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| Hangin' with Ice Cube at the Coliseum for the 2009 Lakers Championship Parade |
Much has changed for me in the last ten years. If you've read my blog before, that you know is true! It's interesting what comes up when I read my old posts... Perhaps I will do a recap at the end of this 10-day throw back. A where are they now. Wives. Trusty. Kids...!
But seriously, I had forgotten about all the amazing events that had led up to that trip! I'll never forget the day Jaden stood up for the first time. I actually caught it on video. It was almost as if he wanted me to see him stand up before I left on the trip! He was so proud of himself, and that huge smile he had on his face... Priceless! But here's the truth. Jaden is the second child. And as a parent of a second child, what you know from having this experience already with the first child, is that after they stand up for the first time, you know what's just around the corner. Walking. Noooooo!!!!
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| Hey dad! Check this out. I can stand up on my own! |
Parents with two or more kids will tell you the straight up truth. What you thought was so cute the first time around... You know, the drunk baby human who staggers and plops down on their butt after taking a few steps...? Well, that baby human is about to turn into the toddler who gets into everything. And I mean everything! This is the time in your life where you really do need three arms! And since we don't have three arms, it therefore becomes one of the most challenging times raising kids. Not that having a 'tween, recently turned teen, is easy either, but... Let's just say that there was definitely a reason that God created, "eyes in the back of our heads," as my mom always used to say...
But back to the events that lead up to our cross country trip. My cousin, Wayne, called me on the morning of June 17, 2009 and said, "Dude, I'm coming to pick you up. We're going downtown L.A. to meet a few of the Lakers before the big parade." Side note: Wayne is friends with Johnny Buss, who's family owns and runs the Laker organization. I of course was ready in 5...
Once we arrived at Staples Center, we were immediately thrust into the excitement of the "who's who" party that mingled and cheered as each championship Laker arrived. Pau Gasol, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom... The whole team arrived one by one. But backstage at the Staples Center erupted into an absolute frenzy when Kobe Bryant arrived, and the cheering didn't stop for the next few hours!
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| Me telling Magic Johnson "The Story..." |
After meeting three of my childhood heroes, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Kurt Rambis, we were told that we were invited to ride on Magic Johnson's double decker bus in the parade... Wait, what??? And this even after I awkwardly told Magic the story of how we met in the men's restroom at the Tropicana Club many years ago while I was at a bachelor party...? True story. My friend Mike and I had followed Mr. Johnson into the restroom, and then proceeded to utilize the urinals on either side of our hero! Right after we all finished our business, I introduced myself. As true gentlemen do, both Magic and I looked each other in the eyes, zipped up our flies and shook hands. It was as awkward a moment in the men's restroom at the Tropicana as it was telling him the story in person 15 years later. It started out just fine. "Magic, we actually met about 15 years ago..." But it quickly went south when his expression changed from his trademark smile, to a look of, "Say what?" I am literally still laughing to this day at the look his face. Like the smile on my son's face as he stood proudly on his own for the first time... It was priceless!
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| That's Magic Johnson in the foreground. Kobe is in the bus ahead of us, holding up the championship trophy! |
But those awkward moments soon went away as one of the most surreal, only in L.A., moments was about to happen. Ridding on Magic Johnson's double decker bus in a parade after the 2009 NBA Championship win, from the Staples Center to the Coliseum, is one of the most memorable moments in my life. The streets were lined with fans for the complete parade route which is about three miles. They were all cheering and waving at us a our double decker bus went by. At first I was like, wait, I didn't win. I am not Worthy (No pun intended...). But then I realized, and Magic actually said this to me, "Today, we are all winners. Today we are all Lakers." The whole city of Angeles came together that day as one. And I just happened to be invited along for the ride. So, I waved enthusiastically as we cruised down Figueroa on our way to the Coliseum.
