia de los Muertos

In the Mexican culture the Day of the Dead is the sacred day for families to honor and celebrate the memories and lives of family members and friends that are no longer with us.

A fine tradition if you ask me.

Julien had asked to take in a

just such a festival

Ventura's festival was packed

in the Old Downtown area of this

excellent beach community

Lots of Low Rider cars were on

display, many with photos of their

departed love ones on display

Combining bitter losses with joyous

life celebrations, so cool!

Our first example of a La Catrina

The La Catrina idea was created to remind us all that death is a natural part of life and as a means to celebrate shared Mexican heritage and culture.

I like it.

Festive colors are a HUGE part of

any Dia de los Muertos celebrations

Impressive

All of the cars and their displays

were interesting to me

Again, LOTS of colors

Of course the Virgen de Guadalupe

was IN THE HOUSE!

Lively music and colorful Folklórico

dancers set a tone for the spectators

I was enchanted by this truck's

paint job

How do they make these works of art?

BRIGHT GREEN!

Stairway to Heaven?

Now, THAT'S a classic car!

Julien liked this car

Soon after this, he got extremely artsy when he saw a car with mirrors on the ground so that passers-by could get a better look at the underside of the vehicle.

Julien saw this as cool photo op.

Julien's photo easily won the

Picture of the Day Contest!

I tried to get Julien on the

Dance Floor but he declined

Julien and a random Aztec Princess

on her way to a human sacrifice

Hopefully, not hers.

The best La Catrina we saw today!

Aztec Medicine Man sanctifying this

motorcycle with chants and incense

LOVING all of these colors and costumes!

There were tons of vendors set up along our walk peddling their arts and crafts.

I did make one purchase.

I was told by the lady that this translates

to "Have Mercy on MAGA"

I felt that it was a good idea to show the MAGA crowd my compassion and caring for them after Tuesday's election results.

We trekked down to the beach

near the Venturas Pier

It was a great way to start Julien's

Adventure but we were hungry

We got the gang together at El Tec

with Michael taking the photo

Julien enjoyed his three street

Al Pastor taco plate

Authentic Mexican food was high on his trip's bucket list.

After returning home and watching the end of the NFL Sunday Night Football Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Redskins game, Julien crashed after his long trip from Lyon to Los Angeles via a two-hour layover in Amsterdam.

When or if he'll wake up on Monday is largely in question.

Still no Washington Huskies

The 8-0 UCLA Bruins keep creeping up this list, good for them!

As for our Huskies . . .

Minus the last drive of the game,

I would grade the Offense much lower

A lackluster win by all reports but

the now 4-4 record is trending upward

A first round D2 playoff game

between two 8-2 teams

This is a heavyweight matchup between the Marmonte League's #1 team, Pacifica, and the #2 team from the Mission League, Bishop Amat.

They have one common opponent, Mission League Champion Sierra Canyon (10-0).

Pacifica lost to Sierra Canyon, 42-10.

Bishop Amat also came a short in their Sierra Canyon game, 56-7.

Pacifica is one of 13 Ventura County teams participating in one of the C.I.F.-Southern Section's 14 playoff divisions. The other dozen county post-season participants are:

Del Sol (4-6) - D13

Fillmore (8-2) - D8

Grace (8-2) - D10

Moorpark (8-2) - D5

Newbury Park (6-4) - D4

Nordhoff (9-1) - D11

Oak Park (7-3) - D7

Royal (9-1) - D10

Simi Valley (5-5) - D5

St. Bonaventure (7-3) - D3

Ventura (7-3) - D6

Westlake (7-3) - D4

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!