Once the buses arrived at the Coliseum, we thought that was it. But as we were escorted onto the stage (The Lakers hardwood floor from Staples Center had been set up as the stage on the floor of the Coliseum), I felt like a rockstar as I gazed in awe out at the full capacity crowd that filled the stadium. As Phill Jackson began to give a speech, I looked to the guy standing next to me and said, "Dude, that's Phill Jackson!" The guy looked back at me and said, in a very cool way, "Hell yeah it is." That guy next to me was Ice Cube. For the next 40 minutes we both watched the ceremony and talked Lakers highlights from time to time. Oh, and cuz' Wayne was there too! :) Big thanks, my brother! |
| Mazzy and I watching me on TV standing behind Kobe Bryant |
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| Look who's on TV with Kobe... Far right side of frame! |
I wanted to post this up yesterday so that I could keep up with the days, but could not find the Ice Cube pic until this morning... Luckily cuz' Wayne had it! And so here we go with day two of our cross country trip in 2009:
June 23, 2009
I got about four hours of sleep and spent a little time catching up with Ian this morning. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen him, so it was great reminiscing about our days at Lutheran Jr. High. His admittedly were a little rougher than mine, but now at 40, he’s settled down a bit! He took us to a great breakfast spot, Rusty’s and to the London Bridge, which by the way was purchased from the city of London by accident and brought over brick by brick. I say by accident because they thought they were getting the far more impressive Tower Bridge.
After breaky Anthony and I were off. We made our way back to Interstate 40 to fuel up. While we were getting gas, Anthony noticed a little oil leaking from the front wheel hub. Upon further investigation, we found that a seal had blown (or something like that). We decided to keep going but started noticing a little shimmy shake in the front end.
As we pulled into Kingman, I did a search on the iPhone to find a garage that can work on Land Rovers. Amazingly I found one! But, finding the parts we need has proven to be a little bit tougher. I think this one quote from the mechanic sums it all up, “Do you guys know where you are? This is Kingman Arizona. Fords, Chevys and Chevys and Fords.”
Pit stop, Kingman, AZ (Unplanned).
Problem: Leaky seal in front hub/Shimmy shake in the front end.
Solution: Find a garage that works on Range Rovers
Success? Yes, I found a garage that works on Range Rovers on my iPhone
Back on the Road: 2 ½ hours later
Problem solved? No, problem understood but not solved
Anthony belongs to a Range/Land Rover, enthusiast club, SoCal Land Rover. They have a user group on the web for problem solving “situations” with other enthusiasts members. Finding parts, as the mechanic in Kingman put it, for Chevys, Fords and Fords and Chevys is not a problem. But for a Range Rover? Not as easy.
However, out of the Range Rover user group came a true champion for our cause. Our knight in shining armor. A diamond in the rough if you will. Or, as he calls himself, JP. Now, JP is a Range Rover enthusiast. So is Anthony. Myself? Well, trying to join in on a shop talk conversation with true Range Rover enthusiasts is like trying to order breakfast in Greek at a Chinese restaurant in Italy… That is if you could actually find a Chinese restaurant in Italy!
This guy, whom we have never met before, not only had the parts we needed, but hooked us up with his vacation rental to stay for the night in Flagstaff gratis! You see, sometimes being nice guys does pay off! This reminds me of the hospitality I found traveling throughout Europe.
After settling in, we decided to head to downtown Flagstaff to check out the local scene. First, we hit a pub called Maloney’s for a pint and then rolled down the street to the only other place that was still open at midnight, Monte Vista. Here we found home. It was a bit of a dive that had a lot of character. Sure, the bartender did have to jump over the bar to break up a scuffle at about 1:30am, but we found it to be exciting background action. After all, this is not Los Angeles and the scuffle was really tame!
We did meet some interesting people. In fact, we met someone from Encino who was driving the reverse of our trip, Washington DC to L.A. Also a Hopi, Native American in his 60s named Augustine told me, “When you are lost, you must look within your heart.” I like that! I told him that in my life, that’s exactly what I do. But in Flagstaff, I look to the navigation on my iPhone!
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Day 2 – June 22, 2009
Start: Lake Havasu City, AZ
Destination: Canyonlands National Park/Moab, UT
Mileage: 524 Miles
Did we make it? No
How far did we get? 206 Miles Flagstaff, AZ
Trusty in a garage in Kingman, AZ
Interstate 40 between Lake Havasu & Yucca, AZ
Anthony & JP working on Trusty in Flagstaff, AZ
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